I.P.S. faucet 'arms'

[Jay H]

I painted the first coat in my bathroom today, woohoo!

I thought I wouldn't have a question today but guess not though it has nothing to do with the previous questions..

How far from the sheetrock should the faucet arms stick out from the sheetrock? I had a valve problem with a 2 handle Moen Monticello that I was able to fix with a new valve free from Moen's warantee, However, the new valve extenders that are splined were not splined all the way such that when I screw in the handle escutions (sp?) they don't go flush to the wall. I tried to talk to Moen to see why the new valve extenders were like that but they couldn't help me. So I basically put a piece of wood behind it as a large shim.

Now that I have the wall out, I'm wondering if there is anything I could do? I figure there has to be some kind of "standard" that the threaded pipe should extend from the wall and maybe mine stick out too far.. Anybody know this standard well??

Jay

 

[Dune]

Go to your local plumbing supply, ask for the same vavle, look at the installation instructions, thank them.

 

[Jay H]

I think that's the problem, I can't get the same valve extender, the old valve extender broke the nub that is used to stop the lever from free spinning such that when I got a new one from Moen (warantee), the new extender is not the same as my old one. Moen claims it has never changed so either the previous owner found something that is non-standard that works. I know how to install it, I took it apart to change the valve (that also went bad) and I noticed the difference in extenders.

In any case, In order for my sheetrock to clear the lip on my tub, I bought a bunch of 1/8th inch shims and glued it to the studs so when I sheetrock, the sheetrock will clear the lip that is on the tub. I think this shim will help a lot with the gap...

Shelf framing is done, tomorrow I sheetrock the tub and apply the waterproofing...

Jay

 

[John_M]

Jay, We built my new house 5 years ago. Used Moen faucets throughout. Both shower controls came with a plastic spacer which fit over the rough plumbing and indicated how deep we had to set the control so the faucet trim would be flush to the wall. Perhaps you need one of these spacers?

John_M

 

[Jay H]

Maybe, but these faucets came with the house I bought so I don't have the original stuff, nor did Moen ever mention anything when I spoke to them.

Since the sheetrock is now in, I looked at it again and now it's good. I'm actually going to lose more space since I am tiling the bathroom shower, whereas I used to have those prefab walls so I'm going to lose more space too so probably a good thing that I had a decent sized gap before

p.s. Officially checked the faucets, they are good. However, I noticed now my moen tub spout doesn't reach the threaded pipe that comes from the diverter.. Either I get a longer pipe (it's threaded on both ends) or I can hacksaw the tub spout to make it shorter so the threads reach..... I figure they must make longer threaded pipes.. I think mine is 6" though I didn't take it out yet (like to take a bath today)


Jay

 

[Gooserider]

A short length of pipe that's threaded on both ends is generally called a "nipple" - they come in a lot of different lengths, typically 1/2" increments in the shorter lengths, and 1" as you get longer. Best approach is to measure how much too short your current nipple is, with it in place, then pull it out and take it with you to the plumbing shop (or the local hardware store) and find one that is that much longer - might not hurt to "bracket" the purchase by getting one size longer and shorter than the one you think you need...

Gooserider

 

[Jay H]

Goose.. do you know if they make 1/2" nipple female threaded connectors???

I bought a 6" nipple that without the circular hole cover plate that goes behind the tub spout, the tub spout just about reaches the threaded 6" nipple... I am going to have to use a longer one wiht the cover plate installed and I did not see a 7" nipple, they had 2", 3", 4", 5.5", 6" and 8" that I can see. I'm worried that an 8" would be too long... Do you know if they make a 1/2" coupler so I could use a 3" and a 4" or possible 2 3" due to the coupler length...??????

Jay

 

[Highbeam]

Most hardware stores have the ability to cut and thread pipe to whatever length you want. I would rather pay a buck for the custom length than to have a joint in there.

 

[Gooserider]

Goose.. do you know if they make 1/2" nipple female threaded connectors???

I bought a 6" nipple that without the circular hole cover plate that goes behind the tub spout, the tub spout just about reaches the threaded 6" nipple... I am going to have to use a longer one wiht the cover plate installed and I did not see a 7" nipple, they had 2", 3", 4", 5.5", 6" and 8" that I can see. I'm worried that an 8" would be too long... Do you know if they make a 1/2" coupler so I could use a 3" and a 4" or possible 2 3" due to the coupler length...??????

