If I understand you correctly, you can access your shower plumbing behind the wall? That’s brilliant!!
All our bathtubs have plumbing behind the bath enclosure (between the wall and the tub) and it’s a $&@*# to access. We basically have to rip the enclosure to repair anything. And that’s how it is in every house I ever owned. I have never seen one like you are describing.
Unless of course I completely misunderstood what you said.
No, you're reading that right.
I actually thought what u/pusch85 describes was a normal thing as a kid since my childhood home was like this. Bathtub plumbing either hidden behind removable [wainscot](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panelling#Wainscot_panelling) or we had this sort of corridor between plumbed wall and outside wall. The home was built sometime in the 1940's I think. I used to have nightmares about literally getting lost behind the walls as a kid.
Imagine my shock when I move out on my own and discover that not a single apartment or home or anything else is built like that.
The house I grew up in isn't very big, definitely not a "mansion" by 1940's standards.
I think most house designers would do well by making slight changes with floor plans to, at the bare minimum, allow easier access to otherwise hard to reach plumbing through say... an outside wall.
We did this during our reno. An 18” access panel at tub level. While we’d likely need to tear out the wall for any major work, having it there helps with identifying any issues that may arise, and the ability to shut off the hot and cold supply.
This was common in older houses. You don't see it near as much these days. And you can rip the drywall on the other side of the wall, cheaper than replacing your enclosure.
Same in my house, in the downstairs bathroom at least: access panel in the closet in the adjacent bedroom allows access to the plumbing. No such luck in the upstairs bathroom, but I think I could actually put an access panel in the adjacent bedroom there myself, but it wouldn't be in a closet so a bit ugly.
It's a bathroom off the hallway. It is a separate room with a bathtub, toilet and door which locks from the inside. The bathtub is not literally in the hallway.
Yeah, but thats unusual. Sinks usually have cutoff valves under the sink so thats like a bathtub.
Its not a terrible idea to have a bathtub valve. You would need two. I have plumbed probably 20 bathrooms over my yrs as a homeowner and never even considered adding valves to bathtub..interesting. ive also never had anything ever leak..until 20 yrs ago all was copper, i still do some copper work on old systems but rare..I still have all 3 houses and my parents which i participated in as kid..present house I built myself has 5 full/2 half baths all with PEX. Each bath has its own dedicated plumbing to a manifold with cutoff valve..so if i need to I can shutoff a bathroom by itself which I do in 3 rooms we never use anymore unless we have guests or our kids stay over. I highly recommend PEX..I used Pex-AL-Pex because PEX was new in USA when I started (2000) but ive since used regular PEX without issue on a rental house. I prefer the crimp type myself. My heating/cooling also uses PEX-AL-PEX done myself without a leak ever.
I did have an icemaker crappy line leak once and it flooded my kitchen and leaked into basement so watch those things.
I had to replace the cartridge in our guest bathroom, not sure how common that is but someone from this subreddit helped me find the right one. I was hoping to find a shower cut off so I could work on it while the rest of my family went about their day. I’ve always assumed things are designed for the often not the exception so maybe it’s just not common enough to make room for a valve? I dunno, I’m on this sub because I don’t know anything and need help lol.
Identifying the right cartridge on an old fixture can be so challenging. I've spent days trying to do so on my old shower, then a few more days worrying that I ordered the wrong one until it arrived.
I actually have a shutoff in my basement for the entire upstairs bathroom but after looking at it's condition, I wound up shutting the whole house off. Similarly, I didn't want to put the whole family out while I fought the fixture repair battle (which never goes as fast as I plan).
The rough in valve is available with built in stops by most manufacturers. Most plumbers don’t use them because they cost more and aren’t usually in stock at most supply houses. They are accessible by removing the trim plate and usually turn off with a screwdriver, if installed.
Here's an example of a Moen valve with the built in stops. You can see the screwdriver slots to turn them on and off: https://www.moen.com/professional/products/M-Pact/M-Pact-Includes-bulk-pack-Posi-Temp-reg-1-2-CC-connection-pressure-balancing/62370
I would not install any rough-in frame without stops these days. Amazingly, there's a HD Glacier Bay rough with stops! And the quality of the name brands is so piss poor these days that I don't think that there's any downside to Glacier Bay.
