shower faucet replacement

[Renee]

I have to replace the shower faucet and shower head in the master bath. It seems the only way to access it is by removing a wall panel. Any suggestions?

[Tracy]

Depending on what your wall texture is there are a couple of tricks you can use.
Try cutting a square hole and adding a nice trim board. Depending on where your access is, or you can go to home depot and buy a plastic cover plate that simply screws into place over the hole.
Good Luck

Tracy

[Renee]

The wall's only purpose is to enclose the third wall of the shower. It is highly visible - directly to the left of the entryway. The access hole whould be at eye level.

[Tom]

If your asking if there is another alternative to cutting into the wall unfortunately there isnt. The best you can do is as Tracy suggesed and to plan ahead with some sort of decorative wall piece. Tom

[Bill Fry]

If your shower head is on a pipe that goes into the wall the pipe is simply unscrewed with a pipe wrench.You replace by simply reversing the process.As far as the faucet goes ,it probably has a round decorative cover on it.Theres a couple of screws on it which remove it.Underneth is the fixture.If this is your setup *sometimes* it is possible to repace without tearing a bigger hole.If you're not a plumber or handyman you don't have the tools though.Much easier to call a plumber for a estimate.

[Renee]

Thank you all for your help. I went to a few building product stores today and could not find any vinyl covered fiberboard to replace this panel with (don't want to replace with drywall). I think our only option is to cut a hole and use a plumbing access panel to cover it with. At least this will make any future repairs easier.