Fix this mess with a shower taps front plate

[sgabello]

Hello everyone.

I really hope someone can come up with a good idea to fix this ugly mistake.
I recently had my bathroom refurbished and my fitter, among other mistakes (...long story...), also messed up with the installation of the shower taps. The result is that they stick out from the wall and the front plate doesn't sit flush with the tiles.

Proposed solution? A very thick and ugly splash of silicone around the edges:

I can't accept it... it's just too ugly and it really bothers me. Removing the tiles and fix it would be a monumental job and I think my fitter would walk away and loose the remaining 50% of the agreed quote for the job, rather than doing it. Also, this is now the 7th week since they started. I'm literally exhausted... I want my bathroom back!

Hence... Even if it goes against all my principles, I'd like to find a workaround.

My only idea so far is to find someone who can solder a thicker plate behind the front one so to make it look like a thicker solid block, and then chrome it. But I have no idea of who would be able to do something like this.

Any other idea?

Pleaseeeee!

 

[Nige F]

No need for solder and chrome plating = a stainless steel fabricator to cut and polish a plate then it can be fixed on with epoxy resin

 

[sgabello]

No need for solder and chrome plating = a stainless steel fabricator to cut and polish a plate then it can be fixed on with epoxy resin

Cool! The reason why I wanted to chrome it is that I'd like it to look like a thicker, solid piece of metal, rather than two sheets sandwiched together. Can I get the same result with epoxy and by polishing?

Also, in my head a stainless steel fabricator is someone who deals with large projects... I honestly don't know how to find someone who can work on such a small job

 

[muggles]

Large items are made from many small items welded together....

Chuck the original plate out and just have a thicker plate made to fit rather than trying to join two bits together. I've used Stoneman Engineering in Devon before now but I'm sure others would also be able to help

 

[sgabello]

Chuck the original plate out and just have a thicker plate made to fit rather than trying to join two bits together.

The front plate is not just a piece of stainless steel with a couple of holes in it. It has also some extruded pieces at the back to accommodate the rubber seals and some engraves on the front. I agree 100% that a new thicker plate would look better... but I thought it would be hard to reproduce those details.

 

[muggles]

A skilled fabricator will produce whatever you ask them to produce. Just remember to hang on to the seals as you'll need them for the new plate

 

[nortonj]

Your tile doesn't look like its grouted yet should be a couple of hours max to remove and replace, just depends whether you have the depth behind to set the valve further back.
I made the mistake of fitting a tile last week without checking the plate coverage grouted everwhere and when i came to 2nd fix realised what i had done took me a couple of hours to take off and re fit, but had to be done

 

[sgabello]

Your tile doesn't look like its grouted yet should be a couple of hours max to remove and replace, just depends whether you have the depth behind to set the valve further back.
I made the mistake of fitting a tile last week without checking the plate coverage grouted everwhere and when i came to 2nd fix realised what i had done took me a couple of hours to take off and re fit, but had to be done

Unfortunately we are a little further down with the works. It's tiled and grouted... also the shower door is installed. They realised the mistake too late. Also, I'm honestly really worried that removing the tile would damage the tanking. Finally, the valves are fixed on a sheet of plywood screwed between stud timbers: in order to move them backward, they would need to remove all the adjoining tiles, cut a large piece of plasterboard off etc... It would take ages. And this project has been going on for more than 7 weeks now. I'm exhausted to a point that, going against all my rules, I'm willing to compromise.

 

[nortonj]

Well if you can find a work around will be less hassle/time.
I had the profile on for the shower door also but luckily hadn't fitted the door and the silicone hadn't quite set so wasn't a massive problem.
Good luck

 

[ree]

OP,

FWIW:
Back in october you were advised what to do about the appalling bathroom fitting?


The simplest resolution to the above difficulties is to remove the backing tile, and make a close fitting template out of a square of, say hardboard.
Scribe around the valves until you have a close fit. Use more than one hardboard attempt if necessary.
The final square of hardboard to be the dimensions of the tile - allow for grout lines.
Slide the hardboard template over the projections, and then slide the cover plate over, and see that it does indeed cover the "hardboard tile".
If all is well then use the template to cut out a new backing tile.

No professional tiler or bathroom fitter would have made such rough cuts or set the tile without offering up the cover plate.

Is the plate surround actually in all-round contact with the tile - or is it being held off the tile ?

 

[sgabello]

OP,

FWIW:
Back in october you were advised what to do about the appalling bathroom fitting?

Yeah... I know... the advice was to let the fitter go. And I would have done it if I wasn't living in the property. I tried to get in touch with a few plumbers and tilers (with a good score on checkatrade). Unfortunately some were not willing to take over someone else job, others were not available with short notice. I had a frank discussion with my fitter and at the end of it he really politely asked if I wanted him to finish the job (I must give that to the guy: he has really good manners and he is extremely patient).
I was tempted to say "NO" but the idea to be without a bathroom for months, went against it.

Re your proposed solution. I believe you misunderstood the problem: the front plate does cover the tile.
The problem instead is that the valves haven't been installed deep enough into the wall and therefore the brass sticks out from the tile surface, stopping the front plate from sliding to the back and meet the tile. Basically exactly what you were wondering in your last question.

 

[Madrab]

Can you not rebate the plate to accommodate the brass or adjust the brass to allow the plate to sit properly, may be the easier option?

 

[sgabello]

Can you not rebate the plate to accommodate the brass or adjust the brass to allow the plate to sit properly, may be the easier option?

Unfortunately the plate is only few mm thick... and the point of contact between the brass and the plate is actually the rim that keeps the rubber seals which go around the valves in place on the plate. Any mistake there, and we loose the seal around the valves.

Working on the brass could be an option... but there are a good 5mm to shave off... all around... in a very confined space. Tricky!

 

[Madrab]

Time for the dremel with a flexi extension and a pointed grinding stone methinkies

 

[sgabello]

Thanks to everyone... In the end we "fixed" the issue by adding a thick layer of silicone. We used the same color of the grout (Mapei grout/silicone) and the end result is actually not that bad visually: it has a 45degree bevel which looks nicely finished. Without knowing about the original issue, I feel like it could be mistaken as for something done on purpose. My only concern is about how long it will last... time will tell.

Here's the end result.