Corrosion isolated to one bathroom/3-handle shower/tub question

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Johnny_Fear

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First of all, thanks to Terry for such a great forum. I've learned things here that have helped fixed some previous issues though I'm not a poster.

I'm going to do my best to keep this short but be forewarned it won't be. We renovated a bathroom almost 13 years ago. Contractor was almost certainly not a licensed plumber but that's another story.

At the time they installed Union Brass 531 3-handle tub-shower combo and 2 910 lavatory sets. On the shower/tub, we've had to replace the showerhead (Kohler plastic) due to Calcium build-up, and the chrome-plated Zinc spout was literally flaking away to nothing. Recently the spout started leaking so I set to replace the diverter. Lots of calcium build-up there and on the internals, and then when I inspected the hot/cold handles and valves, I discovered the "escutcheon hex sleeve" (#10) is corroded to the nipple (#8), which is also corroded to the bonnet nut (#25). See below.

Union brass 531.png


Here's a shot of the inside of one of the escutcheons with 8/10/25 together next to a sink handle/escutcheon that's in relatively good shape compared to the others in the bathroom, along with two shots of the valves.
IMG_0481.jpeg


I don't think that's pee in the water line but it sure is interesting. Hope the other side looks better.
IMG_0483.jpeg


Narrator: "The other side, in fact, did not look better, and also showed why the spout wiggles."
IMG_0486.jpeg


The point I'm trying to make is that the corrosion issue is isolated to this bathroom. UB said the issue was due to hard water but we are on semi-softened city water plus have our own softener in good condition. Lines throughout the house are still all copper.

Our other bathroom is connected downstream to the same lines and had a crappy builder-grade Delta faucet that was there when we bought the house and a Hansgrohe shower/tub/shower head that we installed about 9 years ago, and they both look basically new. Cleaning ladies use the same stuff in each bathroom every 2 weeks. The only other spot there's some corrosion is on one of the unions out of our tankless heater, which is odd since I replaced it about 6 months ago. Obviously I can clean up some of this stuff with CLR or vinegar, etc., or get replacement parts from UB or the aftermarket rebuild kits, but I'd like to get to the bottom of why this issue seems confined to that bathroom.

Last, since we're dumb, we configured the shower so we didn't have rear access to the shower valve. I had assumed the rough-in valve threads would be universal and that we could get Pfister or someone else's valves/etc. (depending on stem length/escutcheons/handles) to at least get away from UB or an aftermarket imitation but it looks like I'm wrong there. We are trying to maintain the mid-century modern look of the house so I prefer to avoid one of the giant cover plates with a single-handle setup. We do have spare tile but obviously would need to do something about the Durarock removed. Code for scalding is a separate issue at this point.

So, the TL;DR is that UB (and Kohler) have corrosion issues in one bathroom, water is softened, parts are regularly cleaned, and older/slightly newer fixtures in another bathroom do not have this issue. Any ideas why it seems localized, and suggestions for replacing the shower? Just do UB again?
Thanks for reading if you made it this far.
 
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Tuttles Revenge

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The materials the faucets are made from seem to be the issue. I don't deal with hard/softened water at all so no experience with issues related to it. But I've seen similar corrosion under those types of chrome plated metals.
 

Breplum

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Pot metal trim is the problem. Junky and cheap.
Good mfrs provide lifetime warranty. I've never used that mfr.
But I looked: "Guarantee: Union Brass will replace any parts without charge which are defective in material or workmanship in manufacturing when used for the purpose manufactured. No claims for labor or damage of any kind allowed..
 

Johnny_Fear

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Pot metal trim is the problem. Junky and cheap.
Good mfrs provide lifetime warranty. I've never used that mfr.
But I looked: "Guarantee: Union Brass will replace any parts without charge which are defective in material or workmanship in manufacturing when used for the purpose manufactured. No claims for labor or damage of any kind allowed..
Thanks for taking the time to look and reply. I've contacted them but they blamed it on hard water. I replied with some specifics about our water and we'll see where that goes.

Since it looks like I'm now about to have to replace this assembly entirely, any particular brands you recommend? The usual Kohler, big box brands, etc? I'll be having a plumber do this since replacing the rough-in valve that's sweated is beyond me but I'd really like to avoid the ugly cover plate look (we do have spare tiles but obviously there's the whole Durarock thing). Really glad we decided against having rear-access. :mad:
 
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