faucet(s) replacement question

Hello - my home was built in 1996. Builder put in very low end Moen fixtures in my shower and in my seperate "garden tub." They are single handle, pull-out-to-turn-on style, which makes them mold factories once you push the wet knobs back in to turn off. I want to replace them with a lever style handle that turns and will not trap water, and I'd also like to change from the current chrome finish to a brushed brass finish.

My questions are:

1) Can I choose any replacement fixture - like one by Kohler, Danze or Price Pfister? Or will I have trouble fitting these on my current valve thingie? (I don't know what kind/size value is under there or how to tell what kind it is once I remove the current fixture.) Is this a DIY project?

2) In the garden tub... the spout and faucet handle extend out from the tiled wall at one end. The drain sits more in the back middle bottom of the tub and there is some sort of a cover plate that sits towards the top of the back middle tub wall. Can I change this drain and cover plate out easily? And where would I buy a new one to match the brushed brass finish of the new tub handle and spout I would like to buy?

Thanks for clueing me in everybody!

1. No, not likely. You would have to change out the whole faucet, faucet body and all. Brand parts don't usually mix.
Whether anything is a DIY project or not, depends on the DIYer and their particular individual skill level.
2. Yes, you should be able to change the drain cover and the overflow plate out easily. The drain unscrews counter-clockwise if you can't just do a new cover, and the overflow cover plate is just held on by two bolts. You should be able to find matching parts at most any plumbing supply house.
Good Luck!
Mike

I have worked on Moen valves for many years and have never seen mold on 1 of them so I don't know about the mold factory.

one further question

Thanks, folks, for your replies.

Mike, so would a new Moen facuet be likely to fit onto my current valve??

Is changing out the whole faucet a realistic option with my shower being already closed in at this point?

Cass, I don't have mold issues with my Moen valve, just the faucet handle. The handle pulls out about an inch to turn the water on, then water gets all over that exposed inch while I shower, and when I push the handle back in to turn off the water, water gets traps in there and mold grows. The facuet handle has a translucent plastic cover so I can even see the mold under there. It's very difficult to get in there to clean and DRY it after each shower since I have to have the water to even reach that area. So I want to change to a faucet, even a Moen faucet would be fine, that turns on by rotation.

I have the same Moen mold growing handles. I just take them off and soak them in diluted bleach water for a few minutes when they get too bad. Noticed most of the new units don't use the clear plastic.

handles

No new Moen valve will retrofit to your existing valve body so the part in the wall has to be changed, and the person doing the tile should have told you that the valve needed changing before you reached this stage. As far as the other questions, you should be able to find the parts with the proper finish at any good plumbing store. All handles have a recess on their undersides, so if mold grows in your Moen handle, it will grow in them also, you just won't see it because they are not transparent.