Shower handle sticking out too far

Thanks for posting this information about the Moen Handle Sticking Out Too Far. I was plumbing in the Moen Valve and did a mock up for depth placement with the plastic cover flush with edge of the finished wall. I used a tile and a small peice of drywall to estimate it's thickness. Well I found that it stuck out too far if I followed the Moen instructions (I had to download them as the ones in the box were just pictorial). Yes the handle would function but it wouldn't look good. Kind of like having a door knob stick 6 inches out from a door, it will work but it ain't pretty! I ended up moving the valve further back in the wall cavity before I had put up the drywall, Kerdi and tiles. Very happy in the end but I did a lot of head scratching in the beginning, it sure didn't look like the nice picture they showed. One weird design that could be made a lot nicer looking. Lesson learned, read the instructions, do the mockup, then if it seems wrong go to the internet, chances are someone else has had the same problem with the same model as you. Thanks everyone

 

Moen sells junk

From your post in 2007 I find it funny that I ran into the same problem in 2012. Moen simply sucks. They know that they have this probem and they continue to sell the same junk with the same problems. In south Florida most upscale homes are made with concrete block and stucko with a 1/2 inch nailer, sheet rock then tile (wood is bug food down here). Installed the product per Moen instructions more or less just diagrams.

So when installing the same shower valve five years later I have the same problem and it looks like hell. Pure junk. Moen answer move the valve back to allow the handle to be flush. Oh, you want me to take off the tile, sheet rock, knock a huge whole in the concrete block and change the plumbing just so your junk will be flush. You got to be kidding me. Moen plan B we will send you an extention for the plate that will give the tolarable distance of 3/4 of an inch. Give me a break. Moen shower handle sticks out and looks like crap.

 

"Moen simply sucks. They know that they have this probem"

moen does not have a problem.. it is simply whomever installed the valve who has the "problem"

it is OK where it is. if you wanted it closer, you could have talked to whomever installed it BEFORE it was installed & where you expected it to be.

 

Moen (and most other manufactuers) give a range of acceptable fitment for their valves. From their viewpoint, if it fits, it's okay. But, since there's a range, it is up to the individual to decide where THEY want it. SOrt of like deciding where to hang a picture...not everyone will like it in the same place. YOU have to try it and decide. The manufacturer is just telling you the range in which it will fit. It's always best to mock up the wall configuration and valve placement to decide if it's the look you are after. If not, and you can't change the valve placement, choose a different brand that may have a different set of limitations that meet your criteria of acceptable asthetics - don't blame the manufacturer on this (although they are not blameless maybe for not telling you).

 

I have never cared much for the Moen line myself but in order to not make this a "I hate Moen thread" will say that having the trim onsite with the rough in is key to nailing these installs. I'd class Moen in with a huge class of what I call Low End fixtures. These low end fixtures offer a good price and cheap replacement parts. Easy to service. Fast to install. Cheap. Cheap. Cheap.

Higher end fixtures like my favourite Dornbracht ones offer up better design, better site sizing, better leak protection and on and on. The difference is in the install and how the trim is installed.

With some fixtures great effort is needed to achieve a certain look. Perhaps the backing for the Moen shown above was installed as a 2"x10" - perhaps using some 3/4" plywood would have made this install look that much better.

Sometimes its crap in the wall. Maybe the collar is not fully sitting back into the wall???

If you leave these types of choice to the plumbers - you get what you get.

JW

 

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That looks beautiful.

I just had the same shower kit installed and got what the original poster showed. I know I’m late to the party here but as far as the banter about functional vs. aesthetics goes, I think any professional should have enough forethought to make sure it is 100% functional as well as aesthetically pleasing. Unfortunately, it seems like professional is used rather loosely nowadays. I'm a homeowner, not a contractor. While I'm exceptionally handy fixing things around the house, I don't know a lick about plumbing. I expect the plumber “professional” to know it. So in instances like this I would expect a professional plumber to either make it look like the box picture or be sure to notify the homeowner beforehand what needs to be done to make it look like that.

In my case I used a general contractor and I know that has its own problems because I’m not speaking directly with a plumber and the plumber probably isn’t speaking directly with the tile guy. So I don’t fault the plumber fully, but he should have made the contractor aware and the contractor should have told me. It’s a lesson learned on my part, but it sucks that a homeowner has to essentially be the plumber and think of all this ahead of time so he can make sure to tell the contractor “this is how it should look” when everyone knows darn well how it should look.

