Hot is cold and cold is hot
We snapped this picture at a villa which will remain unnamed because it’s hardly the owner’s fault. This represents what we like to call “The St. John Way.” There is the right way. And then, there’s The St. John Way. In this case, the right way to fix backwards plumbing would be to fix the plumbing. The St. John Way is to just make it clear that it’s not the right way. You see this ALL THE TIME. (Not signs like this…this is actually helpful.) But you run into backwards hot and cold water all the time. One guy told us a story about this problem in every shower in an expensive new villa he was building. He told the builder he wanted it fixed. Next time he visited his villa, it was. The workmen had peeled off all the red and blue decals…and reversed them. That’s The St. John Way.
December 6th, 2007 07:28
Jeff if you have a picture of the valve emai it to me. Several brands of shower valves are desinged to reverse the water by simply removing the valvle body and turning it upside down and reinstalling it. The companies build them that way for back to back bathroom but it also helps when you plumb one backwards as well, don’t ask me how I know this as I would have to deny that I actually plumbed a Delta one that way not to long ago in a high end tile bathroom
Jay
December 6th, 2007 08:26
Hey, you know, plumbers have two very basic rules: Hot is ALWAYS on the left, and “it” doesn’t flow uphill. Even on STJ, how complicated is that?
December 6th, 2007 08:27
I love the sign!! I’m still confused.
I don’t think we’ve ever stayed in a villa where the hot and cold are in the right places and, sometimes there is no hot. Sometimes there is no cold. Ahh, it’s the St. John way.
December 6th, 2007 08:29
Trust me this stuff goes on up here in the states as well!!
December 6th, 2007 08:35
Quirks are fun!! Gives the place character!! That’s coming from experience…before getting in to the vacation rental business, my husband and I owned rehab properties and in every house he managed to put something backwards!! Light switch, water, etc..!! As a matter of fact the water was backwards at our villa a couple years ago on STJ!! Got a smile out of this one this morning!! It’s a big joke with us!
December 6th, 2007 09:05
A COLD shower in ANY direction on STJ is better than a HOT shower that is in the right direction in Arkansas! I love the Bongo showers!!!!
December 6th, 2007 09:46
Our home on island had reversed plumbing. To this day I hesitate and try to remember which one is which. I don’t even know which side is supposed to be hot anymore. I am confused for life. My husband and I joke all the time about ‘island sense’. If something odd happens that is not very logical, but ‘is the way it is’ we call it ‘island sense’. Explaining to family why they drive on the left or have open signs in windows when the store is closed, we just say it makes island sense. Something odd happened the other day and I stated without even thinking, “That doesn’t even make island sense” and my husband knew exactly what I meant. Our friends just think we speak a different language.
December 6th, 2007 11:03
Um, my home shower is backward too.
We never even think about it. The hardware in the shower is pretty old (prob from the 70’s) so the Hot/Cold labels are non-existent.
December 6th, 2007 11:40
We like to call it “Island Standard.”
December 6th, 2007 13:29
I took cold showers all week on our recent stay until day 8 or 9 when I was whining to my hubby and he told me that it was backwards! I just thought everyone had used all the hot water.
December 6th, 2007 22:00
OK, the comments on this one are as fun as the picture. Gave me a chuckle on this cold snowy evening. Glad to know about this, since I would probably be like FF and assume there was no hot water, rather than trying it the other way.
December 7th, 2007 10:38
it’s more fun when the builder does the final plumbing tests and finds out that hot water is plumbed into the toilet… mmm, steamy.