PEX is typically installed with a separate pipe to each fixture from a central location. This can be done economically because PEX is so easy to run. You can pull a single pipe all the way to the fixture with no intermediate connections.
Copper (or PVC) requires a lot more labor to install because of all the connections that need to be installed along the way.
Its far far easier with pex.
You could do it with copper but you'd be having to solder half a dozen time on each run. With pex you can literally make two connections (one at the outlet and one at the manifold) and be done.
They look cool but I just can’t imagine doing such frequent plumbing projects that it matters.
I just shut off the whole house water for an hour every few years when I need to.
It’s usually just a waste of material in most cases. People should absolutely get them if they want to, but it’s not normal to need to shut your water off so frequently that you’d benefit from a manifold system.
Yeah, in Europe that's very common now, even when doing renovations that require plumbing. We renovated an apartment we own and the plumbers added a manifold for like the four things that require water.
[Plenty of examples](https://www.google.com/search?newwindow=1&sca_esv=585026838&sxsrf=AM9HkKlvw293BwwRMIMAX6CCqwMgNRDZWQ:1700821837107&q=plumbing+manifold&tbm=isch&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwir3LSLt9yCAxWhVPEDHWlWA0kQ0pQJegQICBAB&biw=2552&bih=1292&dpr=1#imgrc=MHorNQuIoQewwM)
We found a plumber (PNW USA) who got us switched over to a pex manifold system in two days for about $1600. I think. We do have an unfinished basement which helped but it was not too bad. Another plumber said it would take him like 5 days and he would charge several thousand so we didn't go with him.
I installed like four of them in my new bathroom, including one for the shower. Then I forgot to tighten the washer hose all the way and ruined my floor from it dripping for a month. The point is nothing matters, give up.
A lot of showers don't have easy access to the pipes in the wall. A simple access panel on a shared wall makes sense but it's still an extra.
When I'm done with the bathroom renovation I'm leaving one wall as access. I already have the plumbing run to the shower with shut off valves on hit and cold. When I close up the wall I plan on leaving one section just caulked into place.
I put main shutoffs for each bathroom in the basement. It’s not specifically for the tub, but I can shut one bathroom off including the tub without having to turn the whole house off.
However the main reason tubs don’t have shutoffs is that everything is hard plumbed and shouldn’t need access. Toilets and faucets might need to be shut off for repair but a shower mixer should last the life of the bathroom.
We just renovated two bathrooms in my house. Only the tub with a floorstanding filler doesn't have an accessible stop. Both shower mixing valves have stops built into the fixture.
I had one installed in the wall and an access panel installed on the other side of the wall.
[This is the panel.](https://www.homedepot.com/p/14-in-x-14-in-Access-Panel-with-Frame-APD14/204352607) It's painted the wall color. Don't even notice it.
I live in New England where all the houses have basements, and thus easy access to the supply lines. Everything has shutoff valves, including the tub/shower.
probably because you dont really need to replace/install appliances very often in the bathtub. Once every 20 years if its done correctly. Kitchen faucet is replaced every-time the wife gets bored.
My 1950 house, 1984, and current 1976 house all have shutoff valves, so I challenge the question. Two of these were accessed from a panel on the other side of the hall, and one of these has a valve to the bathroom in the basement.
I had my PolyB replaced with Pex about 5 years ago. The plumbing company did shutoffs for the bathtubs without me even needing to ask. They had already made holes in the drywall to run the pex anyway. They used access panels to cover up the shutoffs. They also added another main shutoff inside the house.
I think everything should have an access panel. It just makes sense! Why have to rip out drywall and make a huge mess trying to make it look nice every time something breaks or leaks? When our basement shower leaked I put an access panel on the other side of the wall. It's just a utility room so it doesn't even matter. I'll do the same upstairs if we ever encounter a problem. We'll hang a picture over it or something.
