So the shower faucet in the master bathroom was dripping.
Not that big a deal, except that it was there when I moved in 20 years ago, and I haven't ever had it apart...and it is a "no name" faucet. Not a name anywhere, not the faucet nor the escutcheon, nor the knob....nothing.
Now, I never had a reason to do anything with it, or the most interesting and thought provoking valving arrangement for the water supply in this area of the house....until now.
Oddly, the faucet came apart with a bit of gentle persuasion and a bit of heat and some more gentle tapping and a few other tricks that most of us who work on shit know. I actually didn't twist the faucet off...which is what generally happens in these cases.
Which was a good thing, because the previous owner did a most interesting install of the faucet valve. To replace it was gonna require that I pull the tub surround off, as the faucet was installed from the tub side, not the backside....so just cutting a bit of drywall on the other side wouldn't have gotten me there. (who uses carriage bolts and lag screws to install a faucet???)
Plus the tub is, apparently, non standard, at 54 inches long and 23 inches wide. Menards/Lowes/Home Depot don't carry anything even close to that size.
But, for once, the locking ring moved and nothing twisted too badly, and lo and behold, not only was the faucet a chinese copy of a Delta faucet, Delta replacement parts fit!!!! Ball, cups, springs, o-rings are all close enough to actually work. It's a GOOD copy of a Delta faucet.
This saved me from having to find a replacement tub/surround from, I am told, a mobile home supplier (Where this size is apparently standard) but a whole bunch of wall work and such. (Plus the tile floor, which was put in after the tub was installed, so would have had to be pulled up and replaced).
Once in a while the Gods smile upon me.
I'm just not sure what to sacrifice to whom now.
Not that big a deal, except that it was there when I moved in 20 years ago, and I haven't ever had it apart...and it is a "no name" faucet. Not a name anywhere, not the faucet nor the escutcheon, nor the knob....nothing.
Now, I never had a reason to do anything with it, or the most interesting and thought provoking valving arrangement for the water supply in this area of the house....until now.
Oddly, the faucet came apart with a bit of gentle persuasion and a bit of heat and some more gentle tapping and a few other tricks that most of us who work on shit know. I actually didn't twist the faucet off...which is what generally happens in these cases.
Which was a good thing, because the previous owner did a most interesting install of the faucet valve. To replace it was gonna require that I pull the tub surround off, as the faucet was installed from the tub side, not the backside....so just cutting a bit of drywall on the other side wouldn't have gotten me there. (who uses carriage bolts and lag screws to install a faucet???)
Plus the tub is, apparently, non standard, at 54 inches long and 23 inches wide. Menards/Lowes/Home Depot don't carry anything even close to that size.
But, for once, the locking ring moved and nothing twisted too badly, and lo and behold, not only was the faucet a chinese copy of a Delta faucet, Delta replacement parts fit!!!! Ball, cups, springs, o-rings are all close enough to actually work. It's a GOOD copy of a Delta faucet.
This saved me from having to find a replacement tub/surround from, I am told, a mobile home supplier (Where this size is apparently standard) but a whole bunch of wall work and such. (Plus the tile floor, which was put in after the tub was installed, so would have had to be pulled up and replaced).
Once in a while the Gods smile upon me.
I'm just not sure what to sacrifice to whom now.
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