How to Cut Out a Shower Control Valve
- 1). Turn off the water to the shower at the house's main shut-off valve. Turn on the shower, or a faucet nearby, to remove water from the pipes. Mark all three copper pipes 4 inches from where they are soldered to the valve's inlets/outlet.
- 2). Place a tubing cutter around one of the pipes, and tighten the cutter to the pipe so that the blade rests on the mark. Rotate the cutter around the pipe once, and tighten the blade again. Rotate the cutter a second time. Continue tightening the blade and rotating the cutter several times, until the pipe is cut through.
- 3). Place the cutter on one of the other pipes, and repeat the process. Do the same with the third pipe.
- 4). Remove screws holding the valve to the stud wall frame. The screws can be installed through screw holes in the valve body, or inserted through metal strapping that wraps around the valve and wall studs, holding the valve in place. Once all screws have been removed, take out the valve.
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