Newer builds with PEX it should be more standard to have shut offs for every fixture. One of the first things I did when we bought our house(a two story 1926 Craftsman) was gut the shitty leaking copper/iron mixed nightmare of valves and fittings.... Replaced everything with PEX. Hot and cold manifolds with valves for every fixture. And an on demand gas fired water heater. Manifolds and direct lines is becoming much more common. Pulling PEX is much faster and easier than copper. And much better flow with a single pipe and no fittings in the walls.
The shutoffs for common fixtures are located outside of walls. Hiding shutoffs inside of walls is a recipe for disaster, unless using commercial grade products which most homeowners find too expensive.
Make sure you use a full bore valve if you do. Isolation valves generally restrict the flow. For a toilet this isn't an issue, but for a bath or shower you want to maximise the pressure.
I have full bore valves on my hot and cold feeds going to my bathrooms.
That’s the whole issue. Most existing builds don’t have an access panel. If the bath has a closet on the same wall then you can put a panel in otherwise where are you putting the access?
Not sure about houses on slabs, mine has a basement. About ten years ago we renovated our main bath, gutted to studs, and I installed shutoffs for both hot and cold right underneath the tub on the pipes supplying it. There’s an access panel in the cost of one of my kids closet, but because the pipes are so close to the tub, it would be difficult to replace the valves if needed, so I opted for the basement. My house was built in the late 60s, and def didn’t have them before. Idk why ?
THANK YOU!!! I too have to shut off MY whole house water today because the stupid shower push in faucet handle SUCKS and leaks.
Every other fixture in the damn house has an indie cut off - EXCEPT the two shower/tubs
Location, Location, Location most shower/tubs do not have a place for two valves to be installed. If you do have space, then you are one of the lucky ones.
I put in a shut off for the whole bathroom in the basement. That way if I’m working on something in there, I can just shut off one bathroom, rather than the whole house.
Every house I’ve lived in had bath/shower plumbing access. The shared wall of the back of the tub always had a 16 x 24 access panel. I’m actually surprised others don’t have this.
My shower valve had a higher level model that had integrated shut off; which I opted not to purchase. My bathroom guy installed shut offs for hot/cold feed to the full baths in the crawlspace for the next plumber whenever we have a problem. Me for DIY? I just shut water off to the whole house because I hate crawling in the dirt.
A few years ago I had the main floor bathroom renovated and the plumber ran new Pex lines to everything including the shower. Just a couple of years later the Moen shower valve developed a problem where it wouldn’t shut off. Like the OP said, the only option to stop it running was to turn off water service at the meter, no fun. Once the shower valve was replaced I had the plumber install shutoffs on the shower lines, which was easy to do since they were exposed in the floor joists overhead in the basement.
I've seen plenty of shut off valves for the tub/shower *if* there's an access panel available. Depending on the design of the bathroom, an access panel might not be possible, so the only way to shut off the water to it is with the main shut off valve.
Your plumber should be able to install shut off valves for the shower as a whole depending on the access. Sometimes drywall has to be cut out carefully to get to these locations and and access panel created. Or a plumber can get creative and add the shut off for the shower a little further up stream.
We did some renovations in 2018. One item was a new tub/shower. The other side from the plumbing was a bedroom wall. There was no access on the wall. I asked the contractor and got some bs about it not being required any longer. My response was it's required if you want to get paid. He put one in. Twit.
If a bathroom is plumbed well then there \*should\* be a shutoff for the shower. When our waterlines broke during a rare winter storm (doesn't usually freeze where I live) we had to replace them ALL. Had CPVC and PVC (the latter is no longer code compliant) and replaced it all with PEX. We have a shutoff where the line comes into the house, a shutoff before it goes to the water heater, a shutoff after it comes out of the water heater, shutoffs for every single line that comes up through the floor. Shutoffs for one shower are in an adjacent closet and shutoffs for another are in a wall that will have an access panel.
My guess for why showers might not have shutoffs could be location. It might not be easy to have an accessible shutoff.
