OOPS...now what..???

[14tidewater]

I was replacing a shower head in my master bath shower...i thought it was on tight but it continued to spray...so, I cranked on it a little more and the tip of the shower arm (with some of the threads) broke off (and is now stuck into my new shower head...AARGH!!)

But, my big concern is how do I fix the shower so that I can attach a new shower head...??

PLEASE REPLY!!!!!!!!!

[LazyPup]

You stated that the tip of the shower arm broke off, so I am assuming you have a chrome plated PVC shower arm.

Inside the wall the shower arm is screwed into a 90 deg transition fitting that has 1/2 inch NPT (National Pipe Taper) threads on the end pointing toward the shower arm. The transition fitting also has little mounting ears which should be screwed to some wood blocking in the wall.

You should be able to grip the shower arm with a pair of slip joint pliers and unscrew it from the transition fitting. Once it is unscrewed, pull it out and screw in a new shower arm. (Be sure to put 5 or 6 good wraps of Teflon Thread tape on the pipe threads before you screw it in.

You should then be able to slip the chrome trim escutcheon ring over the new shower arm and slide it up tight against the wall.

To remove the broken plastic from your shower head wrap the shower head nut with a rag to protect the finish, then hold it tight with the slip joint pliers and jam a flat screw driver into the remaining bit of the plastic waste arm and unscrew it.

Check the mounting instructions for your new shower head. Some shower heads have a rubber gasket that goes inside the nut, then the nut is scewed onto the shower arm. If you have that style, make sure the rubber gasket is in place (it may have fallen out unnoticed.)

If your shower head has a conventional 1/2 inch female pipe thread fitting, begin by applying 5 or 6 wraps of Teflon tape on the threads of the shower arm, then screw the shower head on. Once you have it screwed on hand tight it should only require about 1/2 to one full turn to seal it.

[14tidewater]

thanks for the reply..the shower arm is chrome not PVC and the piece stuck in the shower isnt plastic.

Ill start to try and fix it...thanks.