The shower valve, shower and hot / cold water supply lines are installed. Part 6 of the series is here.
Shower Valve Installation
Moen Shower Head and Valve
To make the holes in the tile wall for the shower valve and shower head, I used a 3 inch and 1.5 inch diamond hole saws on a heavy duty drill. Cutting dry like this generates a lot of dust and a helper held the shop vac hose next to the hole saw to draw away the dust. (A contractor would’ve cut a square hole in the tile before setting and avoided this step, but I liked the neatness of a perfect round hole.)
Cutting the Hole for the Shower Valve
Here I’ve cut through the porcelain tile, cement backer board and have exposed the soft Sheetrock layer.
Hole Saw Progress in the Tile
For the plumbing, I chose the SharkBite solderless fittings, you can get these at Home Depot. The SharkBite fittings are easy to use and a real time-saver.
The shower valve and three (3) threaded fittings for hot water, cold water and the shower head are laid out for assembly.
Shower Valve and SharkBite(R) Solderless Fittings
Pipe joint compound is smeared on the threads of the pipe fittings and tightened with a wrench. The joint compound seals the threads to prevent leaks. It’s necessary to torque the fittings tightly with the wrench. I thread the fittings in by hand and give another two turns with the wrench. Be certain to get the up/down orientation of the elbows correct.
Shower Valve and Pipe Fittings
The plastic base of the shower valve is fitted into the wall. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions according to a thick or thin wall installation. In my case, I have a thick wall consisting of tile
Shower Valve Base
The shower valve is held in place by screws from the finished side of the wall.
Mounting the Shower Valve
This how it looks from the bathroom side of the wall.
Mounting the Shower Valve
The escutcheon is attached to the shower valve with two screws.
Shower Valve Escutcheon
The plastic cogs for the shower valve are slipped into place. You can limit the hot water temperature by adjusting the stop position if desired.
Shower Valve Cogs
The shower handle is held in place by an Allen screw.
Shower Handle
Shower Head Installation
The shower head assembly consists of the SharkBite drop ear elbow and chrome parts provided in the Moen kit. White Teflon plumbers tape is used to seal the pipe threads.
Shower Head Assembly
A 2×4 block is fitted between the wall studs directly behind the hole in the tile wall for the shower head and the center-line of the hole marked.
Mounting Block for Shower Head
The drop ear elbow is attached to the mounting block with three (3) wood screws. Teflon tape is applied to the stem pipe threads and screwed into the elbow.
Notice the bottom connection of the elbow extends just below the bottom of the mounting block, this is to allow easier access for the copper pipe connection.
Mounting Block for the Shower Head
The pre-mounted shower stem is centered in the hole of the tile wall and the mounting block attached to the studs with 3 inch wood screws. This way, the shower stem and drop ear elbow are perfectly aligned in the center of the hole.
Shower Head Mounting Block Alignment
Complete view of the mounts for the shower head and valve.
Shower Head Mount Block and Valve
The next photos show progress for installing the plumbing connections. The SharkBite push-fit system is sweet because you can trial fit the pieces, make precise pipe cuts with no guesswork and disassemble the fittings in seconds. There’s also no worries over torches and flames.
Shower Valve Water Supply Connections - 1
Hot and cold water plumbing connections completed to the shower valve and shower head.
Shower Valve Water Supply Connections - 2
Close-up of the shower valve elbows and T-fittings. The vertical opening of the T-fittings will be connected to the main water supply overhead.
T Fittings
In Part 8 of this series, I’ll make the plumbing connections to the house water supply.
Take care,
Bob Jackson
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