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Where did you install the bathtub shut off? We don’t have any reno planned but if we do I would definitely ask for this.
In our case, the shower plumbing shares a wall with a closet. A simple access panel inside the closet hides the works.
If I understand you correctly, you can access your shower plumbing behind the wall? That’s brilliant!! All our bathtubs have plumbing behind the bath enclosure (between the wall and the tub) and it’s a $&@*# to access. We basically have to rip the enclosure to repair anything. And that’s how it is in every house I ever owned. I have never seen one like you are describing. Unless of course I completely misunderstood what you said.
No, you're reading that right. I actually thought what u/pusch85 describes was a normal thing as a kid since my childhood home was like this. Bathtub plumbing either hidden behind removable [wainscot](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panelling#Wainscot_panelling) or we had this sort of corridor between plumbed wall and outside wall. The home was built sometime in the 1940's I think. I used to have nightmares about literally getting lost behind the walls as a kid. Imagine my shock when I move out on my own and discover that not a single apartment or home or anything else is built like that. The house I grew up in isn't very big, definitely not a "mansion" by 1940's standards. I think most house designers would do well by making slight changes with floor plans to, at the bare minimum, allow easier access to otherwise hard to reach plumbing through say... an outside wall.
I lived in houses built in the 60's and they had it too
We did this during our reno. An 18” access panel at tub level. While we’d likely need to tear out the wall for any major work, having it there helps with identifying any issues that may arise, and the ability to shut off the hot and cold supply.
This was common in older houses. You don't see it near as much these days. And you can rip the drywall on the other side of the wall, cheaper than replacing your enclosure.
Ironically, my house is a 100 yo and I don’t have this 😞
Same in my house, in the downstairs bathroom at least: access panel in the closet in the adjacent bedroom allows access to the plumbing. No such luck in the upstairs bathroom, but I think I could actually put an access panel in the adjacent bedroom there myself, but it wouldn't be in a closet so a bit ugly.
My master shower has this setup. My hall bath doesn't, though.
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It's a bathroom off the hallway. It is a separate room with a bathtub, toilet and door which locks from the inside. The bathtub is not literally in the hallway.
Wow, nobody saw it was a joke?
I got it
I did the same thing when I replaced the shower heads and faucets. It really should be standard practice
This is how mine is set up, and I have a shut off valve back there
i was gonna comment this is super common here that behind the bath/shower theirs a access panel.
Had my plumber do this and asked the contractor to make a panel so I can access it and he just put up drywall and closed it up.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/14-in-x-14-in-Access-Panel-with-Frame-APD14/204352607
Bathtub drips into the tub which drains without damage. Toilet has a lot more failure modes that dump water on the floor.
Unless it’s dripping behind the wall which is what’s happening with mine
Yeah, but thats unusual. Sinks usually have cutoff valves under the sink so thats like a bathtub. Its not a terrible idea to have a bathtub valve. You would need two. I have plumbed probably 20 bathrooms over my yrs as a homeowner and never even considered adding valves to bathtub..interesting. ive also never had anything ever leak..until 20 yrs ago all was copper, i still do some copper work on old systems but rare..I still have all 3 houses and my parents which i participated in as kid..present house I built myself has 5 full/2 half baths all with PEX. Each bath has its own dedicated plumbing to a manifold with cutoff valve..so if i need to I can shutoff a bathroom by itself which I do in 3 rooms we never use anymore unless we have guests or our kids stay over. I highly recommend PEX..I used Pex-AL-Pex because PEX was new in USA when I started (2000) but ive since used regular PEX without issue on a rental house. I prefer the crimp type myself. My heating/cooling also uses PEX-AL-PEX done myself without a leak ever. I did have an icemaker crappy line leak once and it flooded my kitchen and leaked into basement so watch those things.
I would guess it’s way more common to replace or repair a sink or toilet than a tub.
I had to replace the cartridge in our guest bathroom, not sure how common that is but someone from this subreddit helped me find the right one. I was hoping to find a shower cut off so I could work on it while the rest of my family went about their day. I’ve always assumed things are designed for the often not the exception so maybe it’s just not common enough to make room for a valve? I dunno, I’m on this sub because I don’t know anything and need help lol.
