I called a plumber when I found wet lower walls and water on the floors of both my bathrooms. He said he didn't do repairs in walls (so who does this if not plumbers? ) So I tore out a wet vanity and discovered mildewed, soaked drywall behind it. On the other side of this wall is a tub/shower with tiled surround.

There was no access panel so I had trashed the vanity and cut out drywall to see the pipes leading to the shower. The horizontal pipe which leads to the center diverter handle (3 handle setup) appears to be the culprit. It is a copper pipe that runs through a black liner and metal mesh. Water runs from this pipe when either the hot or cold water is turned on.


Since I've already torn up the wall, is this something I can fix by myself? Do the shower tiles need to be removed? Hopefully not, since I've already got one bathroom torn up! Please advise! Thank you, Jane

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Originally Posted by Janedarla

I called a plumber when I found wet lower walls and water on the floors of both my bathrooms. He said he didn't do repairs in walls (so who does this if not plumbers?!) So I tore out a wet vanity and discovered mildewed, soaked drywall behind it. On the other side of this wall is a tub/shower with tiled surround.

There was no access panel so I had trashed the vanity and cut out drywall to see the pipes leading to the shower. The horizontal pipe which leads to the center diverter handle (3 handle setup) appears to be the culprit. It is a copper pipe that runs through a black liner and metal mesh. Water runs from this pipe when either the hot or cold water is turned on.


Since I've already torn up the wall, is this something I can fix by myself? Do the shower tiles need to be removed? Hopefully not, since I've already got one bathroom torn up! Please advise! Thank you, Jane

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Good morning Jane,
A plumber that won't fix a leak because the pipe's inside a wall? Where does he think pipes are positioned if not in a wall? I hope you didn't pay him for the exhibition of incompetence that he showed you on the job. Further more I would make a complaint to the company he works for.
The shower tiles shouldn't have to be disturbed even if you have to change the entire valve. What I need to know at this time is exactly where the leak's coming from. Open up the area some more and check. Is the leak at a solder joint? A crack in the valve body? From a connection? Coming from the stem of the diverter and running down the pipe? Do you know the brand name of the valve? You MUST pinpoint the leak before I can be of much help.
I'll wait on your reply and answer ASAP. Tom

Now that you have the drywall off, the plumber may be willing to comeback and fix the pipe. If not try another plumber. I can't tell from your description how to fix it. Tom may be able too, but you might post back with more details. If the pipe itself leaking, or at a joint? If a joint, is it threaded, or soldered?

If the drywall behind the tile hasn't softened enough to hurt the tile, and the pipe can be repaired without disturbing the tile, leave it alone. Tile is a pain to work with. Once you have the leak fixed, you need to repair the dry wall. Drywall joints are an art some people can quickly make a nice job of. Anybody can do it if they are willing put up with the time and mess of applying drywall compound, sanding it down and applying more until you have a presentable job. Note, it doesn't make any difference how bad it looks behind the vanity.

Dry wall usually comes as a 4' X 8' sheet. More consumer friendly places such as Lowe's or Home Depot may be willing to sell you less, maybe even cutting it to size. Use a razor knife, not a box cutter, and cut the old drywall down the middle of the vertical studs. Put new screws on both sides of thejoint. You are less likely to have problems with horizontal joints cracking if you support them somehow. You can simply slip a little piece of wood behind it, and screw both sides to it. Even gluing a piece of pasteboard will help. Most drywall uses the 1 1/4'' drywall screws now, much less likely to pop like the nails do. Buy a small roll of fiberglass mesh drywall tape. Tape all the joints, and they apply the compound also known as mud. Push it into the tape good. For at the most, occasional drywall jobs, buy a big plastic putty knife. Do the best you can to ge to it on smoothly. You can always come back and sand it smooth after it dries. May as well use coarse sandpaper. The scratches will disappear when you paint.

Dear speedball1 and labman; THANKS for the prompt and well thought out replies! No, I didn't pay that plumber. But I wish he would have just fixed the problem since I missed a morning of work waiting for him.

I haven't any idea who made the shower faucet. There are no markings except "H" and "C"!

I did enlarge the drywall opening (good advice, labman, re: cutting out on the stud. Makes sense!) The copper pipes are corroded where they have been soldered together but I can't see any visible holes or cracks. It appears the water is running horizontally along the pipe from the diverter, but I can't see further because of the wire mesh. The diverter knob won't come off, either. So I still don't know if the problem is in the wall pipe or at the knob. There is a lot of water!

Should I just go buy another shower set, break the knob off and see if I can replace it from the tiled side?
Thanks, experts!
Jane

If the problem is crummy workmanship and leaky joints, buying a new shower set isn't necessary. I fight some of the same problems in my house, luckily mostly in the crawl space. The best thing to do is completely take apart the leaky joints. This may mean removing the old shower set. There should be screws under caps on the knobs. Remove cap, screw, and knob, and it should pull through the tile out the back. It may be held by putty or caulk. If you want an update, buy a new one. That will save carefully cleaning every bit of corrosion down to shiny brass. Same with the pipe. Put it together, heat and touch a spool of solder to the joint allowing the solder to be pulled into the joint. Redoing old, corroded, originally poorly done joints is not a good first time sweat soldering project. A constricted area is harder too. You may want to find a real plumber.

I am not sure what the metal mesh is. Unless Tom says not to, rip it out and throw it away.