where canm I get the correct bath/shower kit?

[94tegRS]

ok, I dont really think AF is the best place to get this answer but dont know of any bathroom fixture message boards to go to.

anyways, the bathrooms in the house, the shower is this old amewrican standard equipment. its the chrome-finish stuff. anyways its the style where the lever turns counter-clockwise to go cold, clockwise to go hot, and the lever pivots up towards you to increase water pressure. a very common design on recently built houses. anyways now everything is that design where barely cracking it open counter clockwise is full on/full cold, and all the way counter clockweise is full on/full cold, then you put it somewhere in the middle for warm water, and clockwise to original position is off, so that there is no way to vary the pressure.

the goal is everything is being changed over to a brushed-nickel-finish instead of the cheap looking chrome-finish crap. however I cant find brushed-nickel-finish kits that work the same. I thought about just replacing the valve in the wall itself and utilize a new kit, which would work in the guest bathroom cuz I could get to it from the hallway in the master bedroom going through the wall, but the master bathroom, the wall that the valve is in, I cant get to the wal on the other side(NJ so metal framed w/cinderblock wall behind that and then the next house is right smack dab on the other side) so no way of changin that.


so does anyone know of a bath/shower combo kit/trim kit that utilizes the old style water control so I can leave the old valve alone(or maybe just replace the internals with the new internal parts) and use the new trim peices that are a brushed nickel finish.

thanks, or if you know of a better place to ask plase let meknow that as well.

[fredjacksonsan]

Home Depot/Lowes isn't a bad idea, they have a bunch of different designs available.

I was thinking about changing the valves also, until you said you can't get to it. Is the shower a plastic design? If so, you could always pull it out a few inches, so you could work on it, then put it back in. That might be more work than it's worth though, and the cutouts for the current valves might not match up with the new one. So all in all, looks like a straight replacement is your better option.

[94tegRS]

well, Ive been to both home depot and lowes and while they do have very many styles, all of them in a brushed dull finish utilize the new valve design. and no, the showers are tile, and the valve bodies are different sizes, so even the copper lines to the valve have to be modified so it isnt a switch you can do without a large access hole to get tools in. I figured maybe somebody knew of a website that sells just shower fixtures or something because I know theres many more designs than home depot/lowes sels, and ive looked at manufacturers websites but they dont make it clear as to how the water is controlled on the site, and I saw a brushed finish one that looked like the oen in there now, but the lever stil operated the new way.

[WickedNYCowboy]

Personally I think Home Depot and Lowes is great for lumber and major project supplies, but otherwise they are pretty worthless. Go to the dying mom and pop hardware store or a plumbing supply store, you have a better chance at getting a quality product then the home depot and lowes. The depot and lowes get what plumbing suppliers turn away. You might spend more money but you get better help and quality product.

['97ventureowner]

Originally Posted by 94tegRS

ok, I dont really think AF is the best place to get this answer but dont know of any bathroom fixture message boards to go to.

Why not? Don't you think some of us own and renovate our own homes along with working on our vehicles ? One thing you might want to try is checking out some of the manufacturer's websites, such as American Standard, Kohler,Delta, etc. On their sites, you can find information and a place to contact them. You can either email them or phone them and talk to someone about your situation and what you are looking for. They might be able to guide you and give you the info you need to solve your problem. There are also other plumbing related websites, most found by search engines, that deal with older and vintage parts and also may offer you some assistance. I was looking for a "hard to find '' plumbing part for a faucet in my house a few years back and went on one of these sites, and after some correspondence with their customer service , was able to find the right part, and guidance on replacing it. Good luck.