The Ghetto Shower Saga...

For over a year I've been meaning to replace my bathtub faucet. The diverter valve was stuck in the "up" position which meant that the tub/shower was only being used as a shower.

Cam has been asking for baths lately and so last night I got the brilliant idea to swap out the faucet for a new one. I've had a new faucet on hand for the longest time, but just never made time to swap it out. For some reason, I now think I subconsciously knew what might happen.

To remove the old faucet I remembered those long passed down rules of life: lefty loosey | righty tighty. As I was rotating the faucet to the left it did rotate... but it quickly felt bad. My suspicions were correct when the faucet snapped off. Rats! Suck!


So, I had to cut out a hole into the surround which let me get back to the elbow. I went to my local Home Depot this morning after dropping Cam off at daycare. I bought the necessary components as far as I could tell.

I got home and was able to solder on the new copper elbow joint and faucet. I'm very thankful that I didn't burn my house down as I was soldering very close to a stud in the wall. Luckily, I had some old tin trays that I cut up and tacked to the stud to give it some protection.

And wallah... the new faucet.

So... here's a lesson for you. In retrospect, I think a shot of WD-40 or maybe even a vinegar bath could have been helpful before trying to take the old faucet off.


Now, to find a piece of plastic to cover the hole...