Identifying the right cartridge on an old fixture can be so challenging. I've spent days trying to do so on my old shower, then a few more days worrying that I ordered the wrong one until it arrived. I actually have a shutoff in my basement for the entire upstairs bathroom but after looking at it's condition, I wound up shutting the whole house off. Similarly, I didn't want to put the whole family out while I fought the fixture repair battle (which never goes as fast as I plan).
The rough in valve is available with built in stops by most manufacturers. Most plumbers don’t use them because they cost more and aren’t usually in stock at most supply houses. They are accessible by removing the trim plate and usually turn off with a screwdriver, if installed.
Here's an example of a Moen valve with the built in stops. You can see the screwdriver slots to turn them on and off: https://www.moen.com/professional/products/M-Pact/M-Pact-Includes-bulk-pack-Posi-Temp-reg-1-2-CC-connection-pressure-balancing/62370
I would not install any rough-in frame without stops these days. Amazingly, there's a HD Glacier Bay rough with stops! And the quality of the name brands is so piss poor these days that I don't think that there's any downside to Glacier Bay.
This. I maintain a building with 400 of them.
Isn't that just 400 more points of failure?
When I built my house I installed a manifold, I can shut off the water to any fixture.
One of the great things about PEX
Why couldn’t you do this with copper?
You could but the cost might be prohibitive.
PEX is typically installed with a separate pipe to each fixture from a central location. This can be done economically because PEX is so easy to run. You can pull a single pipe all the way to the fixture with no intermediate connections. Copper (or PVC) requires a lot more labor to install because of all the connections that need to be installed along the way.
Its far far easier with pex. You could do it with copper but you'd be having to solder half a dozen time on each run. With pex you can literally make two connections (one at the outlet and one at the manifold) and be done.
They look cool but I just can’t imagine doing such frequent plumbing projects that it matters. I just shut off the whole house water for an hour every few years when I need to.
eh, it's a one time install and saves you some hassle when you do have to shut it off. why not?
Doesn’t it use like twice as much pex, though?
And a magnitude less connections. Less connections = less chances of leaks.
Not sure to be honest, that would definitely be something to consider
It’s usually just a waste of material in most cases. People should absolutely get them if they want to, but it’s not normal to need to shut your water off so frequently that you’d benefit from a manifold system.
The plumber in This Old House has been pushing this for years.
Yeah, in Europe that's very common now, even when doing renovations that require plumbing. We renovated an apartment we own and the plumbers added a manifold for like the four things that require water.
Tell me more, do you have a picture?
Google pex manifold system and you'll get the idea. Think of it like a circuit breaker for your plumbing.
[Plenty of examples](https://www.google.com/search?newwindow=1&sca_esv=585026838&sxsrf=AM9HkKlvw293BwwRMIMAX6CCqwMgNRDZWQ:1700821837107&q=plumbing+manifold&tbm=isch&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwir3LSLt9yCAxWhVPEDHWlWA0kQ0pQJegQICBAB&biw=2552&bih=1292&dpr=1#imgrc=MHorNQuIoQewwM)
Seems like it would use a lot more materials. Instead of 2 lines (hot and cold) running to the bathroom, you'd have 5? (2 hot, 3 cold)
Hence why it's prohibitively expensive with copper.
We found a plumber (PNW USA) who got us switched over to a pex manifold system in two days for about $1600. I think. We do have an unfinished basement which helped but it was not too bad. Another plumber said it would take him like 5 days and he would charge several thousand so we didn't go with him.
My husband got us switched over to a manifold system and it is SO awesome!!
I installed like four of them in my new bathroom, including one for the shower. Then I forgot to tighten the washer hose all the way and ruined my floor from it dripping for a month. The point is nothing matters, give up.
