I am guting my shower stall and want to rip it down to the studs. my plumber can’t get in until next week and i was wondering if I needed to have the plumbing capped off prior to demo or if I could just remove the shower body cover and shower head fixture and pull off existing tile walls, “then” have the plumber in to rough out for new work and capp of water lines before closing back up?
I was told the plumbing needs to be capped off prior to walls being ripped out, but don’t see whay i couldn’t rip walls out first and then have plumber come in. The plumber would have to bust through the walls anyway if he came in first, to get to the water lines, so i figured I would be alright with demo, then plumber coming to rough in new shower body etc…. Thoughts?
(I know very little about plumbing procedure)
Replies
Mick
I can almost guarantee that you'll bump something while taking it down, and either get a quick shower or end up with a wet paste all over the place.
How about this-
Get a couple sharkbite caps and put those on. Same deal as him capping. Best bet-go down a bit on the straight tree of copper (below the valve), cap there.
Edit: another thought-remember, busting the pipes will cause (could cause) damage below. Be very careful and maybe turn the water off to this part of the bathroom-if possible while working on it.
Of course, to put the SharkBites on he's got to open the wall.
That's why they call it work.
Remodeling isn't as easy as it sounds.
And sure, he's got to cap below the trim access-that's why he shuts down the water to that area and gains access.
My point being that he could go ahead and get drenched or cap it. That's all. Best to cap it than turn the water on only to return to the room and find a geyser.
You should be able to remove the knob and trim from the shower control, unscrew the shower head stem, and then begin demo. You do, of course, need to be careful to not damage the plumbing behind the walls. (And check if there is access from behind to reach any possible shutoff valves -- they may or may not be there.)
Stuff something (rag, tennis ball, etc) into the drain before you start to keep debris out of the drain.
Good info guys, thanks.
My plan is to cut out the walls around the perimeter with multitool and take the wallboard out in sections. So I plan to cut out an area around the shower body carefully therby allowing me to take it all out in large section, being clear of the shower body, as to not "bump" it as mentioned and end up with a mess.
Being careful is always a good idea, but plumbing will need more than a "bump" to do real damage to it.
Go ahead with your demo first, not only to save time, but to keep your plumber from charging you for an extra trip.
"When we were finishing our house, we found we had a little cash left over, on account of the plumber not knowing it.."--Mark Twain, in "The Mcwilliamses and the Burglar Alarm."
(Though, before you start, it is wise to move all the suitcases stacked up against the main shutoff, and maybe make sure that the shutoff turns.)
I've done more bathroms and kitchens than I could even guess and have never capped off plumbing first. Just di a shower demo Monday. We pulled the trim and torn the tile and backer off so the plumbers could get to the pipes. They came in yesterday , did their demo and rough at the same time. Saved me time and money.