Loose shower head arm in stone tile

[Gus64]

Hello everyone,

I have a very loose shower head which is mounted behind/in stone tile. Upon closer inspection, the anchor behind the tile is not connected at any of its 4 points/holes and I have no idea how it was secured previously. I am assuming I will need to cut the drywall on the opposite side wall to see what's going on at the shower head arm connection?

 

[Geofd]

Can you remove the shower arm and catch a screw in one or two of the holes???use stainless steel if you can

 

[Gus64]

Can't seem to access anything from the front unfortunately.

 

[RickFlorida]

Ah that stinks to have all that nice stone tile but the shower head is pipe is not secure enough behind it. One option is that the sell stainless steel cover plates (or you can make one I guess) so that you can cut the stone tile enough to anchor the shower head properly, then use a access/cover plate to cover up when done. Not ideal but much cheaper than having the entire wall re-tiled. That's at least a 4500 dollar job where I live.

Another thing you may want to try which is perhaps not a long term solution but could buy you a lot of time and not have cut the tile is to fill up the area there with heavy duty construction epoxy like this:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Quikrete-8-6-oz-High-Strength-Anchoring-Epoxy-862031/203604182
I would use some small pieces of something to wedge the shower head in the middle of the square hole, then fill the area with the construction epoxy, let it dry and cure for at least 12 hours...... If you cant' think of what to use to wedge the shower head in the middle, you can try buying the plastic shimming pieces and cut really small strips, probably need one to go under the shower arm on the inside of tile wall, maybe one or two for sides, make the shower head close to level, then fill up what you can around the shower head and inside that square shape with construction epoxy. Then let it cure for at least 12 hours.

Then you can just put the escutcheon back and you are done! (assuming the anchoring epoxy keeps the shower arm from moving enough to your liking.

Sounds like someone rushed the job earlier and or didn't take the time to inspect how secure things were before they tiled the walls.


I have so many trust issues because of things like this. I do almost all the work on my own house because I want it to last (and I have more time than most working adults).

 

[user 32496]

I am assuming I will need to cut the drywall on the opposite side wall to see what's going on at the shower head arm connection?

That might be the easiest. What's on the other side? Sheetrock isn't that hard to repair.

I used 1x4" boards to secure my valve and shower flanged elbow. Then with a Kreg pocket screw tool, it was easy to secure the board to the studs.



Of course, you would be working from the back side but it's doable.

Here it is after the sheetrock repair.

 

[Gus64]

Thank you to everyone. I was thinking of using epoxy but was concerned it wouldn't hold. Would need to really pack it tight and really let it cure.

 

[Gus64]

So, I did keep trying to access the screw holes in the bracket--barely--and was able to re-attach it to the stud behind it. The original screws were broken off so I had to move it slightly to the right. Was very secure after that but decided to also use the Quikcrete anchoring epoxy. Wow, that stuff is amazing. Used some plastic shims inside the opening and then applied the epoxy. One thing I learned--the hard way--was that I should have done a better job making the surface behind the steel cover flush and even with the wall. Let’s just say I had to use a Dremel, file, and a chisel to remove the excess epoxy after it cured! Lesson learned. Thanks to everyone here for their help!

 

[user 32496]

So, I did keep trying to access the screw holes in the bracket--barely--and was able to re-attach it to the stud behind it. The original screws were broken off so I had to move it slightly to the right. Was very secure after that but decided to also use the Quikcrete anchoring epoxy. Wow, that stuff is amazing. Used some plastic shims inside the opening and then applied the epoxy. One thing I learned--the hard way--was that I should have done a better job making the surface behind the steel cover flush and even with the wall. Let’s just say I had to use a Dremel, file, and a chisel to remove the excess epoxy after it cured! Lesson learned. Thanks to everyone here for their help!

Any pictures?

 

[Gus64]

Any pictures?

Unfortunately, I got too wrapped up in trying to complete the work and apologize and regret not taking pics. I did have a bracket behind the tile that had three holes like in your photo. I barely had room to access them but I managed.

One thing about that epoxy is that it's a one-time use material. Which kind of sucks because at around $28.00 I would have liked to keep it and use it again. I did wrap it up tight but doubt I will be able to use it again. Darn shame because I didn't use very much.