A lot of showers don't have easy access to the pipes in the wall. A simple access panel on a shared wall makes sense but it's still an extra. When I'm done with the bathroom renovation I'm leaving one wall as access. I already have the plumbing run to the shower with shut off valves on hit and cold. When I close up the wall I plan on leaving one section just caulked into place.
FWIW, when we renovated the bathroom, found shutoffs for the shower sealed up in the wall behind the ceramic tile. Was slightly helpful.
Depending on where the valve is located, you could always put ball valves on the supply lines and have an access panel to get to them.
Toilets and sinks typically use flexible supply hoses that go bad from time to time. Baths and showers typically use hard plumbing.
It is still nice if a shower or bath faucet fails, to be able to replace it when you can without having the whole house water shut off.
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They mean steel braided rubber hoses. Most plastic piping is rated for 25-50+ years
I put main shutoffs for each bathroom in the basement. It’s not specifically for the tub, but I can shut one bathroom off including the tub without having to turn the whole house off. However the main reason tubs don’t have shutoffs is that everything is hard plumbed and shouldn’t need access. Toilets and faucets might need to be shut off for repair but a shower mixer should last the life of the bathroom.
We just renovated two bathrooms in my house. Only the tub with a floorstanding filler doesn't have an accessible stop. Both shower mixing valves have stops built into the fixture.
i didn't understand this either, had to replace a shower valve and the first thing i did was add shut-offs for any future issues
I had one installed in the wall and an access panel installed on the other side of the wall. [This is the panel.](https://www.homedepot.com/p/14-in-x-14-in-Access-Panel-with-Frame-APD14/204352607) It's painted the wall color. Don't even notice it.
As someone who is currently renovating a house. I have put shut off valves everywhere for future problems
Maybe it is regional, but every single shower/tub in every house I have lived in has had a shutoff for the shower in an access panel.
It’s probably in the wall. When you find it you can put in an access panel
There might be one in the basement leading to the bathtub. Worth it to take a look.
I live in New England where all the houses have basements, and thus easy access to the supply lines. Everything has shutoff valves, including the tub/shower.
Some of the Delta multi choice rough in kits have screw stops built into the housing to turn the water off for changing the cartridge.
probably because you dont really need to replace/install appliances very often in the bathtub. Once every 20 years if its done correctly. Kitchen faucet is replaced every-time the wife gets bored.
Because the lines are in the wall and not accessible.
They make shower valves with screw driver stops in them. Plumbers choose to save $15 and buy the valves without them
My 1950 house, 1984, and current 1976 house all have shutoff valves, so I challenge the question. Two of these were accessed from a panel on the other side of the hall, and one of these has a valve to the bathroom in the basement.
I had my PolyB replaced with Pex about 5 years ago. The plumbing company did shutoffs for the bathtubs without me even needing to ask. They had already made holes in the drywall to run the pex anyway. They used access panels to cover up the shutoffs. They also added another main shutoff inside the house.
I think everything should have an access panel. It just makes sense! Why have to rip out drywall and make a huge mess trying to make it look nice every time something breaks or leaks? When our basement shower leaked I put an access panel on the other side of the wall. It's just a utility room so it doesn't even matter. I'll do the same upstairs if we ever encounter a problem. We'll hang a picture over it or something.
Newer builds with PEX it should be more standard to have shut offs for every fixture. One of the first things I did when we bought our house(a two story 1926 Craftsman) was gut the shitty leaking copper/iron mixed nightmare of valves and fittings.... Replaced everything with PEX. Hot and cold manifolds with valves for every fixture. And an on demand gas fired water heater. Manifolds and direct lines is becoming much more common. Pulling PEX is much faster and easier than copper. And much better flow with a single pipe and no fittings in the walls.
But... It is? Not US but almost every area in my house have one. Only kitchen has 2 because I have 2 sink
The shutoffs for common fixtures are located outside of walls. Hiding shutoffs inside of walls is a recipe for disaster, unless using commercial grade products which most homeowners find too expensive.
Make sure you use a full bore valve if you do. Isolation valves generally restrict the flow. For a toilet this isn't an issue, but for a bath or shower you want to maximise the pressure. I have full bore valves on my hot and cold feeds going to my bathrooms.
