Shower arm can't reach the recessed drop ear elbow

[jmpadil3]

I had a professional plumber rough-in my new shower and a professional tiler complete the surround, and now it is time to install the shower fixtures. The problem is that now I cannot thread the shower arm or wand handle into the recessed drop ear elbow fittings because the threads do not have enough reach from the back of the trim plate. Any recommendations on a solution?

 

[Terry]

Most arms and hand spray holders allow for more distance into the wall than that. You may need to pick up an assortment of brass nipples and couplings to make up the distance, or solder up a copper female to male adapter the correct length.
I have no idea why a designer would think that was a good design out in the field. You never know how thick a tile surround will be ever. There are so many variables with wall coverings or how even the framing for the wall is.

The other strange think on those shower arms is how much weight they can be, and the distance out from the wall. That's a lot of leverage that can be applied if someone isn't careful.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[WorthFlorida]

This what you need. It may just give you the 1 inch needed. Maybe hard to find but ACE hardware and True Value stores usually have a good assortment of brass fittings. The manufacture of the shower trim kit may have an adapter since this probably isn't the first time this has happened.

https://www.brasscraft.com/product/12-in-fip-x-12-in-mip/

 

[jmpadil3]

Thanks for the reply guys. Very poor design. The solution from the manufacturer is exactly as WorthFlorida stated. I ended up having to cut about 1/2" off of that nipple as well to achieve the clearance needed. In hindsight I should have ran a die over the threads before tightening it in. I'll just have to monitor to make sure there aren't any leaks in the wall.