Change diverter types in shower- possible?

[timmyers15]

Hi. I am remodeling my tub surround. I have a single lever faucet with a diverter through the escutcheon plate itself (NOT on top of the spout). I am having a hard time finding replacement handle/plates with the divereter in the plate. I have only found one so far, which cost $700, far more than I want to spend.....

My question is this- If I wanted to replace the handle/plate/spout with a set that has the diverter built into the spout, would I have to do anything special with the existing diverter mechanism? Would everything in the wall have to be ripped out and replaced, or is there a may to simply remove the current diverter and leave the mechanism/valve "as is" in the wall?

Sorry for the probably dumb question, but I've never worked with diverters before.

Thanks!

Tim

 

[Jadnashua]

You should be able to replace the valve with a new one if you are doing some remodeling for much less than the $700. Now, if you are not replacing the walls, it gets a little harder. They do make remodel eschucions that should cover the larger hole in the wall if you can't get at the valve from behind. Then, using a divertor tub filler spout, you should be fine. When I did my bathroom remodel, I chose an external valve with a build-in divertor and a hand shower. Thus, I only had two pipes coming out of the wall - the hot and cold. Everything else is outside. That wall backed up against a big air duct in a closet, and I just didn't want to have to cut things up to replace or work on stuff in the wall. Since pipes usually are pretty reliable, I'm hoping i should be okay.