Shower valve question

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busterhead

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Hi,
We have a 2 story house. Yesterday when someone was taking a shower on the second floor, water started coming through the ceiling on the first floor. The person who was taking the shower said there was not very much water coming out of the shower head. It was draining properly. After the shower was shut off, the water dripping into the first floor slowly diminished. The wet spot on the ceiling is quite large; about 8 ft by 4 ft., so we are talking about quite a bit of water. Does this sound like it could be the shower valve causing it?
We are trying to remove the shower valve, but are having problems. There is a large Brass ring that we cannot get to move. Does this ring turn the normal, counter clockwise, way? We have sprayed WD40 on it and are giving it some time.
We are hoping to avoid the cost of having a plumber come out if possible. Also, There isn't an access panel to this area. We don't know what brand the shower valve is.

Any information or tips would be greatly appreciated. thank you.
 

Redwood

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Please stop before you tear something up and turn a small job into a big one!

I'm guessing that you are trying to take apart a Delta valve and IF i'm right your muscle will break it. More than likely the valve isn't even the problem!

I'm going to guess either the shower arm is broken off in the wall, or, if it is a tub/shower the spout is leaking back into the wall.
 

busterhead

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Thank you for the info Redwood. We will put down our tools and let the professionals handle it.
 

Redwood

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I didn't mean that I was just saying that we need to see where the leak is before you break something thats not broken.

Does the shower arm feel loose and floppy?

If you have a tub with a diverter spout... There should be a drain hole on the tub spout on the bottom where it meets the wall. Does water pour out of this hole when the shower is on?
 

hj

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leak

Try to unscrew the shower arm from the wall. I think you will find that it turns very easy, and when you extract it will also discover that it is broken off where it screws into the pipe in the wall. Do not go overboard on trying to remove the piece. Call a plumber with the proper tools to remove the stub without damaging the pipe.
 

busterhead

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Thanks for the info. We had a plumber out today. The spout was corroded behind the wall. Water was gushing out of it. I'm glad we had a professional come out and take care of it.
 

busterhead

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Now I'm worried about water damage. It's 3 days later and the ceiling on the first floor is still wet. We're having a water damage specialist come out today. I'm worried about the cost of that. Also, what if it had been a slow leak for awhile? We could have mold. Keep your fingers crossed for us. thanks!
 
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