Question about bath fixture placement.

Paul Downes

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Westphalia, Michigan
I am installing a new bathroom in the house. This is going in a room formerly used as a laundry room and is between the back porch and the kitchen. My question has to do with where I put the shower and bathtub fixtures and plumbing. Formerly I have understood that the fixture valves and plumbing should have an access panel should one need to service them.

My problem is that where I would prefer to put them would be in the kitchen wall. ( Hard to access when the kitchen cabinets are in the way) The back porch wall gets quite cold and there is a beam under the floor that the outside wall rests on and I would have to bore into the beam to run any water line in.

I have been considering doing this using PEX tube. I usually use copper or PVC, but I think PEX is more robust when it comes to possible freezing.

So, do I make an access panel or not?
 
In my house repair jobs over the years, I have rarely seen an access panel for the bath plumbing. I think they are nice, but they usually don't happen.:)

In your situation, I would rather have the plumbing on an inside wall without a panel than on a cold outside wall with one.

Ike
 
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Ditto what Wayne said.

But it does depend on the floor plan and layout. Take a look at Ned's shower over in that thread. The fixtures are in a stub wall that sticks out from the side wall. So it will be fairly easy to access
 
My wife was raised in a log cabin in Colorado. She didn't get indoor plumbing until she was a senior in high school and had moved to California.

Paul, from what I have heard from Myrna I will answer your question.

Your question was, "Question about bath fixture placement." My answer is that I have heard that it is a lot better if the bath fixtures are in the house. I hope that helps you.

Enjoy,

JimB
 
My wife was raised in a log cabin in Colorado. She didn't get indoor plumbing until she was a senior in high school and had moved to California.

Paul, from what I have heard from Myrna I will answer your question.

Your question was, "Question about bath fixture placement." My answer is that I have heard that it is a lot better if the bath fixtures are in the house. I hope that helps you.

JimB

hah, that's funny right there. I was an outhouse user until I was about 8 or so.. I can still remember when I first knowingly saw indoor plumbing, freaked me out that people would do THAT in the house.. I mean where does it go????

For the OP - yep sure would be nice to have, but in ~5 houses I've been in I've never actually seen it happen. You could probably make a removable back to one of the kitchen cabinets, but odds are good that its not worth it. If you have a problem that needs an access panel you're probably looking at removing large parts of the wall, the floor and who knows what else...
 
If you have to do anything to the shower valve that requires an access panel. There is a 99% chance that you will be replacing the sheetrock on that wall anyways.:thumb::doh: All the houses That I have built have not had any access panels for the shower valves. Most repairs can be done from in the shower. If it's beyond repair the chance that the leak has caused other things to go bad and need to be replaced.
 
Hi Again,

None of the houses I have lived in have had access to the bath tub or shower plumbing.

We did get access to the bath tub plumbing one time. A plumber set his blow torch on the floor with the flame aimed at the wall---then he went out to his truck to get something. This caused us to get all sorts of company---you know, fire trucks and other emergency equipment. That ended up being one heck of a plumber's bill.

It was NOT enjoyed by all. However, I will end this with my usual,

Enjoy,

JimB
 
I've lived in a number of houses with access panels, but in only one of them have I actually used the access panel. Our current house has an access panel to the bathtub (but not shower) fixtures, and I go it there from time to time when I need to snake the bathtub drain. That way I can bypass the trap and get straight to the drain pipe.
 
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