My Delta shower valve installation doesn't look right...

**rspfau** · 08-20-2012, 03:36 PM

I've seen quite a bit of discussion about how to install shower valves...seems like it ought to be very simple. But something seems to be wrong with my Delta shower valve installation. I understand that the plaster guard should be flush with finished wall. I installed it so that would be the case. But when I put the valve handle components on the valve to make sure it was alright, there is disagreement. The trim sleeve (which covers the brass valve) has a sticker with a line that says the finished wall should be at the line. But the line is 3/4 of an inch out from the front of the plaster guard. This is beyond the 1/2 inch leeway that it says I have. Regardless of what depth I install the valve, there is a 3/4 " disagreement between what the instructions say about the plaster guard and what the sticker on the trim sleeve says (and yes, the trim sleeve and other handle components are Delta).

Here's a link for photos of my installation.

https://picasaweb.google.com/1046701...eat=directlink

Can someone tell me what's up here?

Thanks,
Russell

**jadnashua** · 08-20-2012, 03:46 PM

I'm assuming you're going to have 1/2" cbu and tile on the wall? Mock up all of the parts and decide where you like the looks of it. Based on the manufacturer's guidelines, if the trim fits, it's okay. That doesn't mean you'll like the way it looks if you're at one end or the other of the allowable placement. BTW, this isn't a Delta unique issue...most companies are a little confusing - the min/max are likely correct, but the best asthetic placement may be somewhere in between.

**johnjh2o1** · 08-20-2012, 05:26 PM

You have the plastic guard on wrong. Turn it 1/4 turn to the right.

John

**rspfau** · 08-20-2012, 06:23 PM

Originally Posted by johnjh2o1

You have the plastic guard on wrong. Turn it 1/4 turn to the right.
John

Nope, it's on correctly--it's designed so that there is only one way to put it on.

Originally Posted by jadnashua

I'm assuming you're going to have 1/2" cbu and tile on the wall? Mock up all of the parts and decide where you like the looks of it. Based on the manufacturer's guidelines, if the trim fits, it's okay. That doesn't mean you'll like the way it looks if you're at one end or the other of the allowable placement. BTW, this isn't a Delta unique issue...most companies are a little confusing - the min/max are likely correct, but the best asthetic placement may be somewhere in between.

Yep, 1/2" cbu and 1/4" thick tile. I did mock up the parts--that's how I noticed the disagreement between the valve and trim sleeve. With the 2x4 stringer I have installed, the valve sticks out almost an inch beyond the recommended allowances. Surely Delta doesn't expect you to use a 1x4 stringer on such a standard installation as this (I have 2x4 studs)!. In order to make it not look weird (valve sticking out too far), I'd have to use a 1x4 stringer.

**johnjh2o1** · 08-20-2012, 07:03 PM

You are wrong about it can only go one way. The long thin piece of plastic on the left side of you photo has a small tit on the end of it that goes into the taping on the valve body. That will bring the face of the plate out to the finished wall line that is marked on the valve body.

John

**rspfau** · 08-20-2012, 07:31 PM

Originally Posted by johnjh2o1

You are wrong about it can only go one way. The long thin piece of plastic on the left side of you photo has a small tit on the end of it that goes into the taping on the valve body. That will bring the face of the plate out to the finished wall line that is marked on the valve body.
John

Wellll, I'm pretty sure it's on correctly. Tried rotating it and it doesn't work at all any other way. Each of the four sides have a different type of attachment--it's dummy proof! I added some more photos to show that the valve body itself is facing up and that the plaster guard is also facing up.

https://picasaweb.google.com/1046701...zVv5nX8cmzhAE#

**johnjh2o1** · 08-20-2012, 07:39 PM

Believe me I have install hundreds of them and that is not the way they were meant to attach to the valve body. Go have a look at one before you remove it from the box and you will see the way it is meant to be installed. Do you relay think that a company like Delta would make a plate that disagrees with the marking they put on the valve body?

John

**rspfau** · 08-20-2012, 08:51 PM

Originally Posted by johnjh2o1

Believe me I have install hundreds of them and that is not the way they were meant to attach to the valve body. Go have a look at one before you remove it from the box and you will see the way it is meant to be installed. Do you relay think that a company like Delta would make a plate that disagrees with the marking they put on the valve body?
John

So you're saying that the one in the photo from the company is 1/4 turn off also? In that photo, you can see the word UP on the valve body--just like mine. You can also see that the stair step pattern is on the upper left and lower right and that the screw holes are on the upper right and lower left--just like mine. The upper right and lower left parts of the valve body have a flat rounded plate with screw holes--and the plaster guard has a matching flat rounded indentation that slips over the plate. It literally fits like a glove and there is no possible way for it to fit any other way. I don't doubt that you've installed hundreds of them, but perhaps you're not looking at the photos closely enough.

Regardless of how the plaster guard fits, in order for the handle to not stick out far beyond what is recommended, the valve will have to be mounted on a 1x4 stringer between my 2x4 studs. Have you ever had to do that?