[melindaj2]

Hi there,
My husband is getting a little too old - there was a once upon a time he was excellent on all phases of construction, electrical & plumbing but there are certain things he says that does not make any sense to me even that I am a novice. (Let me add - he didn't practice his profession for five years and he could be out of the loop)

He built a tub and shower for me and all we needed was the faucet and he wanted me to get the shower head that comes with two handles & a spout and the one I got was the Glacier Bay tub and shower with one handle. Besides getting upset... he said, "this will do the trick but you are not going to like it! When you want to take a BATH the shower head will be on along with the spout - there will be water poring out from both. I tried asking what makes him believe that but he got more upset trying to explain to me.
Well I don't think manufactures will make a product like that. If I will be drawing water from the tub I will be getting wet from the shower? He said, I know these things when I see one. Apparently he is looking at the instrument that goes behind the wall - the diverter?

Melidna:confused:

[speedball1]

Hi Melidna,

I guess hubby is out of the loop! Where did he ever get the idea that diverters don't work? That's what diverters do. They divert! Where's yours? In the valve or in the spout. Tell me and I'll do my best to put hubbys fears to test. Cheers, Tom

[hkstroud]

Yes, it does sound like Hubby is confused. From you post it sounds like he is making an association between a shower valve having two handles and having a diverter valve. Don't be to harsh, unfortunately this will probably happen to us all if we live long enough. Suggest letting the subject drop for a while. The next time it is discussed it may be totally different.

If the single handle valve has a built in diverter you will use a tub spout without a diverter. If the valve does not have a built in diverter you will use a tub spout with a diverter. If you purchased a valve and diverter together as a kit it will have the proper diverter.

[melindaj2]

Ah, you are both awesome people!
The kit came in a packet and the diverted is in the spout, like the picture above on the right hand side. He is almost convinced and has been trying to install the darn thing all day today to prove to me but he is beginning to think that HE IS out of the loop.
Again thank you Tom and Harold!
Melinda
By the way - I misspelled my name on previous posting

[mygirlsdad77]

Hope he gets it installed, please let us know how it works for you. You should be just fine. Lee.

[cyberheater]

Oh! When you take a shower, some water from the spout may come when diverting the water to the shower head, but it should only be a small amount. Perhaps things were switched around a bit when trying to relay that message, or something? This doesn't only happen to your hubby.

Good luck on your knew tub and shower!

[speedball1]

Here's a little tip for hubby. Here's one a lot of installers miss when they go to mount a slip on diverter spout.
When the end's cut off the copper pipe that sticks out from the tile the tubing cutter leaves a burr/ridge. This ridge catches on the "O" ring and forces it out of its place so that when the spout diverts to the shower it leaks out the back.
To get around this problem take sand cloth and sand the burr down to a bevel. Then before you install the spout moisten the end of the copper so it slips on easier. Good luck, Tom

[melindaj2]

Thank you. All the information is helpful. My husband is feeling good this morning and before he started I took a picture of what he has accomplished and I'll keep you posted as it comes along. I don't know how to insert a picture but if anyone wants to see I can email it to you. :)

[hkstroud]

To post pictures;
Click on "Go Advanced" button;
Scroll down and click on "Manage Attachments"
Click on Browse and find pic;
After locating pic on you computer Click on "Open"
Click on "Upload".
There is a size limitation.
Convert pictures to JPEG before attempting to post.

[melindaj2]

Here is a picture from earlier today - not quite ready for water :p


BTW
Thank you Harold.
Melinda

[hkstroud]

Looks good. I do have to question one thing however. How high is the valve. It really hard to judge distance from a picture but it looks high to me. Looks about right for a shower but high for a tub. Looks to me like it should be about the level where the pipes are joined together.

[mygirlsdad77]

We usually install tub/shower valves roughly 3 feet from bottom of tub/shower. 4 feet for shower only. Looks like your valve is within that range. I really think your hubby did a nice job. Let us know when you turn the water on. Lee.

[melindaj2]

Harold - Thank you for keeping an eye out for us. The valve is 26 inches from the tub and we are installing a tub and shower combo - do you still think it might be a little high?

Lee - Thank you and my husband thanks you. It is roughly 3 feet from the bottom of the tub.

I will let everyone know if the water squirts out from the right places.

[melindaj2]

An update of my hubby's work :)
He didn't test the water yet... not connected yet - I asked him to try it out and he said no.

[mygirlsdad77]

Nice looking tile job. Looks like things are coming together nicely.

[hkstroud]

Looks good. I hope he has access from the other side or from underneath. I don't see a drain and overflow installed yet. Also hope that outlet is GFI protected.

[melindaj2]

Good eye! Thank you Harold.
Well no, it is not GFI protected. According to my hubby he says TJ doesn't use grounded? I am trying to convey his explanation.
Is there a way around it or a fix?
And yes he does have access from the outside and underneath the home.
My husband point to the electrical posts and shoes me that there are only two cables going to each home and apt and hotels. Wow, this is scary.

[hkstroud]

What is TJ?

[hkstroud]

GFI or ground fault interrupt is totally different from grounding. To put it simply, it detects a condition by which you could shocked. That includes plugging in a hair dryer with wet hands. The NEC (National Electric Cod) requires that all outlets in a bathroom be GFI protected. That can be done by the outlet being a GFI outlet, by installing a GFI breaker or by supplying the outlet from a GFI outlet.

A ground wire is not necessary for a GFI outlet to work. Further more, any ungrounded outlet (the old two hole type) that is replaced with a grounding type outlet (three hole type) it is required to either be a GFI or supplied by a GFI.

The ground wire of your electrical system goes to a ground rod, to a cold water pipe as a second ground point, and back to the pole where it goes to ground again.

But again GFI is something different.

[melindaj2]

Thank you - TJ = Tijuana Mex.
I will read the message to my husband tomorrow and hopefully he can do something about it and fix it or provide more info.