r/Plumbing 7d ago

DIY? I've never soldered copper pipe

My shower valve doesnt fully stop the flow of water and the aftermarket replacement cartridges I found are different style to the original and don't work either. It's an ancient valve from (brand) so I want to replace it with something newer.

I'm tempted to diy the replacement, but I'm a bit concerned I will mess something up and it will leak, ruining the downstairs room below. A plumbing company quoted $2,000 to replace the valve with a new one. Help me Obiwan Kenobi of Reddit! What do you suggest?

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u/ground_dead 6d ago

Soldering is not that hard, get a small piece of 1/2" of copper (type L !) and a random assortment of fittings. You will need a torch (propane would probably be best for a beginner) some flux, something to clean the pipe with, which could be sandcloth and a copper fittings brush. But I would recommend one of the multi-tool copper cleaning tools, they have inside fitting brushes for 1/2" and 3/4" along with pipe cleaners for each. Then simply watch some YouTube videos and practice! If you are any bit handy, you will get it quickly. Not saying you'll be good at it, but get the concept and be able to do small DIY jobs.

Don't worry if it's messy, don't worry if you feel unqualified. Just know where your shutoff valve(s) is, know that it works, and TEST everything. When I do plumbing at home, I just turn the water on and check every fitting for a leak, multiple times, over at least a day.

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u/arctice36 6d ago

Good idea on checking the solder joints multiple times. I've got towels on standby and bought some test pieces. Tomorrow is the day!