Rant: Spent 4 hours chasing a phantom leak on a new bathroom install

Had everything buttoned up on a remodel in Springfield, turned on the water, and a tiny drip appeared behind the shower valve. Took apart the entire wall again, checked every joint with a gauge, turned out the factory seal on the valve body itself was faulty. Anyone know a good brand for shower valves that doesn't have this issue?

3 comments

3 Comments

wilson.diana2mo ago

Moen's brass-core valves have been solid for me, but even they can have a bad unit. Did you pressure test the valve alone before you installed it? That's the only real way to catch a factory defect.

iris_adams2mo ago

Yeah, I saw a plumbing forum thread where a guy had three Moen valves fail in a row, all from the same batch. He pressure tested them like @wilson.diana said and they all leaked at the stem right out of the box. Makes you wonder about quality control even on good brands. It's probably rare, but it happens enough that checking first saves a huge headache. I wouldn't install anything without testing it now, even if it's brand new. That extra five minutes can stop a future flood.

angelac632mo ago

Ugh, that's rough. @wilson.diana is right though, testing before install is the only way to catch those duds.