Please advise....

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annmatt

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The plumber just left after replacing the entire faucet/knob/spout assembly in my bathtub/shower.

I have a trap door in my bedroom wall that gives access to the back of the tub.

It is leaking worse than ever from the inside of the wall around where the pipes connect.

He says that the unit that was on before was 'jack legged' and someone put a compression fitting on where they weren't supposed to. He also says that the trap door is not big enough and he wants to cut a bigger hole in the wall of my bedroom, so he can replace the section of pipe that runs up to the shower.

He brought in a long piece of copper pipe to show me.

As you can tell. I am totally ignorant as to what he is talking about. He is wanting to come back tomorrow to cut the wall. I am pressed for time because of this and feel I don't even have enough time to Google for the proper plumbing terms.

Does any of this sound remotely right? I thought PVC was used for plumbing these days. My house was built in 1936 and no one has had to cut out the wall before.

Thank you
 

Jadnashua

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PVC is used for drain lines, you can use cpvc, pex, copper, and probably a few other things for supply lines. There are some types of compression fittings that can't be used inside the wall, but there are a few types that can be used.
 

SewerRatz

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If someone used a compression coupling inside the wall it was done wrong, and yes he will need to open up the back wall to allow enough room to replace that piece of pipe. PVC i piping is for drains. In most areas copper is the most common choice for piping water.
 

Jimbo

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I'm trying to figure why the plumber left it "leaking worse than ever"? Did he offer some way to temporarily stop the leak? Is the leak causing damage???
 

Kingsotall

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I suspect it is only leaking when they use the shower. Or else that same plumber would have been called back lickity split.
 

hj

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In the 30's the water lines were galvanized steel and the drain lines were probably a mix of cast iron and galvanized. You do not know enough, nor do we, to tell where or what is leaking, but I have reservations about a plumber who says you have to have it done immediately, unless it was leaking all the time, in which case he should have fixed that, and not the faucet. It is possible that the parts he used were the wrong ones and that is the reason for the leak. A picture of the installation might help depending on what it shows.
 

Terry

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1936?

Since the back is open, it's better to just take a digital picture and post it.

You can post up to 800 pixels as an atachment.
 
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