Mine have tiny screws on the bottom that hold them in place on to of the right fit. Might check to see if yours do too.
this post was submitted on 12 Jul 2024
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There's set screws on the flanges. I didn't think to look for one under the spigot... but no dice. Likewise on the shower knob. Not even sure where one would be hiding. The hot and cold just have an easily accessible screw fixing them to the valves. I do appreciate the suggestion though.
Total tangent... it's midnight here and I need to shower before bed. But part of me wants to turn off the water and start messing with stuff lol.
Edit: goddamn ADHD. Here's the fixtures:
Hot and cold come right off. The shower won't budge. Also, yuck.
Ugh, difficult one. You might have to remove some of the tiles to replace/fix them. Might be possible to carefully open only a small section to get to the pipes and then install a larger shower panel on top, hiding the broken tiles behind it.
I'm not sure why I would need to remove the tiles? Unless it's to have room for leverage to remove the shower knob.
The shower knobs are part of a valve assembly that is likely directly connected to the pipes below the tiles. Unless you are lucky to somehow find spare-parts for this specific 50 year old model, you will have to fully replace it.
It's anyway an odd design as the mixer seems to be below the tiles as well, making it nearly impossible to replace or fix. Like wtf were people thinking back then?
A modern standard design only has two 1/2" threaded connections (for hot and cold water) exposed through the tiles, and everything else is external, so that there is no need to touch the tiles or the pipes below when fixing or replacing the armature.
Edit: going by some other remarks, this is in the US and it isn't actually a house with real concrete or brick walls, but rather those cheap drywall contraptions people think are houses? In that case you might be able to open it up from the backside and access it from there, which would explain why they went for such an extremely bad design.
Well. That just threw cold water on my plans. Pun intended. But I'm still confused. Everything looks identical (aside from ornamentation) to something like this:
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Danco-3-Handle-Metal-Tub-Shower-Repair-Kit-For-Gerber/1092421
I should just be able to remove the old hardware: loosen the set screw on the flanges/caps, slide them off, unscrew the sleeves, then ratchet off the valve stems. The sticking point (literally) is the shower knob and bath spigot seem to be frozen/corroded in place.
ETA: yes this is in the US. Drywall under the tile, access panel behind... but I really shouldn't need to do that. Everything I've read so far outside of this thread says it should be a simple swap job.
Well, you can certainly try. Maybe this specific design is sufficiently standardized to repair it with such an kit. As a European I am not familiar with that specific design, but these things tend to have subtile differences making repairs across decades hard. But if you can access it from the backside a full replacement as a backup plan seems doable without breaking the tiles.
If hardness is the likely cause of internal incrustations, you can try to loosen it with some vinegar or other acid. But some strategic use of force is nearly always required when undoing old plumbing.
Showers/tubs should have a access panel on the other side of the wall the faucet is on so you can get at the plumbing. Mine didn't (also 1960's house) so I cut an access hole and got one of those spring loaded wall hole covers that are designed to allow wall access without cutting every time.
Yeah, the main bath has an access panel (whereas the master shower stall does not). I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be looking for on that side. The spigot should just unscrew from the tub side, correct? And the shower knob is corroded in place.
A heat gun to expand the metal and a rubber mallet or block of wood with a hammer to try and tap the handle would be my least destructive suggestion. You could try and use a pry bar, but you'll run the risk of cracking a tile.
I think I'd give my former suggestion a solid shot before trying anything that could cause damage.