Help Loosening Glued Copper Fitting

JookyDFW · Jul 9, 2011

Hello all,

About a year ago I hired a plumber to install a new bathtub for my remodel. I decided to have him redo the plumbing instead of doing it my self this time. He plumbed a stub for the shower head which was capped on one side and threwdded to fit into the wall on the other. I kept it on until the tile guys were finished installing the tile (about two weeks ago).

So Now I'm trying to get the stub off but it looks like the plumber glued the threaded side of the stub into the mount inside the wall and it won't come off. The glue looks to be a greenish gray substance. I put one of those specialty pipe sockets on on the fitting and tried to unscrew it but it wouldn't budge. When I added a pipe wrench and started to hear wood crack I stopped and decided to get help.

I'm thinking the plumber made a mistake. Or maybe I made a mistake by sitting on the job for a year. When I have done the bath plumbing in the past I've used teflon tape on the stub. It holds until the tile can get up and allows the stub to be removed easily.

Is there any way to loosen the fitting with some kind of solvent or other process that won't involve smashing the wall?

Thanks,

Roland in Dallas

phishfood · Jul 10, 2011

It sounds as though he used a setting type of pipe dope. Some of that stuff can harden up and make it very difficult to remove the fitting.

Do you have a basin wrench, and is there room to use the basin wrench to hold the fitting while the specialty socket is used on the stub? Or maybe see if you can call the plumber to come remove the stubout?

JookyDFW · Jul 11, 2011

phishfood said:
It sounds as though he used a setting type of pipe dope. Some of that stuff can harden up and make it very difficult to remove the fitting.

Do you have a basin wrench, and is there room to use the basin wrench to hold the fitting while the specialty socket is used on the stub? Or maybe see if you can call the plumber to come remove the stubout?

Nope but I'll Bet Home Depot does and I'm always looking for a reason to get a new tool. Looks like that method will allow me to pop one tile and make a smaller hole to work in.

Thanks for the advice.

RTS

JookyDFW · Feb 14, 2012

I have still not solved my problem. I was wondering if heating the copper might loosen or melt the glue thats holding the fitting in place and allow me to unscrew it.

phishfood · Feb 14, 2012

What is the piping on the other side of the shower ell? Pex, copper, CPVC?

You have to be VERY careful using heat on systems that contain plastic piping, as their tolerance for heat is much less than that of a copper solder joint. If it is copper, you should be able to use some heat, but be careful not to get it hot enough to melt the solder on the shower riser.

JookyDFW · Jul 1, 2012

Problem Solved. I applied low heat to the fitting being careful not to overheat or catch my wall on fire. After about 1 minute I tested the joint and was able to remove the fitting.