Walk through the plumbing section of your regional home center, and you’ll see a wide variety of shower faucets. These faucets come in three basic styles: single-handled units which control the water flow and temperature using one control, two-handled units which have separate controls to the cold and hot water, and three-handled units with handles to control warm, cold and divert the water in the bathtub faucet to the showerhead. If you want to change a vintage shower faucet, the simplest method is to opt for a new tap of exactly the same style as the present unit.

Switch off the water supply to the home in the water meter or principal shut-off valve.

Slip a small flathead screwdriver between one of the old faucet handles and the trim cap at the end of the handle, and pop off the trim cap. Repeat with another faucet handle(s).

Insert a Phillips screwdriver to the screw inside the faucet handle. Hold the handle securely with one hand, and rotate the screw counterclockwise to remove the screw and tighten the handle. Pull the handle off of the faucet mount. Eliminate another faucet handles in precisely the same fashion.

Slip the flathead screwdriver behind the edge of one of the escutcheons, which protect the hole in the wall behind the handle mounts, and gently pry the escutcheon away in the wall. Eliminate another escutcheons in an identical manner.

Locate the retaining nut on one of the faucet posts located just inside the hole that was covered by the escutcheon. Loosen and remove the nut using an adjustable wrench. Then grasp the tip of the faucet handle mount using a pair of slip-jaw pliers and pull on the faucet post straight out from the pipes in the wall.

Insert a new faucet post in the new faucet kit in precisely the same location from the wall. Secure the post by threading a brand new retaining nut on the post and tightening it with the adjustable wrench. Then remove and replace the remaining articles in comparable manner.

Mount the new escutcheons above the faucet posts, followed by the new handles. Tighten the handles using the manage mounting screws with a Phillips screwdriver, then put the new trim caps above the handles.

Turn on the water shutoff valve, and then analyze the operation of the new bathtub faucet.

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