LESLIE: Nathan in Texas needs some help shopping for a faucet. Tell us about it.
NATHAN: Yes, I’m actually looking for a matching – something that will work in both my shower and my lavatory faucet in my bathroom.
TOM: OK, that shouldn’t be a problem.
NATHAN: The design I want, the lavatory is going to have the split handle that’s stubbed out of the wall; not off of the sink base.
TOM: OK.
NATHAN: Going into like a bowl.
LESLIE: OK, like for a vessel sink.
NATHAN: Correct, yes. And then the shower, I want a split handle as well that’s matching and that’s what I’m having trouble finding; a split handle in the shower. And I had heard rumor that that was against some sort of ordinance or a code or – I don’t know.
TOM: You mean where the hot and cold are separate handles.
NATHAN: Correct.
TOM: Well, I think what you need is – when you talk about code, you’re probably thinking of a pressure balance valve where it’s a single handle that mixes the hot and the cold and protects you from sort of shower shock and that’s the way most new construction would be today. But there are an awful lot of old homes out there that have separate hot and cold water faucets and I don’t see why that would be a challenge. And in fact, Leslie, the very same faucet handles that we’re using for the lavatory, we could probably use for the faucet, right – for the shower.
LESLIE: Yeah. I mean I don’t …
TOM: I don’t see why not.
LESLIE: I don’t see why not. I mean generally the issue is sometimes when you’re shopping for tub-and-shower faucets, it’s completely sold as a set; you’ve got the showerhead, you’ve got the faucet and you’ve got the tub spout. Hmm, I’m trying …
TOM: But you could buy everything separately and put it together.
LESLIE: Yeah, you could buy everything separate. I don’t see why – have you tried Moen?
NATHAN: Well, I mean I’ve just been cruising websites and it’s hard to specify what exactly you’re looking for; there are so many out there.
TOM: Well, what I would do is I would go to a plumbing supply house, explain the situation and see what options they present you. This is going to be something that’s difficult to find on a website or a home center, but if you go to a plumbing supply house and just explain to them that you want matching handles for the lavatory and for the shower that come out of the wall, turn everything on and off …
LESLIE: And that you want separate hot and cold.
TOM: … and you want a spout that matches whatever design. So I don’t think this should be that hard to do.
NATHAN: OK. Well, I really appreciate your show. It’s my six-year-old’s favorite show.
LESLIE: Oh, alright.
TOM: (chuckles) We’ve got some young fans out there. That’s terrific.
NATHAN: Well, I mean he really loves building stuff and he heard your show several months back and I mean he gets me up every Saturday.
TOM: Alright, well what’s his name?
NATHAN: Holif (sp).
TOM: Holif (sp). Alright. Well Holif (sp), thank you so much for being a fan of The Money Pit.
LESLIE: (chuckles) Thanks, Holif (sp).
TOM: And Nathan, if you hold on, we’ll send you guys a book; then when Holif (sp) gets a little bit bigger, you can read some home improvement tips to him. OK?
NATHAN: Oh man, that would be outstanding.
TOM: Alright, stand by. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
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