Hey all,
I’m renovating a walk in shower. It has three walls. The current setup has the shower valve and shower head on the same wall, like most showers. I am thinking of putting the shower valve on the opposite wall from the shower head. I’m looking at options of how to run the PEX.

The easier way would be to run all the PEX lines in the side wall, through the studs. But this would mean making 3 holes in each stud (hot, cold, and supply to shower head) because the supply lines are on the opposite wall from the valve. That seems like a lot of holes to me, but I really don’t know anything. The other way I can go is through the ceiling into the attic space. This would be a little harder and increase my scope of work a bit but it’s doable.

The wall I’d use is an exterior wall, so definitely load-bearing. I’m done some plumbing with copper and PEX, but definitely not an expert.

So a few questions, well I have lots of questions; but the important ones. Is there some type of rule about not making too many holes in studs or is that many holes just a bad idea? Is there any advice or tips for doing this sort of thing? Does this sound like too much trouble than it’s worth and should I just keep the valve and shower head on the same wall? This would be a nice touch but it’s definitely not necessary.

Thanks for any help.



Edited 1 times.

not all outside walls are weight bearing

Oh really. I did not know that. Good to know. I’ll have to look into the wall further. Thanks for the tip.

yeah , the gable ends of your house carry no roof weight.
also 99% of the time the floor joists set on the same wall that the roof rafters land on.

in either case i would not be worried about drilling three 3/4 inch holes in the center of the stud spaced a few inches apart.

Makes sense, thanks again.

@OP:


if you are worried about structural integrity you could 'sister' the studs with 1/2 plywood glued and screwed before drilling


but


you will be fine - just drill CENTER of stud's width and about 4" apart center-center vertically - the three holes will occupy juuuust over 8" top to bottom

should you decide to 'sister' every other stud i would use (2) 3-1/2 x 24" pieces of 1/2 plywood per stud

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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638

Yeah, I probably will end up doing something like that for piece of mind. Thanks for your input.



Edited 1 times.

just don't put nails where you want to drill holes. been there done that.

no nails - a FEW screws to hold the 'sisters' while the glue dries - use drywall screws for ease of installation - the screws act merely as clamps while the caprenter glue sets



==============================================

"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638

Sounds good, thanks



Edited 2 times.

One thing you need to consider. The farther the head is from the valve, the longer it will take for temp adjustments to be felt. With the new water saver heads, it could take a while for temp adjustments to get to the head.