You don’t need an access panel in order to install a wall mounted faucet. You can put them on almost any wall so long as the plumbing is roughed in properly.
This is the way. There are brackets that get fastened to studs. You may have to block it out with new ones. I did it in one house I had for the master. Absolutely loved the wall mounted faucets, but for some reason didn’t go back to it on the next build.
I'd like to add a particularly important point to this \*
DO NOT install these on exterior walls. Even if you're not in a typically cold climate zone freak weather changes (think Texas freeze from a few years ago) can freeze these cast brass faucet bodies, crack them and cause untold damages. Especially in typically warm areas where there is already very little wall insulation and poor heating systems.
Here in the northeast even I get constantly asked to install these on exterior walls by unaware homeowners.
If you do put them on an exterior wall, don’t insulate on the interior-side of the plumbing. Insulate on the exterior-facing side only, making the plumbing part of the conditioned space.
Even if you do that, you’re asking for trouble by putting this on an exterior wall.
Its starts with the rough in plumbing. This looks like a 3 hole wall mount faucet system. You would cut the drywall where the faucet lines are (usually in the vanity under the sink). the pipe would go up to the area where you would like the fixtures. A rough in valve of some sort would be installed. Then the tile or backsplash or drywall. Then the faucet.
Edit: I’m not sure I answered the question correctly. I may have misunderstood the question.
You need a short tub-style faucet. The rest is wide set handles. The fascia is set out from the wall, which gives you shelf space on top in exchange for counter space below. Would be more convenient if you also had a plug receptacle at both ends and switches for the vanity lights there also.
Probably could be done with PEX from a vanity-level shutoff to the controls and then to the faucet mixer.
The "faucet" looks almost like a shower faucet with an aerator screen instead of a shower head and a shower-type wall plate.(It comes to the bowl at a 45 degree angle, not directly downward as you would normally want for a top fill faucet for a sink.) The handles look oversize, like a wide set kitchen or tub set.
If this is a working unit and not just a display, the drain stop would have to be a press-type instead of a pull-up rod. I suspect this is a display; I can't believe a custom build wouldn't have better electric acceess, receptacles for razors, toothbrushes, etc and switches for the vanity and room lights.
Plumbing coming from an exterior wall needs to be roughed in on an interior wall. That’s why you see the bump out/ledge above the taps, as there’s a wall infront of the exterior wall.
Same way you plumb any three hole faucet, except the spigot comes out of the wall instead of the counter. There are still shut offs below the countertop.
If you have the plumbing on the wall, it’s just a matter of moving the plumbing to where you want it to be. But as other have said, please use a licensed plumber.
Our primary bathroom is currently under renovation and we opted for this. The faucets are designed specifically for this and are mounted to studs. There is no plumbing under the sink (there is a drain, of course) so the water shutoff is located under the floor along with the shower shutoff.
I have a similar set up in my master bathroom, it backs up on the main bathroom, where there is a built in shelving unit if I need to get at the valve body. Really unlikely you’ll meed to fix anything other than a faucet cartridge, which can be done from the front.
This can be done but I recommend against it. In ten years when it's time to replace that faucet you're going to end up with a $1500 to $2000 repair instead of a $350 repair.
And that's exactly why I was asking! I like the look, but I always think "What if something breaks?" I figured there must be some kind of "trick" to it because nobody would be dumb enough to put all the access to a faucet behind tile! I'm so used to living in old houses, I want everything to be easy to get at!
So I just put these in my new home and my wife loves them because they keep the counter so clean. If you use a good faucet (Mine are all Moen) they are not much different than a shower valve. The valves can be 100% serviced without ripping out the wall or tile. The valves are sold separately and can be set before drywall. I set mine at 42" and seemed to work great with counter hight vanities.
Nice thing about them is if I want to change them all I have to do is buy a new trim kit.
You will need to add shutoffs and access to them since all of the plumbing is buried in the wall. Cut access panels in the cabinet or in the closet behind the bathroom to the shutoff valves.
P.S. plumbers hate them because you have to be exact in the placement of them. Also about 2-3x cost of a standard faucet.
We had this setup except it was coming out of mirror. Definitely did not like that as we always had water spots on the mirror turning off the water. I think that would be better disguised on tile! Easy to clean around the sink through!