And not to bash on plumbers but if any “professional” says “well, it’s within specs” to justify the handle looking like that then they are hardly professional at all. And don’t give me the baloney that this is what the Moen instructions say. I hire a “professional” not because he can follow an instruction sheet but because he supposedly has years of experience that allow him to make something functional AND aesthetically pleasing. If I was a "professional" plumber, I'd be embarrassed that a shower handle turned out that way.
Put it this way. If I make drugs for a living and I have a cure for cancer, you’d probably be pretty pissed if I give you a drug that cures your cancer but leaves you completely unable to move. I can say “hey, the drug is functional”

 

The best way to approach this is to make up a mock-up board of the finished wall with tile attached and show them where you want things to be. But, if you then decide to change tile or change something else, you can't blame the plumber. Most of the time, those details have not been determined and things like the tile and trim may not get selected until long after the plumber has left the job.

 

Most times plumbers need only a measurement. Tell the plumber the build out from framing is 1 1/4".

This world with most 3/8" tile =/- 1/4"

Set the center of the mud ring or depth gauge at this mark.

Before doing so check that the off set is nice at factory settings.

many fixtures have segmented parts that can be cut back for a tighter fit......

Planning Fixture Placement? Check out this Ideabook

 

That will work with many brands, but not all. Take some of the Kohler stuff where it has to be within 1/16" to look good. Until you've selected all of your components, where it needs to be is just a guess...it will often work, but it's still best to check your specific situation. And, then you have to ensure your desires are fulfilled and you have to follow through with using the same materials.

 

Well, my intention is not to say that plumbers are not professionals. I just think that anyone seeing an end product in the original picture should agree that the valve sticking out that far doesn't look asthetically pleasing. In 40+ years and 12+ dwellings, I've never lived in a place where the shower handle stuck out more than 1/4" from the escutcheon. Maybe I've been lucky, but that is the experience I've had. Heck, until this recent remodel I didn't even know they could stick out that far. You've shown three different photos and they look excellent, so I'm assuming you don't have 40 other installs where the handles are protruding an extra 1.5"

In my case I look at it as my beef being with my general contractor that left the job looking like that. I feel like he should have been coordinating the plumber and tiler so the job didn't end up just "within spec" but also should have been asthetically pleasing.

That's pretty much my point. If I'm doing a job on my home it may not be exactly to spec, but it will definitely be functional AND asthetically pleasing to the best of my ability. But for jobs out of my element, I'm paying a professional plumber, builder, contractor, etc. so I don't have to ask those questions.

I understand this and can sympathize, especially when the plumber never gets to talk to the tiler. Im my case, I went through a general contractor so I lay the blame at his feet. I gave him all the materials up front, so I would have expected him to coordinate the plumber and tiler.

The comment wasn't really meant to be sarcastic or "witty." It was an analogy. I do drug research for a living. The cancer drug is equivalent to the valve. If the cancer drug does its job it works. If the valve is "within specs" it works. However, if the cancer drug leaves you paralyzed you might look at it as being alive but not really meaningfully, thus who cares if the drug works your life is ruined either way. If you've created a beautiful bathroom except the shower valve sticks out 2" and looks obviously out of place, you might think it detracts from the whole thing and ruins the look, so who cares if the valve is working properly.

You mentioned that Kholer builds some adjusting room into some of their products and Moen sells a longer valve to help with adjustments. Do you know if Moen sells a shorter valve? Really, it looks like all they need is to shorten the stem that the handle attaches to. I considered cutting mine down but I don't think I can re-tap the threads to screw the cap on again.

 

Jehman

I pay my plumbers to install the plumbing. Not the backing or blocking they need to mount the fixtures.

Many times we need to use 5/8" ply to make a fixture look nice. These can be hard to install easily.

Some jobs we have used 1/4" ply.

One job we slapped the fixture on the back side of the drywall and had to Jerry rig it. Then I spray foamed the bitch in place.

Lots of dicking around many times.

If we all did everything by the book all the time it would be impossible to finish a job and make it look nice. Kind of like installing sheet membranes like Kerdi, NobleSeal TS, Dural and the like. If we mixed the thin-set like we are suppose to (maker of thin-set specs) it would not work well with the sheet membrane.

If we follow manufactures specs on setting thin-set over concrete we would have to shot blast every slab.

I'm not a fan of Kohler and Moen fixtures because they are so fixed and rigid in design. The higher end fixtures have segmented handle stems that can be trimmed to fit perfect.



You can see the segment rings. These get cut after tile for a perfect fit....

When your seeking perfection you need to be able to afford it. Ask for it. And then pay for it.

 

I'm liking the look of that in the shower Terry.



I think that's the Eye Digital there on the right.

Have you rough'd in one of these yet?

I can see where this fellow has his priority washing area zoned in..... LOL



Looks like a Happy Ending Shower

 

As are you. Taking too many drugs and hiring a wise cracking plumber to be your surgeon can leave a lot to be desired. Ah well, we live and learn...

 

Next time San Diego jehman give Reed stewart a call @ stewart Brothers construction...Real nice guy with top notch follow thru.