Tub spout moves, doesn't seem secure...

[FlynHokie]

Hello all.

Bathroom is nearly complete. I go the swanstone walls up, tile floor laid, sink/toilet ready to put in.

I installed the shower head and trim for the Pressure Balance valve today (GroheSafe). I'm using Grohe Eurosmart trim and spout.

When prepping for the new tub (cast iron) install, and shower wall (swanstone) install, I had to rework all the water pipes to shift them left so they would line up with the center of the new tub. I anchored the verticle pipe going down to the spout to a 2x4 just above the 90deg joint. I left plenty of pipe sticking through the wall to allow enough to cut off during spout install.

The spout is a slip on spout. Today, I cut the pipe per Grohe's Tech Support recommendations of a couple of inches past the O-Ring. I installed the pipe, and tightened the set screw. I have 2 issues with the installation, I could use some help on.

#1) The spout moves quite a bit (at the end of the spout, it moves ~1/4" left right, 1/8" up down with minimal force applied to the end of the spout). It is, infact, the pipe that is moving, not the spout, as I could tell when I removed the spout and moved the pipe. Appears I didn't anchor the pipe strong enough (though I don't know how much more I could have anchored it, as I used 2 of the copper pipe anchor/clamps on the 2x4 just above the 90deg joint). Any thoughts on how to fix this?

#2) there is ~1/16" gap between the spout and the finished wall. I can't get the spout to stay flush against the wall. The reason seems that the plastic inards of the spout stick out past the metal base of the spout. When you set the spout up vertically on the table, it rests on the plastic inards, not the metal. Is this wrong? Is there a way to get the spout closer to the wall? FYI, it sin't the length of the pipe being too long.

Thoughts appreciated.

FlynHokie

 

[Jc60618]

If you have a small gap between the spout and wall you can get away with using caulk to hide the seam.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[FlynHokie]

Used caulk, and it looks Ok, though not as clean as I'd hope w/ a flush mount. Still concerned about the movement of the pipe. Could it cause possible damage to the pipe in the future, with kids grabbing on it during bathtime?

 

[hj]

Your problem is that although you anchored the drop pipe, you did not secure it against rotation. Preventing rotation is the main reason plumbers use "drop ear elbows" at that location. At this stage there is nothing you can do to correct it other than "glue" the spout to the wall with caulking.

 

[FlynHokie]

A drop ear is the one that sweats onto the vertical, screws into the wall, and threads into the horizontal? Similar to the one that goes into the shower head? Darn, i was debating using one of those, but decided go go with what was in there before.

Is it a good bet that this will be an issue in the future with movement?

 

[Jadnashua]

You can get a drop ear that has solder sockets and with threaded sockets. Some people like to use brass for the extension that holds the spout as it is stiffer than copper pipe. WIth it screwed into blocking and a stiffer pipe, the spout is as rigid as it gets. I think it was Sioux Chief that came out with a neat spout that, once attached, had another mechanism to tighten it to the tub wall. Somebody, I think Terry, posted about it maybe 6-months ago. WOn't solve your problem as the pipe is not truly secure, though.

 

[hj]

There are also copper to copper drop ear elbows for use with slip on spouts like you have, but again it is too late for that now. If it is secured to the wall there is not likely to be any problems, at least until you have to remove the spout some day.

 

[FlynHokie]

Thanks for the responses. From an access panel in the back, I think I might be able to clamp the horizontal pipe to a board to hopefuflly get rid of the rotation in the vertical pipe, which is most of the movement I think i'm seeing.

I was also thinking of of trying to secure the pipe in some spray-in foam. Is that a very bad idea, or do you think it might help stop some movement. The stuff dries pretty rigid, and it might get rid of some of the movement. Problems I see with it are future repairs being a pain.
Thoughts?