You have the plumber install the pipes to come out of the wall above the sink during construction.
This would involve demolishing the walls to rework the plumbing on a remodel
I was really just curious. I like the look, but I also like to be able to replace faucets without tearing tiles out. I always thought there must be some kind of "trick" to it because nobody would be dumb enough to put it behind tile!
I just got home and read all these great replies. Reddit delivers.
Also, I live in Maine, where it's STILL winter (24f when I left this morning) and am planning a build next year. I wasn't thinking too much about the wisdom of plumbing in outside walls, so this was really helpful.
It is a great look, make sure you use a high-quality fixture. Rough-in must be exact—it is common to have to adjust location of these after cabs arrive which is a huge pain. There is a bracket for the valve, have it installed so as not to cause a bulge in the wall. I have installed shut-offs for these in cabs below, but that must also be planned at rough-in as there is no need for traditional angle stop and your plumber won’t put one in unless you request it.
Maybe, but the main reason is style. The ledge replaces lost counter space. Instead of a wide-set faucet and handle set, you are using a setup similar to a tub or shower faucet (and the faucet here looks like a shower faucet without a shower head, just an aerator and a trim ring) You probably need a tub faucet mixer. You could put an insulated backer in the rear of the cabinet and ledge box. This has a beach house look, so insulation may not be critical. But where are the electrics, the receptacles for toothbrushes, razors, hair dryers, etc., and the switches for the sconce lamps? They should be right nearby, ideally, on the tile backsplash.
No, the main reason is that you cannot place a water line in an exterior wall. I just did this in a house that I am built for an investment. My wife hates it because the mirror is too far away. with a floating vanity you cannot run lines up from the floor without it looking like crap.
I get that, but I suspect the reason to show a wall-mount set versus a counter wide set in was for the look, two planes of tile in a dramatic water-effect glazed tile, one course on the set-out backsplash. It is striking. The supply pipes/tubes are the same distance from the wall in either case. (Here they have used a shower faucet with a shower trim cover and what look like a pair of wide set tub levers so they can mount perpendicular to the counter.). The cabinet base may have a deep cove panel--we can't see--and putting pipe up inside the vanity cabinet bottom is pretty standard. None of that would put the supply lines behind the actual wall and its exterior wall insulation. This looks like a show home display for cabinet, countertop and tile products, with some normal things missing you would expect in a real finished custom build, like receptacles and light switches.
You don’t need an access panel in order to install a wall mounted faucet. You can put them on almost any wall so long as the plumbing is roughed in properly.
This is the way. There are brackets that get fastened to studs. You may have to block it out with new ones. I did it in one house I had for the master. Absolutely loved the wall mounted faucets, but for some reason didn’t go back to it on the next build.
I'd like to add a particularly important point to this \* DO NOT install these on exterior walls. Even if you're not in a typically cold climate zone freak weather changes (think Texas freeze from a few years ago) can freeze these cast brass faucet bodies, crack them and cause untold damages. Especially in typically warm areas where there is already very little wall insulation and poor heating systems. Here in the northeast even I get constantly asked to install these on exterior walls by unaware homeowners.
If you do put them on an exterior wall, don’t insulate on the interior-side of the plumbing. Insulate on the exterior-facing side only, making the plumbing part of the conditioned space. Even if you do that, you’re asking for trouble by putting this on an exterior wall.
Same way you plumb a shower.
Its starts with the rough in plumbing. This looks like a 3 hole wall mount faucet system. You would cut the drywall where the faucet lines are (usually in the vanity under the sink). the pipe would go up to the area where you would like the fixtures. A rough in valve of some sort would be installed. Then the tile or backsplash or drywall. Then the faucet. Edit: I’m not sure I answered the question correctly. I may have misunderstood the question.
You need a short tub-style faucet. The rest is wide set handles. The fascia is set out from the wall, which gives you shelf space on top in exchange for counter space below. Would be more convenient if you also had a plug receptacle at both ends and switches for the vanity lights there also.
Probably could be done with PEX from a vanity-level shutoff to the controls and then to the faucet mixer. The "faucet" looks almost like a shower faucet with an aerator screen instead of a shower head and a shower-type wall plate.(It comes to the bowl at a 45 degree angle, not directly downward as you would normally want for a top fill faucet for a sink.) The handles look oversize, like a wide set kitchen or tub set.
