Hi Spiro, Have you tried loosening the valve first? That is, turn the hot water tap on about half way at least with the shut-off closed of course to keep the actual hot water from spraying out then see if the nut will come loose.
If the valve is tight shut as it probably is to keep drips from dripping it will be forcing the threads pretty tight, opening it may reduce that enough to make it removable. You might also try shifting it ever so slightly tighter before trying to loosen it. Last thing I can thing of is to tap on the vice grips or more preferably an open or box wrench with a hammer or even a gentle tap on the end of the stem but do that gently. You certainly don't wish to break anything, that will be a big problem to fix. Let us know how it goes. Dale Leavens, Cochrane Ontario Canada [EMAIL PROTECTED] Skype DaleLeavens Come and meet Aurora, Nakita and Nanook at our polar bear habitat. ----- Original Message ----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [email protected] Sent: Tuesday, September 18, 2007 3:34 PM Subject: [BlindHandyMan] plumbing delemna Hi, I want to state this clearly so you guys have the clearest picture of what is up and the thread doesn't die in confusion with me short of an answer. I have a tiled shower stall. No tub there, just stall all tiled. There are two separate faucets and one standard shower head. On the other side of the wall, there is a service door I can access.I've been in and I see two shut offs. I see what seems to be rough concrete, and wall studs. I've replaced washers both delta and standard before. The shower leaks, drips, and I want to stop wasting water. So I turn off the water. I unscrew the handle of the hot water, as it is determined that when the hot is on, the drip starts again. The cold is off for safety. I remove the hot handle, and the chrome cover beneath that, (it is a hide the hole cover) and the threading that keeps the cover on the stem. Now normally on something like a utility tub, or outside faucet; the next thing is to wrench out the threaded stem assembly at the bottom of which there is a washer. i would then fit it to an assortment of washers I have replace it with some teflon tape and be done. I put some vice grips on the visible not and tried to turn out the stem. No go. I tried again, and still no go. I even chipped the tile a little. Before I go buying specialized tools, getting penitrating oil down the wall, or break anything.... Is there another kind, or am I missing something very obvious? The ceramic tile, the length of the stem, and the tightness of the assembly make me less than confident to try past what I've already done. What am I missing, other than a brain? Thanks [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