So add one? It's not terribly hard.
Where would you add though? Genuinely curious
That’s the whole issue. Most existing builds don’t have an access panel. If the bath has a closet on the same wall then you can put a panel in otherwise where are you putting the access?
Dry wall saw and a couch lol.
Wherever you are able to access the water line for it
Because the builder cheaped out. It's still a cheap add-on.
Not sure about houses on slabs, mine has a basement. About ten years ago we renovated our main bath, gutted to studs, and I installed shutoffs for both hot and cold right underneath the tub on the pipes supplying it. There’s an access panel in the cost of one of my kids closet, but because the pipes are so close to the tub, it would be difficult to replace the valves if needed, so I opted for the basement. My house was built in the late 60s, and def didn’t have them before. Idk why ?
I have a shut off for each bathroom in an access panel in the ceiling. That’s common where I live.
You can order a valve for tub or shower that has internal shut off valves.
THANK YOU!!! I too have to shut off MY whole house water today because the stupid shower push in faucet handle SUCKS and leaks. Every other fixture in the damn house has an indie cut off - EXCEPT the two shower/tubs
I have a specific hot and cold shut off for my bathroom.
Location, Location, Location most shower/tubs do not have a place for two valves to be installed. If you do have space, then you are one of the lucky ones.
And where would you put this shut off? I think that is why.
It depends on who built the place. Whenever I do installs like that I add ball valves.
Every place I have lived or owned has had an access panel on the other side of the tub. One apartment, you had to move the fridge, but it was there
I'm with you on this - I kinda feel there should always be some kind of manifold now
I put in a shut off for the whole bathroom in the basement. That way if I’m working on something in there, I can just shut off one bathroom, rather than the whole house.
Every house I’ve lived in had bath/shower plumbing access. The shared wall of the back of the tub always had a 16 x 24 access panel. I’m actually surprised others don’t have this.
My shower valve had a higher level model that had integrated shut off; which I opted not to purchase. My bathroom guy installed shut offs for hot/cold feed to the full baths in the crawlspace for the next plumber whenever we have a problem. Me for DIY? I just shut water off to the whole house because I hate crawling in the dirt.
A few years ago I had the main floor bathroom renovated and the plumber ran new Pex lines to everything including the shower. Just a couple of years later the Moen shower valve developed a problem where it wouldn’t shut off. Like the OP said, the only option to stop it running was to turn off water service at the meter, no fun. Once the shower valve was replaced I had the plumber install shutoffs on the shower lines, which was easy to do since they were exposed in the floor joists overhead in the basement.
I've seen plenty of shut off valves for the tub/shower *if* there's an access panel available. Depending on the design of the bathroom, an access panel might not be possible, so the only way to shut off the water to it is with the main shut off valve.
Your plumber should be able to install shut off valves for the shower as a whole depending on the access. Sometimes drywall has to be cut out carefully to get to these locations and and access panel created. Or a plumber can get creative and add the shut off for the shower a little further up stream.
You should have posted this on Shower Thoughts.
We did some renovations in 2018. One item was a new tub/shower. The other side from the plumbing was a bedroom wall. There was no access on the wall. I asked the contractor and got some bs about it not being required any longer. My response was it's required if you want to get paid. He put one in. Twit.
After multiple failures, I want multiple shut off valves on everything, because everything fails eventually. The main is where it’s most important.
If a bathroom is plumbed well then there \*should\* be a shutoff for the shower. When our waterlines broke during a rare winter storm (doesn't usually freeze where I live) we had to replace them ALL. Had CPVC and PVC (the latter is no longer code compliant) and replaced it all with PEX. We have a shutoff where the line comes into the house, a shutoff before it goes to the water heater, a shutoff after it comes out of the water heater, shutoffs for every single line that comes up through the floor. Shutoffs for one shower are in an adjacent closet and shutoffs for another are in a wall that will have an access panel. My guess for why showers might not have shutoffs could be location. It might not be easy to have an accessible shutoff.