Anyone see a problem in this photo? Tub Spout wiggles

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CC

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Is there anything in this photo that would cause a tub spout to wiggle? It does not sit against the tile, so the plumber caulked between the spout and the tile. When I pull the diverter up, the spout moves. I can easily wiggle the spout with my little girl hand. The plumber said this is no problem, but it seems, at the very least, the spout moving every day when the diverter is pulled up would cause the caulk seal to break.

The spout is a 5-inch Grohe 13 611 000.
 

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Chad Schloss

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I'm just a diy'er but it looks like it could have used either one of these, or he could have come down from the valve to a drop ear elbow and a nipple.
 

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CC

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Thank you, Chad. Both methods seem more secure than what he did. I imagine that's why it's wiggling. The GC is coming next week and I'm hoping to be better informed when I tell him about the spout. Thanks again for your help.
 

Terry

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The valve plate can be removed and some blocking slid in there. Normally just a little lift of the diverter is all that's needed. The little finger muscle should do it.

It's nice that there is full size copper pipe there for the tub spout.
PEX would have been a No-No.

The tub spout should be up against the wall. The spout can be unthreaded and the male adapter pulled off, tubing shortened and resoldered. Added to the answer above
 
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Thank you, Terry. This diverter doesn't operate very smoothly for me. I pull once and water keeps coming out of the spout til I give it another pull. Or perhaps I'm a bigger weakling than I thought. Many thanks again for your help.
 

Jadnashua

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See how there's a piece of wood (blocking) behind the valve? There should be the same behind the end of the tub spout drop so it can be anchored well. Often, they'd use a drop-ear ell, which allows you to screw the ears to that blocking, giving good support. But, you can also use the fixture shown in one of the responses above and then solder the pipe to it to provide good support.

The tub spout should not stick out from the finished wall. If it does, IMHO, it was not installed properly. Whether it is a screw on or push on spout assembly, it still should sit tight to the wall. That won't solve the movement, though, but caulk does act like a glue.
 

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Thank you, Jim. Yes, I see what you're saying about the blocking. There is an access hole on the back where the shut-off valve is, so I'll ask if he can add support.

And thank you again, Terry, for the additional answer above. I'll also ask him to shorten the tubing. This all makes some sense to me now and I feel more confident about asking him to fix it.

Many thanks again.
 

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Met with the GC today. He took off the slip-fit spout and found the copper tube is 2-1/2 inches long (the spout is 5 inches), however the tube slopes down by 4 degrees. So the spout touched the tiled wall at the bottom but stood away from the wall at the top. He thinks a spout of a different variety (screw on) soldered on a threaded fitting will secure it to the wall and it won't wiggle. Pipe.jpg

Does anyone have a recommendation for screw-on tub spout with diverter?

Thanks again for your help. This meeting went much better than I'd anticipated thanks to all of you.

CC
 

Terry

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Delta makes a real nice thread-on spout that should match your trim. I use Delta all the time as my favorite replacement tub spout.

delta_tub_spout_a1.jpg

Here is the thread on adapter for the spout

delta_tub_spout_a2.jpg

Of of the Delta spouts after it's spun on
 
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CC

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Nice. Thank you, Terry. I'll buy the adapter and Delta thread-on spout today.

The spout should come with the adapter
Terry
 
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Jadnashua

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The adapter comes with the spout as it is custom to Delta tub spouts.
 

hj

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You have a Delat valve, so you should have gotten a Delta "fit to wall" spout also. BUT, if the drop pipe is not secure, and yours is not, then it will still "wiggle".

delta-tub-spout-install.jpg
 
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CC

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Thank you, hj. When I showed the spout to the GC, he glanced at it and said, "that's fine." Should I have him add support behind the wall? He's telling me it isn't necessary. He's doing it himself instead of paying the plumber sub to come back, which doesn't bother me because plumber sub thinks it is okay like it is now.
 

hj

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quote; When I showed the spout to the GC, he glanced at it and said, "that's fine." Should I have him add support behind the wall? He's telling me it isn't necessary. He's doing it himself instead of paying the plumber sub to come back, which doesn't bother me because plumber sub thinks it is okay like it is now.

Of course he thinks "that's fine", because otherwise he would have to fix it properly. If the plumber were a reputable contractor, he would make the repair without charging him because it should have been done when the valve was installed. It IS necessary, but not because moving the lever will break something, but rather because the support will raise the tubing so it is square with the wall so the spout fits properly.
 

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Thank you, hj. I understand. A plumber at Ferguson's counter sales today said the same thing when he sold me a copper clamp to attach wood to the pipe. He said I didn't need a new screw-in spout--just fix the tubing. Does it matter that the copper tubing has been beat to death from GC driving in that set screw that he hates so much?

7609916216_3f8a718a25_c.jpg?
 

Jadnashua

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That type of spout seals with an O-ring against the pipe. With those score marks, it is likely to leak now. They happen when you don't loosen the screw enough when either installing or removing. If it were I, I'd either go with a spout that screwed on with an adapter, or force replacement of the pipe. You might be lucky and have the o-ring seal, but I don't think it's a high probability.
 

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Well that makes perfect sense, Jim. I'll get a Delta pull-down diverter spout. (I saw that you suggested it elsewhere here.) I can't find any specs on Delta's site. Do you think my length of copper pipe is sufficient at 2-1/2 inches for this spout?
 
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