A plumber came today to fix our upstairs shower. Roger had given it his best shot to remove the original mineral-crusted and barely functioning old faucet and knobs before relenting and calling for backup. It turned out to be quite an undertaking even for the plumber to get the old stuff out. It took him hours. The plumbing had essentially been cemented in when the plaster walls were built. There weren't any shutoff valves behind the access panel either. It seems whomever built the house assumed the plumbing would never need to be worked on. It makes you wonder why they bothered putting in an access panel at all.
Anyway, several months ago we had purchased an expensive and snazzy set of porcelain replacement knobs (top photo) in anticipation of this job. Unfortunately, this old-style hardware was designed for a new-style house with thin sheet rock walls, and the walls of the shower are thick plaster - too thick for the hardware to fit.
But the plumber happened to bring along his own set of hardware with different knobs (bottom photo) which did fit - just barely. A newer style, but able to go into older walls. Therein lies the irony... I suppose the porcelain knobs were made for new bathrooms only. So much for preservation, let alone restoration.
But perhaps what we ended up with is more fitting to the 50's style of the bathroom anyway. I'm sure any preservationist or designer would now be spitting-mad at my ignorance. Well, we tried.
Anyway, several months ago we had purchased an expensive and snazzy set of porcelain replacement knobs (top photo) in anticipation of this job. Unfortunately, this old-style hardware was designed for a new-style house with thin sheet rock walls, and the walls of the shower are thick plaster - too thick for the hardware to fit.
But the plumber happened to bring along his own set of hardware with different knobs (bottom photo) which did fit - just barely. A newer style, but able to go into older walls. Therein lies the irony... I suppose the porcelain knobs were made for new bathrooms only. So much for preservation, let alone restoration.
But perhaps what we ended up with is more fitting to the 50's style of the bathroom anyway. I'm sure any preservationist or designer would now be spitting-mad at my ignorance. Well, we tried.
1 comment:
The important thing is you get a nice hot shower when you need it. There are times when there is nothing better for one self than a long hot shower.
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