If you have a shower-bathtub combination in your bathroom, you then surely have a shower diverter which as its name suggests diverts water to the shower head from the tub spout and back to the spout when needed. Show
There are different ways to install a shower diverter in your bathroom. You may have a:
In this post I will show you how to replace all the types of shower diverters, starting with the shower diverter valve since it is the most time consuming. The signs of a bad shower diverter are a leaking bathtub faucet when the shower is on, not enough hot water, unbalanced/irregular water flow, sticky handle/knob or a sudden gash of hot water when someone flushes the toilet or runs another appliance. To replace a shower diverter valve, turn off water to the faucet and remove the faucet handle and escutcheon. Retrieve the old valve with a shower valve socket wrench and install the new valve. Open the water and test the valve while diverted to the tub spout or shower head. To replace pull-up shower diverters, you will first need to establish if they are slipped-on or threaded to the water supply pipe. If threaded, loosen it with a wrench but if slipped-on remove an Allen wrench at the bottom of the spout and then slide it out. How to Replace a Shower Diverter ValveThis is the kind of valve you have if you have a 3-handle shower faucet in your bathroom. As I had mentioned earlier, the middle handle/valve is usually the shower diverter valve. Water flows from both the hot and cold faucet valve and when it reaches the shower diverter it flows either to the bathtub spout/spigot or shower head depending on the position of the valve. A shower diverter valve has rubber washer at the front which seals against a valve seat installed in the faucet body. When the rubber washer is in contact with the valve seat, a watertight seal is created allowing water to flow to the shower head but not tub spout. With the time, due to the friction between the rubber washer and the valve seat, the washer starts to wear out, failing to seal properly. This is the main reason you will have water leaking from the bathtub spout when you have already diverted it to the shower head. The shower diverter valve has 2 O-rings also which can as well wear out causing leaks. This is how to replace a shower diverter valve. 1. Turn off Water to the ValveThere will be 2 handles supplying water to the shower diverter valve, one on each side. Turn them off. The advantage of replacing the shower diverter valve unlike the other valves is that you do not need to turn off water to the whole house. If you however decide to replace the 3 valves, you must turn off water to the entire house. After that, turn on the shower faucet and drain out the water trapped in the pipes. 2. Plug off the DrainYou do not want to drop anything and lose it to the drainpipe. For this reason, you should start by plugging off the bathtub drain opening. Since you will also be working from inside the bathtub, wipe off water from it to prevent the risk of slipping, or better still have an old towel or rag to step on. 3. Remove the HandleThe Shower diverter handle will be connected to the valve stem using a screw, The screw may be visible at the front of the handle but in most causes it will be concealed by a small plastic/rubber cap.
4. Remove the EscutcheonAn escutcheon is the trim plate which hides the valve opening on the wall. The escutcheon will either be threaded on the valve stem or held in place using a retaining nut. Before attempting to remove the escutcheon, check if it is caulked to the wall. If it is, cut through the caulk with a putty knife. Unscrew the escutcheon if it is threaded to the valve stem. If secured with a retaining nut, loosen the retaining nut and pull it out. Sometime you may have to tap the escutcheon gently with a light hammer to loosen it before pulling it out. Note: You do not always need to remove the escutcheon. If in your assessment you can retrieve the valve with the escutcheon still in place, go ahead and do exactly that. 5. Retrieve the ValveIn most cases, the shower diverter valve will be recessed inside the bathroom wall. This makes it very hard to retrieve with an ordinary wrench. To make these easy for you, your new valve will most likely come with a shower valve socket wrench. If it doesn’t, dash to your nearest home improvement store and grab one. They are all universal.
6. Install the New Valve
If everything checks out as intended, you have successfully replaced the shower diverter valve How to Replace a Pull-Up/Spigot Shower DiverterIf you bathtub spout has a knob at the top of the spout, that is the shower diverter. In essence, to replace these types of shower diverters means replacing the bathtub spout/spigot There are 2 types of these types of pull-up shower diverters:
Threaded shower diverters as their names implies are threaded to the water supply pipes, while slip-on diverters are slipped on the pipe and secured using a screw. To know what type of diverter you have run you finger on the underside of the spout. If you feel a small hole, that is where the screw is connecting the spout to the water pipe and you therefore have a slip-on shower diverter. How to Replace a Slip-on Shower Diverter
How to Replace a Threaded Shower Diverter
In some cases, you will encounter water supply pipes with a brass adapter after removing the spout. These adapters are used to increase the length of the pipe. The adapters will be threaded to the pipe, slipped-on or even soldered. Replacing threaded or slip-on brass adapters is easy. Soldered adapters will need a torch to remove and replace, which is DIY most homeowner will (and should) steer clear from. For more information on that check out this post. |