Soldering copper to brass??

I just discovered a leak coming from my shower body and see that the water supply pipe (copper) was soldered to the brass fitting on the shower body. The brass fitting is threaded. Is this code? Why would any professional plumber do this? Do I have recourse with the original plumber that performed the work?

That connection is normal. Many shower valves give the option to either thread on a female fitting or you can put the copper pipe in the socket and solder. Personally, I like the solder connection and that I what I used on my shower.

How long ago was this done? It may be that the solder didn't get fully into the joint (joint not clean enough, not the right amount of flux, not enough solder, etc.). It should have been inspected for leaks at the time of install, but if the leak is very small, the leak may not have been detected.

If it was recent work, you could call the plumber back. If it has been that way for some time, you may need to get another plumber to fix it. If it is really old, it may be a good time to replace the valve and trim.

Plumbers prefer soldering the pipe to the valve body. That's four fewer joints to leak.

It just needs to be dissasembled and resoldered.
Remove the cartridge while doing this.

And yes, it may be a good time for replacement if this is old. Though the valve does look to be pretty recent.

The work is less than 4 years old, so I think I can avoid a full replacement job. I'm wondering if the plumber will be willing to fix their work from that long ago. What's the industry norm on warrantees for workmanship?

Thanks for the replies!!

david einhorn said:

. What's the industry norm on warrantees for workmanship?

!!

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tail lights!

I don't know any trade that is going to eat labor after the first year has passed.

quote; Why would any professional plumber do this? Do I have recourse with the original plumber that performed the work?

Professional plumbers PERFER to do it that way. Here, the warranty would be two years, by state law. It is unlikely ANYONE would do the repair as a "warranty item".

David Einhorn said:

I just discovered a leak coming from my shower body and see that the water supply pipe (copper) was soldered to the brass fitting on the shower body. The brass fitting is threaded. Is this code? Why would any professional plumber do this? Do I have recourse with the original plumber that performed the work?View attachment 18634

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Looks like applying heat to that joint was scorching the very- close wood above it and possibly a little caution was used which may have caused a less than perfect joint?

generally it's one year