Plumb-heads-- what do I need to replace a shower stem?

[Black]

Rare trip to home center today.... need to be ready to replace a diverter stem and seat when it arrives. Got the appropriate socket and seat wrench already.... wondering what the other little things are that shouldn't be skipped.... do I need some kind of thread sealant? Some kind of grease? Something else?
Thx.

[freeradical]

Teflon tape

[RAMd®d]

Yes, teflon tape.

While you can use too much, it's not easy to do. I tend to use what I think seems like a lot, but there are never any leaks.

Regale us of your adventure with this maintenance as I should be doing the same with my shower. Also, the knob is requiring a lot of effort to turn. It turns smoothly but not all that easily.

I may just pop the cap off and remove the knob to see if there's soap residue or something that can be cleaned off.

You have some silicone sealer for the spout?

[Black]

RAMd®d wrote:

You have some silicone sealer for the spout?

That's a good question. The ...covers that bridge between the walls and the stems (like escutchoens, I guess) were never sealed to the wall and one had actually screwed off (bad situation where tenants are not reporting problems and seem to have a cultural hatred of landlords.)
Seems to me that sealant is not wanted if they're threaded on and can be effectively sealed against the wall that way...?

[Black]

Teflon tape seems like a bad idea to me for the seat... seems like it has potential to interfere with the seating of the valve if there's any excess...?

[RAMd®d]

Seems to me that sealant is not wanted if they're threaded on and can be effectively sealed against the wall that way...?

I guess it's not necessary. All the how-to videos I've seen don't use it, but there's always garbage on the wall, behind the spout. But as long as water is not getting behind the tile or whatever, I guess it's not a problem.


Teflon tape seems like a bad idea to me for the seat... seems like it has potential to interfere with the seating of the valve if there's any excess...?

As pliable as teflon tape is, It would take a *lot* of excess to keep the valve from seating properly. My feeling is when you're dealing with potential water leakage behind walls, teflon is not a bad thing.

Strictly speaking, it's probably not required, but I think it's a good idea anyway. And it will probably make remove the valve a little easier when its time comes

[cbelt3]

Black- since this is a rental unit and you're worried about your tenants tearing the nipple off again, you might want to consider plumber's putty, which hardens a bit tighter than the usual hand pulling tenant can handle. Of course if they're using heavy tools, it won't matter a bit. Alternatively cut a hole, solder the damn thing on there, and fill in the hole.