Jay

I would agree with HB on getting a peice cut to length, it is best to avoid extra couplings when you can.

That said, I should point out that pipe nipples are always MALE threads on each end... Normal plumbing pipes are always threaded with male threads, while most fittings have female threads. I think I've seen a coupler type fitting with male on one end, and female on the other, but that is not at all common - far more common is the standard pipe coupler with female threads on both ends. The usual approach for getting a male thread coming out of a fitting is to use a "close nipple" which is a nipple that is just long enough to have the pipe thread on each end with little or no unthreaded surface in the middle.

Gooserider

 

[Jay H]

Called a local hardware store, they don't have 8" stock brass nipples but they do carry gal. steel 8" 1/2" pipe nipples which they can cut and thread for me so I will stop by there after work and buy one. (I did find 1/2" couplers with female threads on both ends in a g. steel)

Jay

 

[Gooserider]

Called a local hardware store, they don't have 8" stock brass nipples but they do carry gal. steel 8" 1/2" pipe nipples which they can cut and thread for me so I will stop by there after work and buy one. (I did find 1/2" couplers with female threads on both ends in a g. steel)

Jay

Double check on whether or not galvanized is appropriate for the application - I know in heating systems it is NOT... (Hydronic heating systems use black iron, copper, brass or PEX) I would suggest sticking with whatever type of material is currently being used...

Gooserider

 

[Jay H]

Called a local hardware store, they don't have 8" stock brass nipples but they do carry gal. steel 8" 1/2" pipe nipples which they can cut and thread for me so I will stop by there after work and buy one. (I did find 1/2" couplers with female threads on both ends in a g. steel)

Jay

Double check on whether or not galvanized is appropriate for the application - I know in heating systems it is NOT... (Hydronic heating systems use black iron, copper, brass or PEX) I would suggest sticking with whatever type of material is currently being used...

Gooserider

The point is now moot. I called Moen and after talking to faucetdepot, where I bought the moen set, which was advertised as Slip-Fit but was not, Moen is sending me a Slip-Fit tub spout for the threaded one. Talking to the Moen rep, the slip fit only needs between 1 1/2" to 3 3/4" nipple extension from the wall to work, unlike a precise 4 1/16" that the threaded one needs. In that case, my original 5.5" brass nipple fits that requirement and I will use that and be done with it... What a project!

Jay

 

[Jay H]

WTF!!

I got the slip fit tub spout today and it says "specifically designed to permit the use of copper water tube on drops and lookouts"

Well guess what, my 1/2" brass nipple doesn't fit... WTF! I am on hold with Moen and was wondering can I even get a 1/2" copper pipe that will thread into the brass fitting?????? I would think that it would be too small...

This is insane. Who's the design engineer who made up this crap!

Jay

 

[Gooserider]

WTF!!

I got the slip fit tub spout today and it says "specifically designed to permit the use of copper water tube on drops and lookouts"

Well guess what, my 1/2" brass nipple doesn't fit... WTF! I am on hold with Moen and was wondering can I even get a 1/2" copper pipe that will thread into the brass fitting?????? I would think that it would be too small...

This is insane. Who's the design engineer who made up this crap!

Jay

Well, copper and PEX are the two pipe materials most commonly used for potable water plumbing, so it isn't totally strange... A lot of plumbers will probably do the setup with soldered copper since that is far easier if you are used to it, especially since you were probably using the same thing to get to the tub, and will have the torch etc. right there...

Given that you have a threaded pipe setup, I would look for a soldered copper to male Inch Pipe Thread (IPT) adapter, and a short length of the appropriate size copper pipe... solder the pipe to the adapter, and screw that in to the fitting...

Gooserider

 

[Jay H]

Actually, I haven't had to do any copper plumbing for the bathroom as I'm using the existing plumbing already, all I had to do was redo the PVC p-trap to the bathtub because I simply cut out that P-trap than to try to get that unassembled. However, I have welding stuff but I didn't have any 1/2" copper so I went to HD and bought a 2' section and the matching coupler with the IPT on the end. Soldered it, cut it to length and now it's finally on... I still don't know why they just make the slip fit fit a nipple, would reduce so many people who need to buy another one just because it's not 4 1/16" from the wall (yeah, that's what the manual says it has to be). In any case, it's working nicely... Now to put the shower door in.... and continue ripping up the floor..

Jay