No water coming out of shower or tub

[nisryus]

So my old house's master bathroom has a shower and a tub next to each other. We have not used either one for... 8+ years since we took shower in the guest bathroom. Tonight wife decided to use the tub before the last piece of furniture is moved to the new home tomorrow.

The two faucets in the master bathroom have both hot and cold water coming out just fine. Could this be calcium build up since the tub and shower use the same pipe? Last resort is to call a plumber, but does any ATTer has an idea on how to find and fix this? Thx!

 

[JEDIYoda]

sounds to me like the sewer line has backed up into the tub and shower pipes....

 

[boomerang]

sounds to me like the sewer line has backed up into the tub and shower pipes....

What????

 

[gururu2]

because you don't get hot or cold, then the problem is likely with the shower valve since that is the last common point. Maybe it did corrode inside prohibiting any water from flowing through or the handle is not turning the valve because the linkages corroded and broke. Unscrew and open the handle up and see if you can see any corrosion, wetness or warmth from hot water line.

 

[DrPizza]

because you don't get hot or cold, then the problem is likely with the shower valve since that is the last common point. Maybe it did corrode inside prohibiting any water from flowing through or the handle is not turning the valve because the linkages corroded and broke. Unscrew and open the handle up and see if you can see any corrosion, wetness or warmth from hot water line.

This. It's possible you're turning the knob, but the "inside parts" aren't turning. I suspect it's also, or at least was at first, a little difficult to get the knob to turn in the first place. In other words, you've stripped something somewhere. Of course, this is very dependent on brand and design.

Another possible reason: you've turned off water valves somewhere in the house. The sink faucet isn't necessarily on the same line. If you have Pex lines, it's very possible that there's a manifold at the supply, distributing water independently to each fixture. That is, a flushed toilet, or someone washing their hands will have almost no affect on the shower water pressure and temperature.

 

[Drako]

Are you there are not shut off valves for the shower/tub that someone has turned off?

 

[nisryus]

I will check around on the shut off valve. So I tried again today. First the tub. Turned the handle a little and water did come out. But if I turned it all the way to either cold or hot then water stopped.

Now for the shower, no matter how much I have turned the handle there was just no water coming out at all.

So i thought if the water value was turn off, then the tub shouldn't get water at all (when I turned the handle just a little).

 

[master_shake_]

um...

might seem elementary.

but did you pay your water bill?

 

[nisryus]

Yep. Everywhere else in the house has water. Just the master bathroom shower and tub has this weird problem.

 

[Drako]

Do you have galvanized pipes?

 

[Subyman]

Sounds like you've got junk in the lines. Probably calcium and the build ups. The water dribbled out and then completely stopped when you opened it up more. It is likely breaking loose and clogging up even more when the line saw some flow. What type of pipe do you have? I'd recommend getting a plumber to come look at it. He may have to take the valve apart and clean it.

 

[nisryus]

I checked and is copper. Going to call a plumber. Wife doesn't want me to poke around more...

 

[allisolm]

Wife doesn't want me to poke around more...

Wives can be like that - especially if past experiences have had not so happy results.

 

[JEDIYoda]

I checked and is copper. Going to call a plumber. Wife doesn't want me to poke around more...

smart wife!!

 

[Drako]

I checked and is copper. Going to call a plumber. Wife doesn't want me to poke around more...

Meh, what's a little dry wall repair?

 

[Binky]

Maybe there was a reason you stopped using that shower, 8 years ago!

 

[Ettitt]

You call a plumber & told him to check your indoor pipe fittings.
I hope after checking he can find the problem & solved it soon.

 

[DrPizza]

Update?

 

[nisryus]

Called and scheduled a plumber to come out and take a look at it this coming Friday. Hopefully it will be an easy fix. But we now found more problem plumbing with the new house! Wife is extremely not happy now....

 

[DrPizza]

Called and scheduled a plumber to come out and take a look at it this coming Friday. Hopefully it will be an easy fix. But we now found more problem plumbing with the new house! Wife is extremely not happy now....

Just tell her that if she's unhappy, she should have married a plumber instead.

 

[Scarpozzi]

So....you may have copper pipes, but in many cases, those copper pipes will go behind the tub/shower and the hot/cold lines would be soldered to the mixing valve for the tub/shower.

Typically, the pipe that goes from the valve to the shower and tub are galvanized pipe because they're sold in threaded lengths that allow you to screw the faucet on and also can make for a cheap elbow (threaded female pipe) to receive your shower pipe through the wall. It's uncommon for both to be totally stopped up, but perhaps the valve is the problem... If the valve had a slight leak, it could cause the lines to clog with debris if they corroded over time. Galvanized steel gets rusty and will get gunk in it, especially if the pipe starts to rust/break down...it just goes that much faster once the rust starts eating away at the finish.

Good luck getting it resolved. I hope you have a good shower access available for the plumber to work with, but they do this kind of thing pretty frequently. It might be a good opportunity to replace the faucet altogether with something newer if you want to feel better about the cost and look at it as an upgrade.

 

[Subyman]

Good point Scarpozzi. Since he is in there, you may as well replace the valve with a new unit. Pick something out at Lowes/Home Depot for $90-120. Delta or Moen will be fine.

 

[nisryus]

So the handyman fixed them. I wasn't there but wife was there. She said he had to replace the "big thingie", which pipe and handle connected. I believe that would be the valve. Both tub and shower valves were covered with rust/gunk and couldn't be cleaned, so he took them out and replaced them. The guy is a friend of the realtor we use and he only charged us $180.

 

[Subyman]

That was a cheap bill from the plumber. Some charge that just to point the van toward your house haha. Glad it was an easy fix.