I live in an apartment and I wanted to change the shower head because the showerhead is old. But when I took off the head there was a pipe with a ball at the end of it. So needless to say I was surprised to find this and couldnt change the head and had to return it. Is there something to convert the balled ended pipe into a regular one?
2007-02-20 02:33:41 · 4 answers · asked by fl_gurl2001 1 in Home & Garden ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
It is an old apartment and we are not allowed to pull the pipe out of the wall and replace it. The pipe comes with the ball attached to the end. There is no threads it was made this way. Is there an attachment I could place over it?
2007-02-20 03:49:49 · update #1
The ball end is usually sold as part of many shower heads. There should be a way to unscrew the ball part and be left with a pipe that has threads on it. Can it be unscrewed at all? If that doesn't help, I dont' have any other advice...
2007-02-20 02:40:40 · answer #1 · answered by yodadoe 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The pipe that is going to the shower head has no water in it when the shower is turned off, so it is safe to remove the pipe with a small pipe wrench. Then you can take it to a local hardware store, or Home Depot, & have it sized for the replacement piece. There are typically two different pipes for this, that come already chromed. One is straight, & the other has about a 30 degree bend in it so that it can point down after it's screwed in. When you get the replacement part, don't forget to have some pipe dope, or plumbers thread tape on hand as well. You don't want the new connection leaking inside your walls & damaging them. Meanwhile, I am not sure about the pipe you described with the ball on the end. Are you sure that the ball is not a leftover part from a previously broken shower head? Try to hold the main pipe from turning with a small pipe wrench & see if you can unscrew the "Ball" from the pipe using a vise grip, or a pair of channel lock pliers. Also try to protect the chrome from damage with the pipe wrench teeth by being gentle & not digging them in too hard. If you can remove the ball on the end then there should be some thread to work with, & you won't need to replace the chrome nipple.
2016-05-23 22:36:00 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
As yodadoe observed, you only got half the old head off... there should be a flat section near the end of the pipe to put a pipe wrench around the mount and unscrew it from the shower pipe. Remove the last part and you're good to go with your new installation... wrap a little teflon tape around the threads when you install the new one.
2007-02-20 02:50:49 · answer #3 · answered by 6kidsANDalwaysFIXINGsomething 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This was standard in older homes. Simply get a new shower head pipe and replace the old one with a ball on it. You should find them right next to the new shower heads.
Be sure to put three wraps of teflon tape on the new pipe threads.
2007-02-20 03:43:26 · answer #4 · answered by big_mustache 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