Bathroom faucet replacement

[John Rousch]

The supply lines to the bathroom faucet are leaking like a sieve and I'd like to replace the whole faucet, and also the shower/ bath fixture doesn't work.

The space is very tight to get to the fixtures. Any suggestions on what to do? How does one open up the area to be able to work on it?

Is there a way to open things up and get access from the inside?

Right now I'm "dry" since I can't run the pump without flooding the back end.

Thanks,

John

[TennTex]

In my '71, a trim piece running from the shower wall around to the street-side cabinet covers the top edge of the plastic counter/sink. This has to be removed to allow the removal of the sink. Another length of trim is pop-riveted to the connection between the counter/sink and the plastic support under it. Drill out these rivets to remove the trim, and the sink lifts out to allow plumbing access from above. My sink faucet can be removed from the rear hatch opening, but the shower assembly cannot.

Your bathroom plastic may be different, and this may not apply. Any pics?

Alan

[John Rousch]

Thanks Alan,

I'll try and upload some pictures

[TennTex]

My bath is the same, the only difference being the upper edge of the sink piece is trimmed out on mine just below the window. Nonetheless, the sink can be lifted out as I mentioned before. It looks as though your trim (above and below the sink piece) is the same unobtainable two-piece plastic as mine. The cover part is a "C" that clips over the entire lower part, both made of incredibly brittle material. If you carefully pry the cover off and then drill out the rivets holding the lower section, you can salvage these, and they look great cleaned and painted.

Once the sink is lifted out, you'll have full access to the plumbing. I went with all new fixtures and pex lines, although mccrosti posted that he got a new tub fixture cartridge from Moen and salvaged his for about 50 bucks. I couldn't find a new fixture with an escutcheon plate small enough to fit, so I modified the old plate to a new fixture.

The connector to the shower hose can be a problem to replumb from the back. If the original copper fitting is sound, you may want to cut the copper line to it with just enough length to connect to your new line with a Shark Bite fitting. This may make more sense when you get a look back there; it's hard to describe.

Keep us updated on your progress,
Alan

[John Rousch]

Thanks Alan, good to know what I'm dealing with. The Shark Bite and Pex was what I was thinking, I had to use it already on the main supply line.

I'm considering putting in a new sink, faucet and plumbing something new for the shower/bath. As long as I can get to the pipes I can re-work it.

I'll keep you posted. Thanks again.

John