How do I remove this shower stem?

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katie

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Hi! Well, I got myself into this situation by simply trying to replace a shower handle. Now let's skip over the series of mistakes I made leading to a headless screw requiring that my stem be replaced. Finally, when a plumber was at my house for an unrelated issue, I asked for advice. Basically, he told me it was simple: I just had to remove the stem, take it into a local shop that sells old/rare plumbing supplies, and then I'd be able to replace it myself. Well, easier said than done. I noticed that my stem has no hexagonal shaped piece for which to attach a shower stem wrench. It's circular for as far back as I can see, where it appears to attach to the pipe. This is almost definitely a dumb question, but how do I remove it? Do I just turn off the water (I already depressurized the pipes when I started this mess), then use a regular wrench or pliers to twist it off? I have no idea and I'd rather not bring the plumber back just to do something that could be simple.

I'm attaching two photos, including one with a flash that shows about all I can see in the wall. Thank you in advance for your help!

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Turn the water off. Put a crescent wrench on the two flat sides of the stem and unscrew it. Once you have it removed post a picture and I can probably identify it for you.
 
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Looks like an American Standard "Colony" stem. Readily available at stores that sell faucet stems. Remove just like LockePlumbing described.
 
Thank you! I'll try removing it with a crescent wrench once I have some backup tonight and I'll post a pic.

One more dumb question: Once the stem is removed, am I able to turn the water back on until I get a replacement stem? Or do I have to have some stem in place to prevent water from gushing out?
 
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Well 99.99% of the time when you replace the washer you also replace the seat. Also looks like the splines are broke on the stem.
 
I'm a little confused by the recent comments. The stem was never leaking or anything. I'll explain the problem a little better:

In the process of a stupid attempt to replace my handles, I turned an old screw too hard and the screw head broke off. It left nothing to grip for removal. A plumber attempted to remove the screw with some sort of tool (which is how I think the splines were damaged), but he agreed that it could not be done and that the stem just had to be replaced. I'm only trying to remove the stem, bring it into a plumber supply store to buy a replacement stem, then attach the new stem.

I was going to try to remove the old stem tonight, but can I have the water turned on without any stem in place?? There is no separate shut off valve for the bathroom, so I have to turn off water for the entire house. Since I don't know the answer, I'll just wait until tomorrow and then post a picture. Thank you again!
 
Ugh, nevermind. My husband was just like "Why don't we try removing it and then screw the stem back in until tomorrow?" Duh. He got it out easily by using a crescent wrench (thanks, LockePlumbing!). I knew there would be a simple solution, but I was not willing to try ANYTHING without advice. Thank you so much to all who took the time to respond!

Here is the stem if anyone can identify it:

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Not a Colony. Could be Union Brass. With the broken handle screw you need to replace the entire stem. Be sure to purchase new handle screw and faucet seat. Get a faucet seat wrench too if you need it. No "teflon" tape necessary on new stem, seal is made by the white washer. Bring stem to plumbing supply store to match up by sight.
 

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