How to Upgrade to a Pressure Balanced Shower Valve | Ask This Old House

Summary by Krater

This Old House plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey shows how to upgrade a leaking RV-style two-valve shower to a modern pressure-balanced shower valve without completely tearing out surrounding fiberglass. Working in a 1944 bungalow, he cuts an access panel in the kitchen wall behind the shower to replace corroded galvanized steel supply pipes with copper before installing a Symmons pressure-balanced valve and trim.

From the video

Answers: How do I upgrade to a pressure balanced shower valve without tearing out the shower surround?

• Plumbing
• Shower valve replacement
• Pressure balanced shower valve
• Galvanized steel pipe replacement
• Copper pipe soldering
• Access panel creation
• Kitchen cabinet removal

What it concludes

• A kitchen cabinet can be temporarily removed to create an access panel for plumbing repairs behind a shower wall.
• Original galvanized steel piping inside building walls corrodes from the inside and should be replaced with copper.
• Soldering copper connections outside the wall before sliding the complete assembly into place makes installation easier.
• A Symmons pressure-balanced shower valve prevents scalding when toilets or other fixtures are flushed.