Upgrading shower valve for existing galv. piping

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Texas

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I am currently upgrading our master bathroom (gutted the whole thing and I'm in the process of building new shower pan, walls, tile, etc.) and I have 3/4" galvanized pipes running to the existing valve & shower head:

http://www.pbase.com/neurobit/bathroom_remodel

My question is, will I be able to install a modern shower valve on this pipe, or do I need to transition to copper first? :confused:

Thanks in advance,
Paul
 

Jimbo

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For sure, replace the riser to the shower head with copper. You will need to transition from the ends of those hot and cold pipes, because the connections to a new single handle vavle will not land in the same location.
 

Texas

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Thanks Jimbo,

What type of hardware do I need to get to transition to copper?
 

Jadnashua

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Remove all the galvanized that will become inaccessable once the new work is up. You will be glad you did, or you might be tearing it out as it continues to plug up, reducing the flow and causing rusty water.

If you can do it near a threaded connection, there are transitions that can be installed to make the connection to copper there. If you end up cutting the galvanized, there are other types.
 

Texas

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That's the information I was looking for :)
The pipes seem to be in good shape, but I see rust where the threads are.
I need to heat them up before attempting to unthread, correct?
 

Jadnashua

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Use a pair of wrenches, one to hold the part you aren't unscrewing, and one to remove the other. Otherwise, you might end up unscrewing a fitting below where you want to, and creating a leak. Heat probably isn't necessary, but wouldn't hurt. A little bit of penetrating oil can help, too.
 

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jadnashua said:
Use a pair of wrenches, one to hold the part you aren't unscrewing, and one to remove the other. Otherwise, you might end up unscrewing a fitting below where you want to, and creating a leak. Heat probably isn't necessary, but wouldn't hurt. A little bit of penetrating oil can help, too.

Cool Beans :)
Thanks for the tip.

Paul
 

Texas

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Jim,

Piping came out w/o braking anything :D (or applying heat).
I capped them until we get the shower valve this weekend and will then do the install.

Thanks again,
Paul
 

Jadnashua

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Congrats...it's nice when it works out.

Many of the valves sold today come with threaded connections. While maybe not obvious, most of them can act as a coupling as well. This means that instead of threading on a connetor, you can just insert copper pipe into the inside of the threaded section and solder it. This gives you a couple of alternatives. Rather than having a threaded connection to the valve that might not be tight enough, you can solder it instead. This is an issue, because you won't know if it will leak until you have the rest connected, and then because it is connected, you can't tighten the threaded connection any more!

Because the valve is bigger than a normal fitting, you need more heat, but that is the way most pros do it, and it isn't that hard if you've soldered before. Just make sure to clean and flux both the pipe and fixture well.
 

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Jim

I was planning on sweating the pipe if the valve allows it since I do want a water tight connection (I did not know that you could solder it if it was threaded, so thanks).
I will post pictures as soon as get everything hooked up.

Thanks again,
Paul
 
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