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Have you ever pulled on the shower handle to start the flow of water and the valve partially moves with the handle? This is typically because the pipes were not strapped to the wall framing, which allows for some play in the valve and piping. You wouldn't really notice this in a valve where you just turn the handle side-to-side, such as a Moen Positemp or Delta Monitor. However, with a valve and handle that you have to pull out to start the water, particularly when the handle or cartridge is sticky, you really notice the problem.
You can have a handyman strap the pipes to the lumber in the wall, which will solve this problem, but it creates a lot of additional work. You have to gain access to those pipes, which means cutting the wall open and then repairing the wall. With the wall open, you simple secure a couple of pipe straps with screws near where the pipes enter the shower valve. Then you have the drywall repair.
You can try to avoid this by doing a couple of things. Try shooting expandable foam into the wall cavity and let it set up and get hard. This may give the shower valve enough resistance that it won't move when you pull the handle out. Additionally, replace the shower cartridge. This should make it so that minimal effort is required to pull the shower handle out. These two items may help you avoid the job of strapping the pipes.
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