Wobbly Tub Spout / Diverter

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r0x

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Hi,

I recently had my tub and shower renovated and the plumber chose to use 1/2" PVC for the tub spout / diverter. (Now I know copper would have been better, etc., etc., etc...) One problem is that the pipe is a hair too long so there is a small gap between the back of the spout and the wall. That, coupled with the fact that the PVC pipe flexes, causes it to feel like I'm going to pull the whole spout out of the wall every time I pull or push on the shower diverter or handle it in any way...

Any suggestions about how to re-enforce the pipe to stiffen it up? Or any general suggestions about how to mitigate this situation? Photos enclosed.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Regards, r0x
 

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Cass

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Well if the tub walls were installed with the valve the way it is in the pic it would woble as there is nothing holding it to the wall that I can see except maybe the shower head riser. It should have been secured to the wall in 3 places. The hot and cold lines near the valve and the tub spout. There is not a whole lot you can do now unless you can take down the walls easily. As far as the gap behind the spout he should have caulked it or shortened the CPVC more then caulked it.

moen-tub-spout-install.jpg
 
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r0x

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I was thinking that cutting a piece of 3/4" PVC in half lengthwise and gluing it to the 1/2" pipe sticking out of the wall would stiffen the pipe sufficiently. Then some epoxy or other glue would hold this assembly in place within the hole in the tile / wall. Is there a down side to doing this? Taking down the wall and re-doing everything properly is not a good option at this point... Thanks for reply. --r0x.
 

Cass

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I don't think it will help because the problem is in the wall not the piece sticking out. Your plumber didn't do it right.
 

hj

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pipe

It was a real "plumber" who did that? Maybe that is what he called himself, but it is not necessarily what he is. At least it looks like he used CPVC rather than PVC. At this point all you can do is "glue" the pipe to the wall, either with expanding foam or silicone caulk.
 

Geniescience

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r0x said:
... gluing it to the 1/2" pipe sticking out of the wall would stiffen the pipe sufficiently. Then some epoxy or other glue would hold this assembly in place within the hole in the tile / wall ....
Sounds like you want to brace it against the wall tile, which is rigid now and may be strong enough not to break up over time.

Is this an accurate rewriting of what you just said?

david
 

r0x

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hj, yes I hired a top dollar real, licensed plumber and this is what I got... What kind of "expanding foam" are you suggesting? Is it that "Great Stuff" they have at the Home Depot?

David, that's the gist of it - I want to make the 1/2" PVC stronger and I want to glue the whole thing to the tile wall so it doesn't move when one pulls or pushes the shower diverter.

One more piece of information: I already "glued" the pipe to the wall by filling in the hole in the tile with caulk. (The intention was to fill the hole so water wouldn't go in there.) So the pipe can not move in and out of the wall. There is enough flexing in the pipe itself to make the spout move around.

Thanks for all replies.

Regards, r0x
 

Geniescience

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foams are hard or soft after curing

if you did use foam, get the kind that hardens into closed-cell rigid foam, not soft and gooey foam (i.e. not the stuff made for doors sills and window frames), and use a lot of it, so it becomes structural / linked to the sstuds and structure. Your risk as to whether you put so much in that it expands the entire stud cavity out and bows the drywall on the drywall side...

That is all I can add; I'm not in the field of fixing mechanically loose plumbing so don't take anything I may say as a "recommendation".

David
 
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