Is this a shower arm? Shower neck? Shower torso?

December 22, 2017 7:51 AM

What is this piece of shower hardware called, and how do I remove it?

Photo: https://imgur.com/a/lzAPL

I removed the showerhead that was attached to the little bit of threaded pipe shown in that photo. However, the entire fixture has a crack in it, so I'm looking to replace it. That's... easy, right? I've replaced a showerhead and shower arm before but this is the first time I've seen a fixture like this. Googling for "shower arm" hasn't turned up any photos remotely like what I have.

Any idea how it might be attached to the wall and the water? Think I can just get some pliers and twist?

posted by ann_disaster to Home & Garden (5 answers total)

That’s an odd shape. Most commonly I’ve seen just a short length of pipe, but this one looks more like a faucet/“bathtub spout”. It’s either a unitary cast piece, or it’s a cover that is attached to a pipe underneath.

I would look for a set screw, possibly hidden under a small round cover. Failing that, yeah, maybe the whole thing just screws on.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 7:58 AM on December 22, 2017 [4 favorites]

I think that's a repurposed bathtub spout. I agree that it's probably just screwed onto a piece of pipe sticking out of the wall. Unless it's badly corroded, you can probably unscrew it by hand.
posted by bricoleur at 8:03 AM on December 22, 2017 [6 favorites]

I've lived in an apartment that had that style, like a matching shower and tub spout pair, seemed very 1980's matchy-matchy. But I'd bet they were basically identical hardware. This instructional page is about different attachment hardware that tub spouts might have but will probably be applicable to you also.
posted by aimedwander at 8:19 AM on December 22, 2017 [2 favorites]

If there's no screws on the outside, no doubt twisting it counterclockwise will work. You may need something like a strap wrench since the space to the ceiling looks a little tight. You could also try sticking a cheater pipe into the spout and turning that.
posted by rhizome at 12:32 PM on December 22, 2017

If this is a manufactured home, it's common to have different sorts of hardware than you might find in a stick-built home.

It does look an awful lot like a bathtub spout though.
posted by yohko at 1:22 PM on December 22, 2017