Leaky Dr.Seuss-style faucet - what to change to? See pic.

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Minni

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Hi, Terry, et al. I hope you don't mind my very unconventional questions - due to my unconventional situation.

For clarity, let's call my past plumber Dr.Seuss, OK?
So Dr.Seuss had set up this Dr.Seuss-style faucet, using a blowtorch, copper pipe & valves.
Please see attached pic. (At the time, I had thought I might relocate, but it didn't pan out)

With my Dr.Seuss setup, I'm currently able to have Warm/Cool/Warm/Cool alternating water flowing down on my severely painful feet. Somehow, it's positioned in such a way that I can lounge in the tub, while resting my neuropathic feet against the tub-wall (below the faucet), so that the necessary water-therapy can flow on my feet.

Prior to Dr.Seuss - it used to be a 1950s faucet. With the 1950s setup - I somehow was not able to do the warm/cold therapy the way Dr.Seuss allows. It's a matter of how it's positioned, compared to how the 1950s one was positioned.

OK, so much for background. By now, my Seuss-faucet is very leaky.
My current plumber ....(who's my nice neighbor with whom I swap favors, but not necessarily a top-expert)..... told me that there's two choices:

(1) Change the valves (the valve nuts seem pretty rusty, so nervous about whether they can easily be unscrewed)

(2) Change to a conventional tub faucet. Like perhaps the Pfister Pasadena Single Handle one.
I might have liked the following hand-shower version, but Dr.Seuss had disabled the upper-shower-faucet in order that the copper-pipe-setup should be functional.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Pfister-...ower-in-Brushed-Nickel-8P8-WS1-PHHK/206442397
...so instead I thought perhaps this can serve me the way the Seuss-setup did?
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Pfister-...aucet-in-Polished-Chrome-8P8-WSPDCC/203517633

My questions:

(1) Can any of these homedepot faucets-and-Handles be attachable to the "hacked-off" connections you see in my attached pic?

(2) Would the homedepot ones stay put, even without a re-tiling job?

(3) Would the homedepot ones let me rest my feet for water-therapy the way you see in the pic?

(4) Would I be able to easily switch from Warm to Cool to Warm to Cool, the way I can do with the Seuss valves?

So based on the points mentioned above, I'd appreciate any helpful recommendations you might have to offer.
Thanks! :rolleyes:

tub.jpg
 
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FullySprinklered

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Pink tub and pink tile, he said with a wink: you must have a pink toilet and a pink sink.
 
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Minni

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Uh, uh, not the whole truth. You forgot the avocado & antique-brass & that my tile isn't just pink, it's broken pink! :oops:

So let me get something straight. Is this forum just about form? or can function pass thru too?o_O
 
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Reach4

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I think you are saying that the system you have now did what you want, but the system has started dripping or dribbling when off. One or both of the Watts ball valves failed.

A new standard bath valve system might be thermostatic and not able to give full hot. The new control would probably have a single lever that would be fast in changing settings-- maybe faster than your two ball valves, because it would control both hot and cold with one movement. I am not a plumber.
 
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Dj2

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I agree with Reach4: replace one or two yellow handle valve(s).

To answer your questions:

(1) Can any of these homedepot faucets-and-Handles be attachable to the "hacked-off" connections you see in my attached pic?
Yes, with some plumbing modifications.

2) Would the homedepot ones stay put, even without a re-tiling job?
Yes, if you attach it in a way that makes it secure. Not finishing the wall leaves an open door for monsters to come out at night. Just kidding.

(3) Would the homedepot ones let me rest my feet for water-therapy the way you see in the pic?
Yes of course, if you set it up in such a way.


(4) Would I be able to easily switch from Warm to Cool to Warm to Cool, the way I can do with the Seuss valves?
Sure, it depends on how far up your new on/off handles are.
 

Terry

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You should install the new pressure balancing valves. Pfister makes some nice ones.
If you need a foot rest, that's something you can add. That sharp copper tubing doesn't look safe, and it's lower than code allows. There should be at least a 1" gap between the top of the tub and the outlet of the spout. Your spout is lower than the flood level.
 

Minni

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Thanks Terry & the rest of you!
I agree with Reach4: replace one or two yellow handle valve(s).

To answer your questions:

(1) Can any of these homedepot faucets-and-Handles be attachable to the "hacked-off" connections you see in my attached pic?
Yes, with some plumbing modifications.

2) Would the homedepot ones stay put, even without a re-tiling job?
Yes, if you attach it in a way that makes it secure. Not finishing the wall leaves an open door for monsters to come out at night. Just kidding.

(3) Would the homedepot ones let me rest my feet for water-therapy the way you see in the pic?
Yes of course, if you set it up in such a way.


(4) Would I be able to easily switch from Warm to Cool to Warm to Cool, the way I can do with the Seuss valves?
Sure, it depends on how far up your new on/off handles are.

dj2 thank you so much... but guess what - in the interim between my post & waiting for a reply, I had gotten discouraged because of the leak and not knowing if any of the homedepot faucets could be truly placed in just such a way that I can get foot therapy..
...and also not knowing if I could easily switch between hot/to/cold with the one-lever setups as compared to two-lever setups.

So due to fear of the unknown, I opted for the known - and kept at my neighbor today. He finally dug up two valves from his basement and connected them later in the day (this time with dark-green valves). And so far so good - they seem to be working fine now, with no drip-dripping water.

He was quite insistent that he'd be able to somehow improvise a hose-spray connection, by hacking off the faucet somewhere in the middle and attaching something to which I can connect a hose when I choose to. But firstly, I wouldn't know how to find such a hose-spray (shower-spray), and secondly, I was nervous about whether the hack-job would work out well.


All this with my blood pressure approx. 158/90 and heart+head palps. And on top of that I'd discovered that my 1950's window-frame and my door-threshold are both rotted (I can put my middle finger into the exterior rot, and my finger goes nearly all the way in, so I'm worried it's affecting the exterior-wall sheetrock too). And on top of that, my magicJack dropping many incoming calls. So there's your smidgen-peephole into many of the days of my life. :eek: But again thanks for the helpful responses!
 
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hj

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The whole thing is already a "hack job" so why would adding a sprayer make it any worse? At least if you get scalded, you can sue your neighbor for installing it. Hope he has a good homeowner's insurance policy/company.
 

FullySprinklered

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You don't get to improvise much on plumbing. Only people who are really bad or people who are really good at it would even try.
 
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