How to fix shower pipes in position? Cement has perished

Adam

Adam

Adam

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I got home from work this evening and set about swapping a bristan thermostatic mixer over. I've done this before a couple of times infact when the cartridge stops working, it's more efficient to replace the entire unit.

But what a surprise it didn't go to plan. What should have been a simple job turned in to a massive pain.

The copper pipes supplying the hot and cold were previously cemented in to the wall at the point where they come through the tiles. When I was undoing the nuts on the unit the cement started to break free in large pieces. By the end of it I had 2 pipes which move freely in the wall. The shower is now misaligned but most annoyingly it moves in/out of the wall as the pipes aren't fixed in to position.

With many things in my house I've had to put right bodge jobs (apparently I have heard they used to get anyone who offered from a church over to do the work) so this doesn't surprise me.

I also noticed the pipes have adapters on to make them stick out of the wall more which stops me using one of the parts of the fixing kit that came with the shower.

So my question is how to I secure these pipes in the wall? Do I buy some quick drying cement and do the same as before or is there a better way? The pipes are hidden in the wall and I have no access to behind them, only the small holes in the tiles where they poke through.
 
Ttiuwp

However my second reaction is that you don't need to secure the pipes with cement because the compression fitting on the shower valve will hold the pipes in place.
 
Is the copper pipe sticking out or 3/4" threaded unions? Try to protect the copper with tape or sleeving of some sort. Your ideal solution is two copper pipes sticking out then you can use some wall plate adapters. Some picture would help.
 
Pretty sure the 2 pipes in my shower were loose where they poke through the tiles. When I used the "easy fit" kit to connect the mixer unit it all tightened up no problem.
 
dholdi said:
Surely the valve should be fixed back to the wall.
Cement corrodes copper pipe.
Click to expand...

Exactly, as it stands right now the cement has come away which was holding the copper pipe to the wall. The pipes are now free to move in the wall hence why the shower bar isn't actually attached to anything or the wall/tile.


Nedved11 said:
Is the copper pipe sticking out or 3/4" threaded unions? Try to protect the copper with tape or sleeving of some sort. Your ideal solution is two copper pipes sticking out then you can use some wall plate adapters. Some picture would help.
Click to expand...

No, the pipes are not sticking out the wall. They come up from the floor behind the tile in void between the 2 walls. I'm not sure what the connection is called but these adapters screw in to the copper pipe which then connects to the shower.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SHOWER-BA...962027?hash=item33aa35746b:g:RMgAAOSw14xWO4dT

covenantuk said:
Pretty sure the 2 pipes in my shower were loose where they poke through the tiles. When I used the "easy fit" kit to connect the mixer unit it all tightened up no problem.
Click to expand...

Like this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzdu0gPQq74

That's what I would like to use but the pipes are not sticking out the wall.

I'll try and get some pictures. I noticed my main bathroom (identical) has the same issue and the chrome covers have been cut as they didn't fit around the silicon that is holding everything in place.
 
Depending on how it is right now, you can probably fit some plastic pipe with push-fittings onto the copper to get the pipes out of the wall.

That video is good :)
 
covenantuk said:
Depending on how it is right now, you can probably fit some plastic pipe with push-fittings onto the copper to get the pipes out of the wall.

That video is good :)
Click to expand...

That video is the ideal way for me to solve this problem and hopefully what I will end up with.

The issue now is how to get the pipes sticking out the wall, connected to the original copper pipe. I have very little access to the pipes in the wall, so very little opportunity to make changes.

I could potentially run some more pipes across the loft to the airing cupboard but would rather avoid that if possible.

Securing it with more cement/expanding foam/silicone is my least preferred option but I might have to consider it if I can't get access or figure out how I can get the plastic/speedfit connectors joined within the wall.
 
Can't really make any more suggestions unless you post some photos of what you're dealing with.

My flat was quite old and the plaster awful so I framed out the small wall where the shower fitting was to leave me a 50mm gap - it was then easy to hack the plaster out, arrange the pipework, fit a marine ply board and tile over that.
 
Ok here are the pictures everyone has been waiting for! I wish I had done this originally.

So here is the new shower installed, note it's not straight as the adapters don't line up.

6z9lx9ml.jpg


Both sides are loose but the right side more so. The left side has something behind it whereas the right side just moves in the void in the wall.

These are the adapters that were included with the shower inserted in to the original pipework (via another adapter!).

jhBg2oOl.jpg


This is the shower adapter and the adapter already there joined together.

TtXJBQFl.jpg


And here is what I have in the wall.

P66smlcl.jpg


Note in the above image you can see where the cement has come loose which was originally holding the pipe to the tiles/wall.

Finally this is the left side which has some cement remaining but still moves around. My concern with this side is access to whatever is in the wall as the
hole in the tile is so small. I can remove plasterboard the other side of this in the cupboard but the right side is not in the cupboard, it would be harder to patch up.

043Ti8Yl.jpg
 
What you got behind the tile is 1/2" wall plate elbows. You can get 1/2" to 15mm copper couplings. These can be screwed to the wall plate elbow with PTFE and or jetlube or simmilar. Solder 15mm copper to the coupler that way you can fit those Bristan shower adapters that screw to the wall this I'll hold everything in place. Those push fit adapters are too big a profile. I hate those offset adapters. I come across them a lot and I normally swap them out with the Bristan ones. Shocking bit of plumbing and tiling there!
 
Thanks for the advice, I agree the tiling and plumbing is bad. They must have done both bathrooms at the same time as the other bathroom is just as bad if not worse.

Would these work? http://www.screwfix.com/p/yorkshire-yp3-solder-ring-male-coupler-15mm-x/98156

I have used yorkshire fittings before and it worked really well.

Also would I solder the copper pipe in before or after it's connected to the elbow? I still have concerns around how I am going to get access to the left hand elbow, might be tough to have enough space to undo/do up the fitting.
 
Yep owe fitting should work. Solder the pipe first then screw in that's your best bet to fix this little problem. Just be aware that brass fitting will take more heat than regular copper fittings. Compression fittings behind tiles is a real no no, hopefully this will be fine just try to avoid to much movement in that fitting wh you screw in th coupling. Also pressure test it overnight by blanking off the copper pipe, make them extra long and cut to length at the last moment.
 
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