THE Internet is filled with good websites and pages that offer instructions about basic home repairs. For those of us who are embarrassed to ask too many questions at the hardware store, it’s great to be able to look up things and learn the names of all those pipes, fasteners, cutting tools, circuits and valves that make up an ordinary home. For instance, I had no idea what the little collar around a pipe that extends from a wall to a bathroom faucet or toilet is called. I looked on the Internet and found that it is an escutcheon. 

Those things are disgusting when they get rusty. Here is one woman who does much of the repair work and remodeling around the house herself, an example of what you can find on the Internet. She explains how to replace an escutcheon.

— Comments —

Paul C. writes:

Congrats to the lady for taking on the task.  Personally, I don’t like fooling with things that aren’t broke.  The escutcheons are not broke, just not up to the refined lady’s taste.  If the removal were risk free, I would agree.  But inexperienced people should not do this.  Even I would not do it.  (I am experienced at plumbing but have never been paid to do it.)  It requires one to break a sound water seal and to reseal it, which carries a risk.  You must know how much tape (or the amount of pasty sealant) to use, how much thread to cover, and how hard to apply the wrench.  It requires experience.  The seal can’t take too much tape or a Superman arm (or wrench) or a loose connection.  I fear water leaks, which are devastating. There are alternatives.

First, if you can’t see them when using the bathroom or kitchen, forget about them.  Houses are in a state of entropy, and we can’t ever anticipate all the chaos that is going to occur.  It is simply a device to keep bugs out of the house and to add a nice finishing touch.  Push it flush with the wall, and you are done.  Of course, when finicky people like me clean, we can encounter them.  Simply apply the cleaning liquid of choice and wipe.  Second, one can obtain (from a hardware store) some cheap, wonderful stuff called brass wool or the cheaper steel wool.  The grade should be the finest, that is, far finer than rough Brillo Pads.  If I recall from 45 years ago, it is 00 gauge.  It will remove the rust without scratching the steel.  Then one can apply a little paint from a little bottle of Rust-Oleum in the color that matches the wall.  No more rust and a nice, aesthetic escutcheon.

Laura writes:

Thank you for your input, but painting an escutcheon to match the wall?

It just wouldn’t look right; also the paint will become discolored from the moisture if it is light and it would be hard to paint it without getting paint on the pipe. I also don’t believe you can get the rust off, unless it’s a few tiny spots. It isn’t important when the escutcheon can’t be seen, but in many cases it can be seen, and it looks disgusting.

You are probably right that someone who has not handled plumbing seals should hire someone to replace it.

Terry Morris writes:

I hate to disagree with Paul C., but it isn’t necessarily risky to replace a rusty escutcheon. There are replacement escutcheons made in all sizes that are hinged, so that it is a simple matter of opening the escutcheon up, slipping it over the pipe and then closing it back again. The only difficulty, then, is removing the rusty old one. Escutcheons are generally made of very thin metal (whereas the hinged replacement type are made of thicker metal and are more expensive) that can easily be cut with a pair of tin snips or even wire cutters. They are especially easy to remove in this way when they have become noticeably rusty and corroded. But there is certainly no need to break any seals to remove an escutcheon. With a little care it can be done with no problems whatsoever.

Mr. Morris adds:

I’m not a licensed plumber but I do a lot of plumbing work in connection with my home remodeling business, the great bulk of which is bathroom and kitchen remodels. Concerning the former, at least half of the bathroom remodels I do consists of gutting the bathroom completely of everything, including the drywall. And of going back with all new fixtures. This means of course I have to either hire a plumber to do the plumbing work (which can be and often is a big hassle – if I were relegated to hiring a plumber every time I did a bathroom or kitchen remodel, it would put me behind at least two days on average on every single job, so it’s simply not a very efficient way of doing business) or do the work myself. Most generally my customers prefer that I do all the work rather than hiring a plumber separately.

I have to keep this sort of hush, hush because of licensing requirements and all that, but I started doing plumbing work with my Dad when I was literally “knee high to a grasshopper,” and it ain’t rocket science afterall, so. … :-)

Doug writes:

While, I applaud the woman for this upgrade in her bathroom, I think that she unnecessarily involves maneuvers; such as disconnecting plumbing fixtures, that do not need to be done as shown in her post.

Simply snipping the escutcheon and snipping the replacement would suffice. No need to disconnect anything.

Paul C. writes:

I should have encouraged the handywoman to take on the task, if she enjoys working with her hands as I do.  The warning remains.

I know this sounds silly, but I use my brain and voice every second of the day at my job. And it is not as much fun as doing what Terry does especially because he does it himself.  But my job pays well.  I hope Terry’s does.  Of course, Terry is awfully smart.

The sad thing is that one of the most fun things I have done in the last two years is replacing my kitchen faucet.  There was no tool I had that was capable of getting to it.  So after tiring my arms while on my back to no avail, I had to invent a method using various sizes of wood to create a fulcrum.  I still feel satisfaction.

Thanks to Terry for the info about the snap-on escutcheons.  Clearly that is the best solution.  My last remodeling venture ended in 1997 as I finished my master bath when the theme song for the movie Jerry Maguire was popular.  So my knowledge is out of date.

An enamel such as Rust-Oleum should be highly resistant to moisture once the rust is knocked off with brass wool, although a Rust-Oleum primer, now that I think about it more, would probably be best to apply first.  Enamels hold up to weathering.  In my opinion, a matching escutcheon would look nice; but I am not a wife, who knows what looks best for a home.  (Last, if one does not have tin snips or pure wire-cutters, a hacksaw could remove the rusted device with few strokes, but it could be too large to use in a small space.)

Yes I have committed the sins Terry speaks of in maybe the worst way: replacing an underground gas pipe.  I had to do it because I could not otherwise cut down and remove the roots of an obtrusive fig tree.  Well it has been about thirty years, and the house has not blown up.  Like Terry, I used to do gas piping with my Daddy, a banker who used to remodel our houses on the weekends.  I greatly fear electricity, so I fool with it as little as possible.  I shut down the whole darn house and still use a tester and a quick touch with my finger before handling the wires.  Don’t you know that after all that, I was still stunned by some kind of concoction my former tenant had installed for his telephone, which usually carries little amperage.  I left that outlet alone.

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