Friends just had their bathroom remodeled. The shower valve is a single-handle model, which, this being California, I believe is required to be anti-scald.
Anyway, when the handle is at 6 o’clock the shower is off. To turn the shower on, they rotate it counter-clockwise. At the 5 o’clock position the water is hot. As you continue to turn the valve, say to 3 o’clock, the water cools down until you get to noon and then it’s cold.
The plumber says “the pipes were backward in the wall”. I say he installed the valve upside down and it is a scald hazard and a code violation. The old shower valve worked correctly: hot was on the left, cold on the right.
Opinions? Anyone know if the building code requires the valve to start with cold? Could the anti-scald function be damaged if the valve is indeed installed backward?
thanks for your help folks
Replies
How do you know it's not anti scald (pressure balance).
I'd have to look up the exact code section, but most places private residences are not required to be anti scald, just public.
What brand is the valve some brands can rotate the cartridge to accomidate reversed hot & cold.
FWIW Oregon has the anti-scald rule in residential IIRC
They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.
Just FYI, anti-scald required here. Either in the valve or a shutoff in the head.
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
It is my impression that the anti-scald is a requirement for residential buildings in most areas with a plumbing code.
In Deltas you can rotate the cartridge.
Bethca could take the face plate off and feel the two side to determine if the Hot is Left and Cold is right to defunt the plumbers assertion of existing conditions.
I installed a Delta with antiscald a month ago and I think it allowed for reversed inlet piping for back to back installations. (one would be conventional and the one behind would be flipped so the hot and cold would not have to cross in the wall)
Don't remember if the body got flipped or just the inards.
I just put a Delta shower valve in my own bathroom yesterday, and yes the inside part could be flipped to reverse the hot/cold.
Most single-handle units can be configured for crossed pipes by reversing the interior assembly. You need to look at the instructions for the unit (demand that the plumber give you them) and see if it can be done for this unit.
Most likely it's just a case of a lazy/sloppy plumber.
Thanks, gents. This valve is a Moen. Anyone know if the Moen's innards can be reversed?
The standard Moens are easy to reverse. Don't know about the anti-scald units, though.
It is an ironic habit of human beings to run faster when we have lost our way. --Rollo May
Many thanks. We'll check it out today.
FYI I told my neighbor about this discussion. He called the plumber and told him to quit making excuses and get his lazy butt back and fix the problem. The plumber came back and reversed the valve and everything is fine. Thanks again for the help.
I had one of those lazy plumbers too. He kept telling me he'd be back to reverse the cartridge. He even tried to get me to do it. I looked at it but didn't have a clue. I sold the place. It was still wrong and the plumber drove by the house every day, year after year. He's obviously not on my referral list. Bob's next test date: 12/10/07
It's funny how some contractors just don't realize when they are shooting themselves in the foot. A positive attitude means so much. Maybe they have plenty of business already, but I would think referrals would matter to them.
We had a major re-build of the electrical service in our two-unit building. The electrician arrived when he said he would, did the work quickly and cheerfully, and then made an extra trip down to the city building department to answer some questions the inspector raised. Now I hand this guy's cards out to every homeowner I know and I've given him good reviews on Angie's List and Yelp.
Same with our painter. A year ago he noticed while driving by our house that there was some peeling in the paint job he'd done a year earlier. He called me up and said he and his crew were coming over that week to fix it, free of charge. I hadn't even noticed the problem! Now I hand his cards out like confetti and have given him glowing reviews on line. He says I've steered $20k worth of work his way, and I was happy to do it.
I think that's why a lot of guys on here are still swamped with work, in a downturn. It's because they care. I've met a bunch of rude shortcutting workers that don't have much of a clue and don't clean up. People sometimes ask me if I know someone I can refer, and those guys are not on the list.