Can I replace my shower controls?

It seems like every shower has its own unique way of controlling water temperature and pressure. Of all the showers I’ve ever used, no two of which have ever been alike, I like my controls the least. Plus the faucet has started dripping lately.

Is this likely to be something I can replace on my own, without a plumber? To me, that means: Can I likely do this without damaging the wall, without having to mess with pipes, and without needing to do anything involving words like “hacksaw”, “weld”, or “plumbing torch”?

Basically I believe in my ability to buy a faucet and control thingie from Home Depot; to use screwdrivers, allen wrenches, pliers, and regular wrenches; to use things like plumbing tape, lubricants, and caulk; and to remember to turn the water off to the house.

Would a project like this likely require anything more complex than that? I tend to prefer shower controls that have separate knobs for hot and cold, but I figure going from a one-knob setup to a two-knob setup is definitely going to require reconfiguring the plumbing. Should sticking with a one-knob solution be okay?

I don’t know if it matters but I live in Florida in the US, and this place was built in the 1980s. I doubt this matters, but my current controls work by turning the larger knob left or right for temperature, and the smaller knob for pressure.

My place does have some annoyances - like the front door is an uncommon size that’s difficult to find replacements for at places like Home Depot. Is there any chance of me running into issues like that when it comes to things like the size of the pipe openings?

Thanks for any insight.

Edit: Thanks for all the replies. It’s pretty clear now that this is something that could very easily end up a lot more involved and time consuming and property damaging than I’m comfortable with.

slazer2au,

Very likely yes, there is a YouTube channel called This Old House they have many videos on home maintenance by experienced people.

Semi-Hemi-Demigod,
@Semi-Hemi-Demigod@kbin.social avatar

A YouTube channel called This Old House

I remember when it was Bob Vila and Norm Abrams on PBS. Glad to see they’ve made the digital transition.

cedarmesa, (edited )
@cedarmesa@lemmy.world avatar

💀

Macaroni_ninja,
@Macaroni_ninja@lemmy.world avatar

This comment sums it up pretty much, also depends where the hot and cold water supply connects to the valve behind the tiles you might need to remove more tiles around it or make the cavity for the valve bigger to re-route the pipes. Some concealed valves have the connection points on the sides, some on the bottom, etc. Also they can be different size from the current one. Best case scenario of you can access it from the other side of the wall, that makes things probably a bit easier and less mess in the bathroom.

Good news is once you remove the old valve you can fit pretty much any type of valve: thermostatic or manual mixer depending on what you are looking for.

I would definitely not call it an easy DIY project, but everything is doable.

zkfcfbzr,

Thank you for the detailed response.

Is there any way I could accomplish part of my goal without getting into the complex work you described? For example, what if I left the controls alone but tried to replace just the faucet, for the drip issue? Or if I were able to locate the exact same controls, would it still require all of that work to replace them? I ask that question because the pressure knob is slightly broken, after being overtightened in an attempt to slow the drip. I’m concerned it may eventually break more completely.

bstix,

If you have the same thermostat control, it should be (relatively) easy. You probably don’t need to swap the faucet. It’s dripping because of the thermostat.

Macaroni_ninja,
@Macaroni_ninja@lemmy.world avatar

The drip is the reason of the valve failure. It can be a limescale issue or just simply an old valve. Whatever part is controlling the waterflow (control unit, cartridge, etc) can be replaced if its still available.

Contract the manufacturer for spare parts advice and they should also have instructions on how to replace it.

cedarmesa, (edited )
@cedarmesa@lemmy.world avatar

💀

zkfcfbzr, (edited )

Images: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

The leak got a lot worse pretty suddenly - so it’s now leaking something like a few gallons an hour I’d guess (Though water is the one utility we don’t pay for here, so it’s annoying but not world-endingly urgent). So I decided it was time to get around to this - but when I got to the point in the images, which is right after the escutcheon you mentioned, I was no longer certain how to proceed.

Based on the images, is this still a relatively simple job that I can do with one or two trips to Home Depot? I don’t really know what I’m looking at here - do I grab the white part with pliers and yank it out (Or twist if it’s threaded)? If so, is the rest of your advice still relevant - take the seals to Home Depot and look for as close a match as I can, since I looked and looked and couldn’t find a manufacturer’s name?

As of right now I’ve re-assembled it and turned the water back on. I did get a look at the pipes at least and they seem to be copper. There’s drywall behind the pipes that I would absolutely be willing to let a plumber tear into to avoid tile work. If I did end up calling a plumber, and nothing went wrong, do you happen to know the general ballpark of what it may cost?

Also, sorry. I know I’m asking for a lot of information and advice here. If you’re not up for another round of free advice I’d totally get it.

I went ahead despite the uncertainty and it all seems to have worked out. Instead of finding replacement seals I replaced the entire cartridge - I was able to find what was a pretty-much-exact match. The only problem I had is the set screw for the escutcheon wouldn’t keep it tight anymore - but I found another that worked. The old cartridge was so loose that I thought the new one was subtly the wrong size when it offered a large amount of resistance going in - because the old one would slide in and out with no resistance whatsoever.

Thanks for the help - your comments in this thread more than any other went above and beyond.

cedarmesa, (edited )
@cedarmesa@lemmy.world avatar

💀

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