Old shower stem replacement


  #1  
Old 02-11-06, 02:22 PM
M
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Old shower stem replacement

I recently moved into an old 1920's house with brass plumbing. My upstairs shower has had problems with the faucets leaking when the water is on - water coming out through the faucets, not a problem with the faucets not being able to completely turn off the water to the shower head. This wouldn't be such a big deal, but the leaking water doesn't all come into the shower - some of it stays within the walls and leaks down to the kitchen ceiling, which is immediately below this bathroom.

I've replaced the rubber washers on stems before, and even replaced old stems as well. However, when I took the stems off, I noticed that the inflow pipe was ok, but the outflow pipe to the shower head was 3/4 blocked. So what is happening is that when the faucet valve is opened, only a small portion of the water can make it out to the shower head, and the rest is building up pressure and forcing its way through the stem.

It appears that there has been some type of build up over the years that have slowly been covering the outflow pipe. It is extremely hard and I can't chip it out, and I don't want to try too hard with these old (and fragile) brass pipes. My amateur opinion is that it is the eventual corrosion of the brass pipes and the buildup of whatever minerals are being broken down, and have slowly formed a rock-like barrier. Is this correct, and is there any way around this - can I somehow break down this mineral deposit, or is this the end of this brass fixture's life? The whole system is original to the house, and I highly doubt I can buy replacement parts, which means a very expensive solution - knocking down the wall to get to the pipes (no access from behind), changing as much of the brass pipes as can be reached or as I can afford, etc.

Any ideas on an easier and cheaper solution?

-mr
 
  #2  
Old 02-12-06, 03:45 PM
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: KY/OH
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It sounds like the valve has reached its life expectancy. I would replace the valve with the updated style found in all new homes so that you can expect 30 years out of whatever you put in.

No matter what you do to work on the existing valve, I promise you'll be working on it again. Ridding yourself of the existing situation seems like the best financial/stress relieving way.
 
 

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