Johnny-Canuck
Member
I'm a senior in the closing stage of DIY gut and rebuild of a shower that I originally built over 30 years ago. I decided to avoid any plumbing rework and reused the existing Crane valve body that I had originally installed 30 years ago and which has always worked reliably.
Unfortunately I now realize that my finished tile surface is going to be thicker than my original tiled surface had been. (The tiles are a bit thicker + I had to add some additional thin set thickness to flatten the area where the taps are). As a result the valve stems are now ending up shallower in the wall than I want them to be. When closed, the handle bases stop just barely before hitting the new finished tile surface, so fortunately I'm not totally dead in the water. Additionally, in order for the handles to stop just barely before hitting the finished wall, I need to forgo installing an escutcheon plate behind the handles, to properly finish the holes cut in the tiling where the valve stems come through. Again, this isn't the end of the world, because I can forgo the escutcheon plates and just use silicone to seal the area behind the handles, but obviously it won't look as good as if I had normal escutcheon plates behind the handles.
Question 1: Is there some way to extend the existing Crane valve stems so they'll stick out a little more?
Question 2: In the process of gutting the old shower, I had to destroy the 2 original Crane escutcheon plates I had. I still have the 2 original chrome sleeves that cover the valve stems. Their outside diameter is 1 3/8". If I figure out a way to extend the valve stems, does anyone have any idea if I can find replacement escutcheon plates? I've looked but haven't spotted anything yet.
I've attached 2 pictures to show what I've described. I'd really appreciate any thoughts anyone has.
Unfortunately I now realize that my finished tile surface is going to be thicker than my original tiled surface had been. (The tiles are a bit thicker + I had to add some additional thin set thickness to flatten the area where the taps are). As a result the valve stems are now ending up shallower in the wall than I want them to be. When closed, the handle bases stop just barely before hitting the new finished tile surface, so fortunately I'm not totally dead in the water. Additionally, in order for the handles to stop just barely before hitting the finished wall, I need to forgo installing an escutcheon plate behind the handles, to properly finish the holes cut in the tiling where the valve stems come through. Again, this isn't the end of the world, because I can forgo the escutcheon plates and just use silicone to seal the area behind the handles, but obviously it won't look as good as if I had normal escutcheon plates behind the handles.
Question 1: Is there some way to extend the existing Crane valve stems so they'll stick out a little more?
Question 2: In the process of gutting the old shower, I had to destroy the 2 original Crane escutcheon plates I had. I still have the 2 original chrome sleeves that cover the valve stems. Their outside diameter is 1 3/8". If I figure out a way to extend the valve stems, does anyone have any idea if I can find replacement escutcheon plates? I've looked but haven't spotted anything yet.
I've attached 2 pictures to show what I've described. I'd really appreciate any thoughts anyone has.