Ask Me Help Desk - Off Centre Shower in New Tub

Hi There,

We've recently had our old tub replaced with a whirlpool tub that is a bit wider, and the shower, faucets, etc. are now off to one side rather than aligned with the drain and centre of the tub.

Is there a way to realign them by a few inches without ripping everything out and starting fresh? We were told it would be at least $3000 to move them, and that the whole plumbing would have to be redone from the basement up... Just wanted to confirm that there isn't an easier way out there.

Thanks very much for your help. I appreciate it.

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Is there a way to realign them by a few inches without ripping everything out and starting fresh? We were told it would be at least $3000 to move them, and that the whole plumbing would have to be redone from the basement up... Just wanted to confirm that there isn't an easier way out there.

There will be expense to this, there's no doubt about that. Of course the piping wouldn't have to be replaced from the basement up, however, either the wall behind the shower will have to be opened up so the valve and shower head can be offset or you will have to open up the tile wall, offset the valve and patch the tile.

If it were me, and the only complaint was a cosmetic one, I would make it a conversion piece. It does work OK doesn't it? Good luck, Tom

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Originally Posted by speedball1

There will be expense to this, there's no doubt about that. Of course the piping wouldn't have to be replaced from the basement up, however, either the wall behind the shower will have to be opened up so the valve and shower head can be offset or you will have to open up the tile wall, offset the valve and patch the tile.

If it were me, and the only complaint was a a cosmetic one, I would make it a conversion piece. It does work OK doesn't it? Good luck, Tom

I'm okay to live with it as is, but our contractor put in the new wall, tiles, showerhead, etc. and we're being charged a lot for it. The tile guy seemed like he hadn't noticed that the pipes were off centre and may have made a mistake by putting everything up with them there. It feels to me like they could have done something not terribly expensive while the wall was open and the pipes were exposed. Now he's saying that nothing could have been done except to replace all the pipes from the basement. It feels like he's trying to cover his , so I wanted a second opinion on whether it's a mistake on their end.

You must realize that we do not all work the same way. Had this been my job it would have been evident going in, before everything's tore out that the new tub was wider then the old one an d the valve and shower head would be off center.
If off setting the valve wasn't included in the original estimate, (and in my book it should have) then I would have figured the labor and material plus patching the tile and wall and given you the option of a "add on" to the original estimate.
But hey! That's just me! Regards, Tom

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Originally Posted by speedball1

You must realize that we do not all work the same way. Had this been my job it would have been evident going in, before everything's tore out that the new tub was wider then the old one an d the valve and shower head would be off center.
If off setting the valve wasn't included in the original estimate, (and in my book it should have) then I would have figured the labor and material plus patching the tile and wall and given you the option of a "add on" to the origional estimate.
But hey! That's just me! regards, Tom

Everything was to have been included in the original estimate, so I would have thought if they realized this was the case, it would have been mentioned that they would turn out this way. The tile and wall were already open during the process (they put it in new), so they wouldn't have had to do anything extra to access the pipes while it was still open. He did give us the option to fix it now, and said that it would have cost us $3000 to move them over the few inches while the wall was still open.

When we first spoke to the guy who did the plumbing and tiling, I really got the impression that he hadn't noticed, and had made a mistake by covering everything over before fixing the pipes. I just really get the feeling that our contractor is now trying to pass it off as intentional to get out of admitting the error. Would they really have had to replace all of the pipes all the way from the basement (as he claims), and was there really nothing cheaper that could have been done before the wall was recovered when all the piping was exposed?

Many thanks.

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Would they really have had to replace all of the pipes all the way from the basement (as he claims), and was there really nothing cheaper that could have been done before the wall was recovered when all the piping was exposed?

Was I not clear in my earlier posts. If there's anything you don't understand please let me know. Regards, Tom

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Originally Posted by speedball1

Was I not clear in my earlier posts. If there's anything you don't understand please let me know. Regards, Tom

Sorry - I really appreciate your help. Just trying to clarify. You had mentioned that the wall would have to be opened up to move the piping over those few inches, but it was already open and the pipes exposed, so that shouldn't have been an additional cost, right? You also mentioned that they wouldn't need to replace the whole pipe down to the basement. This is what the contractor told me would have had to be done. He is claiming that at the time that the walls were all open, nothing could have been done to fix it but to replace all of the piping. He said that it is not possible to move it over a few inches by just diverting the direction, adding some pipe, etc. The $3000 he has quoted us does not include the cost of opening up the wall, replacing the tiles, etc. It's just for making the pipes come out a few inches to the right. This seemed a little crazy to me, and it really feels like his guy made an error and he's trying to cover his behind by lying to us. I just want to know if he's trying to put one over on us, or if there would have been a less expensive (i.e. less than $3000) way of fixing this while the walls were still open. He claims there would not.

Could you tell me how you would go about making the pipes come out centered, so that I could have an option to present. Right now, I don't know anything about plumbing so I have no defense when he tells me nothing could have been done.

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You also mentioned that they wouldn't need to replace the whole pipe down to the basement. This is what the contractor told me would have had to be done. He is claiming that at the time that the walls were all open, nothing could have been done to fix it but to replace all of the piping. He said that it is not possible to move it over a few inches by just diverting the direction, adding some pipe, etc. He also said that it is not possible to move it over a few inches by just diverting the direction, adding some pipe, etc.

Give me four 1/2" 45's and a open wall and I'll have that valve centered in less then a half a hour. This should have neen noticed and moved when the wall was opened.

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The $3000 he has quoted us does not include the cost of opening up the wall, replacing the tiles, etc. It's just for making the pipes come out a few inches to the right

Did you make a mistake and add a zero to his price? Because if you didn't it's !!outrageous!

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This seemed a little crazy to me, and it really feels like his guy made an error and he's trying to cover his behind by lying to us. I just want to know if he's trying to put one over on us, or if there would have been a less expensive (i.e. less than $3000) way of fixing this while the walls were still open. He claims there would not.

Your contractor ought to take his act on the road because he's sure doing a dandy job of tap dancing around responsibility. He's trying to scare you with the talk in the thousands hoping you'll back off and this will all go away. But you evidently hang a set and won't let go.
Bottom line! You're right, they goofed and allowed the installation to go down wrong.
The valve should have been centered when the walls were opened and this job should be made right at their expense. And if you want to fly me up there I'll show them how to do it. Please keep me in the loop on this. It makes my blood boil when I see, not only shoddy work, but the contractor attempting to wiggle out of the responsibility of making it right. Good luck, Tom