Need emergency plumbing help! It's raining in our den!

[delliottg]

The shower mixer valve in our master bath broke off in my hand this morning, which started a literal cascade of events. The valve (which is a POS, but not easily changed out) has been replaced successfully by me a couple of times since I bought the house, but the current one is irreparable and I don't have a spare (I usually order two when I order them). I've got the master water turned off and I've tried to flange off the valve body three times with no success. This last time resulted in water pouring out one of our downstairs windows as well as directly beneath the tub (which is roughly 10' horizontally away, no idea how the water got there). We currently have no water (well, I've got some in a couple of 5 gallon containers, so we're not totally out).

Anyone in south SnoHo, east King counties a plumber who could help us out? I know when I'm licked and I'm afraid of causing any more damage. Not looking for case of beer kind of help, I expect to pay you for your time, would rather give the business to a WaGuns member if I can, but I'll be looking for a local plumber pretty soon, Rita's researching local guys in Duvall right now.

[jukk0u]

You've "tried to flange off the valve"? I think you dropped a word or two in your haste?

If you can (or maybe this is what you were trying to do?) get the trim plate off of the valve. Sometimes there are stops on the valve body, where the water lines connect. Righty tighty with a screw driver.

[delliottg]

You've "tried to flange off the valve"? I think you dropped a word or two in your haste?

If you can (or maybe this is what you were trying to do?) get the trim plate off of the valve. Sometimes there are stops on the valve body, where the water lines connect. Righty tighty with a screw driver.

Nope, that's what I meant to say. I drilled a flat plate of aluminum (the flange) to match the holes of the POS mixer valve (which is completely gone from it's valve body, and literally broken and irreparable), made a gasket with with some butyl tape and tightened up all the bolts to snug it down onto the bronze (brass?) valve body. Except when I turned on the water with Rita watching, she described it as a "starburst" of water coming from behind the plate. Whoever the idiot plumber was that originally put it in soldered the screw on joints directly to the pipe (no fittings), so I can't easily remove the whole POS and replace it. Although I'm beginning to think about a complete remodel to include a new tub and enclosure with a good instead of POS shower valve.

When I pulled the plate off after this last attempt (I've made three with three different gasket materials, which all failed), I noticed the butyl tape was only compressed along one side, which would explain the "starburst" effect she described. What I may do tomorrow is go down to the local Ace & pick up some longer bolts, the ones for the original are just barely grabbing due to the difference in thickness between the aluminum plate & the original POS plastic mixer assembly POS.

For the time being we've got the water off to the whole house which is freaking Rita out, but we've still got a slow leak at the valve body which I can't seem to stop, I'll probably tie a string from the valve body down into the tub so the water drips into a bucket that we can use to flush toilets with.

Sigh, the joys of home ownership...

[usrifle]

Man, that sucks. I think you may just need to call a Plumber at this point, though you could cut the pipe and solder some caps on for the time being.
You may be forced to open the wall a bit to do that, but with all the water inside the walls you might have to do that anyway.
Water damage is no joke, i used to do that for a living a long time ago. If it's running through walls and ending up downstairs it may be time to make a homeowners claim and let a contractor handle it....That gets expensive in a hurry.

[dreadi]

I don't understand what's going on. Do you have a leak a place where to pieces meet? Do you have some Rescue Tape that you can wrap around it so you can turn the water back on?

[delliottg]

Yeah, already thinking about an insurance claim.

The water mixer part of the valve literally broke the operating stem off, which opens the valve to atmosphere and water gushes out. I've removed the mixer valve from the body inside the wall and I'm trying to flange of the valve body. I don't want to cut the pipe unless I have to, and I figure at that point it's beyond my pay grade.

[Sinus211]

Yes on the insurance claim. With the amount of water you've had come out there is permanent damage that will need to be repaired. If you just button the walls back up with that much moisture inside you're creating an environment for mold and inviting a much bigger problem. Call your insurance company asap and tell them you had water coming out of the ceiling and you need a water damage crew to come out immediately.

Also consider contacting Everett Bill to see if he can help you. He does water damage restoration and is a great guy to work with.

[delliottg]

Yes on the insurance claim. With the amount of water you've had come out there is permanent damage that will need to be repaired. If you just button the walls back up with that much moisture inside you're creating an environment for mold and inviting a much bigger problem. Call your insurance company asap and tell them you had water coming out of the ceiling and you need a water damage crew to come out immediately.

Also consider contacting Everett Bill to see if he can help you. He does water damage restoration and is a great guy to work with.

I was hoping you'd chime in, didn't want to bug you with the new baby. Thanks for the advice.

[Sinus211]

Yes on the insurance claim. With the amount of water you've had come out there is permanent damage that will need to be repaired. If you just button the walls back up with that much moisture inside you're creating an environment for mold and inviting a much bigger problem. Call your insurance company asap and tell them you had water coming out of the ceiling and you need a water damage crew to come out immediately.

Also consider contacting Everett Bill to see if he can help you. He does water damage restoration and is a great guy to work with.

I was hoping you'd chime in, didn't want to bug you with the new baby. Thanks for the advice.

don't tell the insurance company that you attempted any repairs as they may try to assign you some liability for the damages. Just play the helpless homeowner who says "omg, a leak!" and turns off the water.

[OhShoot!]

One of my biggest fears. Damn. Water can be a real bitch.

[NWGunner]

Yes on the insurance claim. With the amount of water you've had come out there is permanent damage that will need to be repaired. If you just button the walls back up with that much moisture inside you're creating an environment for mold and inviting a much bigger problem. Call your insurance company asap and tell them you had water coming out of the ceiling and you need a water damage crew to come out immediately.

Also consider contacting Everett Bill to see if he can help you. He does water damage restoration and is a great guy to work with.

I was hoping you'd chime in, didn't want to bug you with the new baby. Thanks for the advice.

don't tell the insurance company that you attempted any repairs as they may try to assign you some liability for the damages. Just play the helpless homeowner who says "omg, a leak!" and turns off the water.

+10000 on the play stupid (okay, maybe you're not playing...)

Just kidding....sorry for your plight.....don't disclose you've attempted ANY prior repairs....

Hope it all goes well.