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I've just moved into an apartment that features this oddity in the bathroom. The brass tap cuts off the cold water to the bathroom and is located inside the shower/bath recess, which is really inconvenient. It's ugly and the gap around it means water can get into the wall pretty easily.
My original hope was to replace it with a chrome tap handle and get it looking more in-line with the rest of the bathroom, but I had a plumber in today and he said it couldn't be done as the fitting was the wrong size (plus the water to the building would need to be cut off in order to replace it). He then looked into trying to get a chrome handle that would fit, but nothing seems to exist so he suggested spraypainting it silver, which doesn't really solve anything.
What I'm thinking of doing now is to fill in the hole around the tap using either white silicone or Knead It (probably Knead It would be better - hole seems too big to easily gum up with silicone but I'm unsure) and then mounting a corner shower caddy above it to make it less noticeable. Ideally I'd like to cover it with entirely some sort of 60mm x 60mm box but I can't find anything suitable in my searches.
Does anyone have any better ideas on the best way to tackle this? The big restriction being that I can't remove it, even temporarily.
Hello @diwhat
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's marvellous to have you join us, and thank you for sharing your question about covering your isolation valve.
I suggest using three components to cover the valve and protect the insides of your bathroom wall from moisture damage.
I recommend using the following parts:
- Holman 50mm PVC DWV Push-On Cap I/N: 4750164
- Holman 50mm PVC DWV Floor Flange I/N: 4750173
- Holman 50mm x 1m PVC DWV Pipe I/N: 4770087
I suggest combining the parts to create a cover and spray painting the assembly in gloss white. The parts can be glued together or you can use silicone to keep them from separating. I then propose using the silicone to attach it to your tiled wall and letting the silicone cure overnight before you choose a soap dish or caddy to go over it. However, if the 50mm pipe is too tight for the valve you can go to the next size up which is 65mm.
I've drawn a sketch of the assembly to give you an idea of how they will go together and cover the brass valve. Please have a look and tell me what you think.
If you need further assistance, please let us know.
Eric
