the hot water facet in my shower is leaking and i'm thinking taking it apart and fix it myself. but unlike the sink or toilet where there is a valve directly underneath that you can shut off the water with, i'm wondering how i need to go about shutting off the water to my shower so that i can fix the facet. since this is the hot water facet, do i just shut of the water main, or can i just shut off the hot water?? if i can just shut off the hot water, is this shut off valve somewhere near the water heater?? also, after i shut off the water, fix the problem, and turn the water back on, do i have to worry about water pressure problems, or will all the facets in the house resume normal water pressure once the main is turned back on??

 

I am not a plumber, but this is from my own personal experience... when I fixed my shower valve, I turned off the hot water valve which is on top of the water heater and I also turned off the water supply to the house which was in my crawl space (the meter is out by the street). I then opened all the faucets in the house to let the pressure out and some of the water to drain from the top floor.

After I finished fixing the valve, I close all the faucets, then turned on the water supplies. Next step is to go back to the faucets and open them slowly which will let the air out. This is the step I've forgotten a few times and it might startle you if you forget and turn on the faucet a few days later (you'll see what I mean). Your water pressure will return to normal as long as you haven't created any new leaks ;-)