Gap Between Diverter and Shower Wall

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Justin83

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Hi, folks.

You've been a huge help in my previous questions and I'm hoping you guys and gals can set my mind at ease with these next few. These are in regard to a new shower diverter and handle/escutcheon that I just put in.

1. The top of the diverter sits fairly tight and flush against the shower wall, but the sides and bottom do not. I'd say there is about an 1/8 inch gap between the bottom of the diverter and the wall. If I caulk all the way around leaving the bottom opened, is that gap acceptable? I tried uninstalling and reinstalling but it's no different. Seems like the copper nipple is angled up slightly. Someone I talked to mentioned trying to bend the nipple down ever so slightly to allow the whole diverter to sit flush against the wall. Thoughts on this or other ideas?

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2. The back of the escutcheon has a bead of sticky foam around the hole that fits over the stop tube. I noticed when taking it out of the box that one side of that tape was bent and kinked over. I flattened it as best I could and tightened the escutcheon screws. Is this the only thing preventing water from getting around the stop tube and behind my wall? If so, would you think I'm still ok even with the small kink in the sticky tape?

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As always, thanks for all the advice and ideas!

Justin
 

Jadnashua

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Bending the pipe is not generally a good idea, especially if you can't see what's going on behind the wall. If you can access it from behind, you might see whether it could be tweaked safely, or if not, rebuild it. If you do not have access from behind, and you are bothered by it, then that means tearing out a few tile, not an inconsiderable task, and even more problematic depending on the type of waterproofing you may have there. If you decide to leave it, a clean bead of caulk will hide at least the gap, but not the angle.
 

Justin83

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Thanks, jadnashua.

Bending the pipe makes me nervous, so I think I'm going to chicken out on that one. I had a plumber out a while back to help me with a stuck cartridge and in the process he inadvertently knocked out the blocking holding the piping in place. He then put some metal strapping in the wall fastened to a 2x4 to hold the piping in place. The old diverter didn't have this issue some wondering if taking the strapping out might level out the diverter nipple enough to get the diverter on flush. Then I reinstall the strapping once the diverter is in. Just a thought.

My second question about the sticky foam tape behind the escutcheon... Any thoughts on that? I assume that's the only thing preventing water from coming in near the stop tube?

Thanks!
Justin
 

Terry

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You can use clear polyseamseal on both places. I've even used it on the screw locations at times.
Make sure you leave the bottom open on the face plate and the tub spout to let any water that gets by a pathway to drain out.
 

Justin83

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You can use clear polyseamseal on both places. I've even used it on the screw locations at times.
Make sure you leave the bottom open on the face plate and the tub spout to let any water that gets by a pathway to drain out.

Thanks, terry! I thought about doing that. I've seen others suggest doing the screw locations, too.

Any thoughts on the spout not sitting flush? Honestly, there are no leaks now, it's more just aesthetics and me wanting it to be perfect. From the pictures, would you just caulk it or try to make it right?
 

Jadnashua

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If you have access from behind, moving the blocking should allow you to get things straight, especially if it was before.
 

Justin83

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If you have access from behind, moving the blocking should allow you to get things straight, especially if it was before.

No access from behind. Only access is through the cutout in the shower for the valve. From there, with a long drill bit, I can try adjusting the tension on the pipe to see if the diverter nipple levels out.
 
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