Chromed Pipe ?

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homeowner

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SOLVED: Chromed Pipe ?

Very new to home plumbing. I had a leaking shutoff valve under my toilet. I simply wanted to replace the shutoff with a new valve - have never sweated in pipes so I just bought a 5/8" - 3/8" shutoff valve with compression fittings. I cut the supply pipe just below the old valve: BIG MISTAKE!

The nut and compression fittings for the new valve would not fit over the supply pipe. The salesman at Home Depot explained that's because the pipe is chromed. And they had nothing that would fit. The best I could do at that point was to try to find a tap & die set to put 5/8" threads on the supply pipe and use a valve with threaded fittings. After hitting 2 hardware stores and a Sears I struck out and went home.

Any suggestions? I thought this was going to be a simple task. Does anyone manufacture valves with compression fittings that fit chromed pipe?
 
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Jadnashua

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Did the pipe and the valve look like they were one piece? Brasscraft makes a chromed brass shutoff valve that is soldered onto a 1/2" pipe. The back end of the valve is probably about 6" long. The thing may just be soldered onto the copper pipe. The only way you'll get to replace it is to unsolder the sleeve that was the back end of the shutoff and install a new one like it.
 

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homeowner

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Thanks for the response.

There's about 5" of chromed pipe coming out of the bathroom floor (the garage is underneath the bathroom) so I don't know what this pipe looks like downstream.

Turns out that the pipe was threaded and old valve had a threaded fitting so it was screwed on. I couldn't see that when I started this catastrophe; from my poor vantage point, it looked like the original shutoff valve used compression fittings. When I couldn't unscrew the nut, that's when I decided the brilliant next step would be to cut the pipe. After I had it in my hand, I saw that it had just been threaded onto the pipe.

If I have to install new piece of pipe - as shown in the illustration - I'll have to pull the sheetrock out of my garage ceiling.
 

Master Plumber Mark

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chrome pipe

yes, it sounds like you have really screwed yourself.....

but you still are ok, that pipe is threaded into something under the floor

and its your gamble to just unthread it then install a new nipple

also go buy a variety of sizes so you have the right length.......


its either going to screw out easy or its gonna give you greif...

dont put too much pressure against it or you might twist off
some copper under the floor.....ITS YOUR GAMBLE

I myself would probably go for it......done it before

your biggest risk is the pipe moveing on you and it wont just
line it up again
---------------------------------------

Also, if you cut a hole in the garage ceiling, you can get up there and
loosen the pipe from underneath if you dont want to risk trying it
first from up above....


as far as drywall damage, dont worry too much about that....

all you go tot do is get a 12x16 white dummey heat register and
screw it up over the hole you have cut in the garage...

stuff some pink insulation up ther first and you are through..
 
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homeowner

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SOLVED: Chromed Pipe

Problem solved: A plumber came over at 8:00 this morning - on a Sunday (Mother's Day, no less). I didn't have to access the end of the pipe in the garage ceiling; he simply pulled a couple inches of freeplay up out of the bathroom floor and the other threaded end was exposed. Turns out it was a 4" chrome nipple. He didn't have one so I drove to Home Depot and picked up the rest of the parts myself.

Unscrewed the old nipple, screwed in a new 4" 3/8 threaded nipple, screwed in the new shutoff, new riser, put in a new chrome escutcheon. End of story. If I had known about threaded chrome nipples, etc., this would have been a no-brainer (even for an amateur like me).

Total cost of parts - all of which I bought myself: about $14.00 at Home Depot. Cost of having a plumber show up on a Sunday morning: I'll keep that to myself. I'll call it "the cost of tuition" for learning a good lesson.

Lesson Learned: if you don't know what you're doing, don't start a home repair project at 6:00 PM on a Saturday night. Wait and try it at something like 8:00 AM on a weekday. That way, if you have to call in the cavalry, they're more available and you don't pay weekend rates.
 

Master Plumber Mark

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a wise quote

Lesson Learned: if you don't know what you're doing, don't start a home repair project at 6:00 PM on a Saturday night. Wait and try it at something like 8:00 AM on a weekday. That way, if you have to call in the cavalry, they're more available and you don't pay weekend rates.[/QUOTE]


people that start plumbing projects at 6 pm Sat night
is what keeps my 30 foot boat afloat
 

Lakee911

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homeowner said:
Lesson Learned: if you don't know what you're doing, don't start a home repair project at 6:00 PM on a Saturday night. Wait and try it at something like 8:00 AM on a weekday. That way, if you have to call in the cavalry, they're more available and you don't pay weekend rates.

You know, I think I have a leak behind my shower valve. Started taking it apart last night around 8PM and thought, "What if I really F this up on Saturday night? Stores will close soon. " I put it back together. I'll wait.
 
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