Quick question for a plumbing greenhorn, Moen Posi-Temp

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Sonofawhatthe

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I have a fast leaking Moen shower downstairs and plan on fixing today. The thing is... I don't see a supply shutoff for it. This house is only 10 years old. Is it possible the valves are behind drywall? Am I really going to shut off the whole house for the duration of the repair??
 

Sonofawhatthe

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Next phase in my painful journey... I was going to go get the cartridge before doing water shutoff. I've got approximately 40 different allen wrenches acquired over the years. Guess which size I *don't* have? The one that fits a Moen handle. Rat#$#@!!!$&*$!! So I think I have to go to Ace to buy a wrench so that I can then RETURN to Ace to find the right cartridge.

In case this photo tells one of you Pros what cartridge I'm looking for- please let me know.
20130630_115317.jpg
 

Jadnashua

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FIrst, it's rare to have shutoffs for a shower valve in the wall. Yes, they are there sometimes, but since you don't need to take the eschution off to change a cartridge, most people wouldn't see them, even if they were there. Now, if there's an access panel on the back side, it would make a bit more sense. So, yes, you have to shut the whole house's water off (unless you have something like a manifold home run system supplying the water to fixtures). Can't help you with the proper cartridge, and a pro may need to see it with the handle off, so yes, it does look like two trips for you. Hopefully, the thing comes out easily...some of them, depending on how long its been there and how hard your water is, can be a real pain to remove. Yours may just pop out easily, you may need one of the removal tools, and the skill to use it!
 

WorthFlorida

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First, it's rare to have shutoffs for a shower valve in the wall.

If your house is on a concrete slab and the shower is on the ground floor, the valves will usually be in the wall behind the escutcheon and usually soldered to the valve body. You'll see the small valves on both sides and using a flat blade screw driver you turn the stem. Very easy to do.

Here is what it might look like, however this is a Kohler unit but it is a good example of what is out there.

shutoff.jpg
 
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Jadnashua

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Almost all valve manufacturers offer the rough-in valve with integral stops or without. Because it costs more, guess how often a contractor will use them? THen, to get to them, you need to take the trim off. Pretty much every valve can be serviced without removing the trim, so it's likely, you'd never know they were there. They are particularly handy for a DIY'er where there will be some time between installing the valve and finishing up the rest of the install. Just don't count on them being there. If you've caulked the trim in place, it's a bigger job to make things look right again, too (and very annoying to do that and not find any!). And, if it has something like one of the waterproof membranes installed, that may be covering up the integral shutoffs as well.
 
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