shower pipe

[Chenoa]

My kids broke the bathtub tap spigot from the shower pipe behind the wall. Any easy way to access the pipe (shower pipe) so it can be replaced. No access to it from bedroom behind the bathroom without going through sheetrock.

[admin]

In any sheetrock home, factory or site built, there is only one way to get at the pipes encased in the wall. That is to cut a hole in the sheetrock. I have had to replace shower components in my rental homes many times. We have made a practice of opening full access, almost the entire height of the wall and 12 to 24 inches wide. After we make the repairs we make a cover for the hole out of quarter inch smooth plywood and screw it over the opening then paint it the exact color of the wall. This makes for an access that you can easily use again when you need it in the future.

If the access location is in an area where a cover panel would stick out and be cosmetically inappropriate it is not difficult to repair with sheetrock and restore the original appearance.

"Drywall (sheetrock) has saved homeowners thousands of dollars not only in the initial cost of their homes but in the cost of repairs. Over it's eight decades, drywall has evolved from a builder's money-and-timesaver to a do-it-yourselfer's dream! Having great looking walls and ceilings no longer needed a skilled plaster tradesman. Today, most any able-bodied homeowner can tackle a drywall installation or repair project."

See the articles on sheetrock repair at http://www.naturalhandyman.com/iip/infd ... ywall.shtm