Repurposed medallion brings the BLING

In the renovation industry, many tasks can be considered standard. On occasion however, thinking outside the box is required to either adapt a particularly unconventional scenario to align with the homeowner’s wishes, or most often to make the best attempt at keeping the overall costs down. No matter, these situations can be challenging, with unsurmountable hurdles. At a boat-access only cottage this past summer, the guesthouse shower proved to be a rather easy “outer-box” experience.

Although the main tub and shower was being upgraded with a full fiberglass surround unit, the prospect of expenditure waned regarding the guesthouse upright shower. Even though old chin-high walled stall was in rough shape, this shower was only used when guests stayed over at the cabin. Because that did not occur often, the cost of replacing the old and abused spare shower unit was not the client’s first option. However, the fiberglass along the faucet and shower head side of the unit had clearly been manipulated a few times throughout the years, to accommodate different types of faucets. As such, this repeated customization although functional, had left the unit unsightly and well, full of extra holes.

The old shower faucet and head would again be swapped out for new. But would there be a way to cover up the old holes, before finalizing the faucet installation?

While on site achieving a series of other tasks prior to tackling the guesthouse shower, I took several photos and measurements for future pondering. The old, exposed copper pipes behind the shower unit were easy to access. As such, the actual faucet replacement could be done rather quickly. To expedite the process, the main faucet and head array was configured off-site before my next planned visit – all I’d need to do is tie-in the rough plumbing, screw in the shower head arm, install the shower head and faucet cover and handle. However, the gaping holes remained my main concern prior to starting the project.

While wandering through the aisles at RONA on Kenaston, I kept my eye out for certain things that could be used: flat white PVC that could be cut to serve as a “cover”, an actual cover adapted from a retractable access panel, or maybe something less obvious… what about a ceiling medallion?

Ceiling medallions are decorative features added to ceiling to either center an area surrounded by crown moulding, or better illustrate where a dangling ceiling light fixture is mounted – whjetehr round, square, or rectangular, medallions have many obvious uses. In this instance however, a round medallion of proper diameter could easily serve to cover the unsightly holes left along the faucet side of the old shower stall, with the new shower faucet mounted through it. Made of dense, compressed foam (to keep it light weight for ceiling applications), these decorative medallions are water resistant and can easily be mounted using proper adhesive.

With a round medallion in hand, the next trip to the cottage was planned. After arriving on site, the first order of business was to prime the medallion, and subsequently spray-paint it several times with a high-gloss white paint. While the paint dried and had begun to cure, the old shower faucet and head were removed. The rough plumbing array pre-configured off-site was tied-in to the existing hot and cold water feeds. Additional framing along the backside of the unit provides better support for the new faucet and head spout. Once secured and rigid, the medallion, faucet cover and arm could then be installed.

The area that would be covered by the round medallion was first lightly sanded with fine grit sand-paper. Roughing up the surface will ensure better adhesion. After applying a generous amount of high-grade adhesive to the backside of the medallion, the freshly spray-painted “custom cover” was carefully set into position, by aligning the holes of the medallion with the faucet assembly that protrudes through the fiberglass wall of the shower unit. Plastic clamps were used to temporarily secure the medallion in place as the faucet cover and arm were prepped for install. Once the medallion had adhered enough to the shower wall, the cover and shower arm were mounted in standard fashion. The shower head was then mounted, and the system was tested. To reduce the chance of leak-through, the outer circumferences of the medallion and faucet covers were also sealed with a white and clear silicones, respectively. A “thinking out-of-the-box fix” that looks magnificent!

It isn’t always necessary, and sometimes even smarter to revolt against the higher expense of total replacement. In this case, the guest shower was so rarely used, the cost of a new stand-alone walk-in shower just did not seem warranted. Fortunately, a simple and cost-effective solution was derived prior to the shower head and faucet replacement, that would cover the holes from past shower faucet fixes. And from what the homeowners’ have indicated, this shower has never looked so good!

RenoBoss.Inc@outlook.com