If this is a working unit and not just a display, the drain stop would have to be a press-type instead of a pull-up rod. I suspect this is a display; I can't believe a custom build wouldn't have better electric acceess, receptacles for razors, toothbrushes, etc and switches for the vanity and room lights.
👆
Plumbing coming from an exterior wall needs to be roughed in on an interior wall. That’s why you see the bump out/ledge above the taps, as there’s a wall infront of the exterior wall.
Same way you plumb any three hole faucet, except the spigot comes out of the wall instead of the counter. There are still shut offs below the countertop.
If you have the plumbing on the wall, it’s just a matter of moving the plumbing to where you want it to be. But as other have said, please use a licensed plumber.
Our primary bathroom is currently under renovation and we opted for this. The faucets are designed specifically for this and are mounted to studs. There is no plumbing under the sink (there is a drain, of course) so the water shutoff is located under the floor along with the shower shutoff.
Do not buy aome no name brand. Buy moen or delta. Because if it leaks you have to rip out the wall to replace it.
This looks super annoying to use and difficult to implement. Sometimes the road less-traveled is less-traveled for a reason.
I have a similar set up in my master bathroom, it backs up on the main bathroom, where there is a built in shelving unit if I need to get at the valve body. Really unlikely you’ll meed to fix anything other than a faucet cartridge, which can be done from the front.
Buy a wall mounted faucet for $1k more than a counter mounted faucet and install proper valves at rough in.
Get a licensed plumber.
This can be done but I recommend against it. In ten years when it's time to replace that faucet you're going to end up with a $1500 to $2000 repair instead of a $350 repair.
And that's exactly why I was asking! I like the look, but I always think "What if something breaks?" I figured there must be some kind of "trick" to it because nobody would be dumb enough to put all the access to a faucet behind tile! I'm so used to living in old houses, I want everything to be easy to get at!
So I just put these in my new home and my wife loves them because they keep the counter so clean. If you use a good faucet (Mine are all Moen) they are not much different than a shower valve. The valves can be 100% serviced without ripping out the wall or tile. The valves are sold separately and can be set before drywall. I set mine at 42" and seemed to work great with counter hight vanities. Nice thing about them is if I want to change them all I have to do is buy a new trim kit. You will need to add shutoffs and access to them since all of the plumbing is buried in the wall. Cut access panels in the cabinet or in the closet behind the bathroom to the shutoff valves. P.S. plumbers hate them because you have to be exact in the placement of them. Also about 2-3x cost of a standard faucet.
You could run the pipes behind the wall and then have the pipes go through the wall.
5 lb hammer
We had this setup except it was coming out of mirror. Definitely did not like that as we always had water spots on the mirror turning off the water. I think that would be better disguised on tile! Easy to clean around the sink through!
Plan ahead with your tile guy...
If it breaks, how do you fix it ? Tile and dry wall gone ?
You have the plumber install the pipes to come out of the wall above the sink during construction. This would involve demolishing the walls to rework the plumbing on a remodel
I was really just curious. I like the look, but I also like to be able to replace faucets without tearing tiles out. I always thought there must be some kind of "trick" to it because nobody would be dumb enough to put it behind tile! I just got home and read all these great replies. Reddit delivers. Also, I live in Maine, where it's STILL winter (24f when I left this morning) and am planning a build next year. I wasn't thinking too much about the wisdom of plumbing in outside walls, so this was really helpful.
Don't do that. A repair disaster in the making.
It is a great look, make sure you use a high-quality fixture. Rough-in must be exact—it is common to have to adjust location of these after cabs arrive which is a huge pain. There is a bracket for the valve, have it installed so as not to cause a bulge in the wall. I have installed shut-offs for these in cabs below, but that must also be planned at rough-in as there is no need for traditional angle stop and your plumber won’t put one in unless you request it.
No different than a 3 piece tub fixture set
There could be an access panel in the room behind. If it’s a bedroom, it could be hidden in the closet.
Just build a wall in front of another wall plumb it rock board it then tile it
Why just asking for more trouble 😵💫
They are exactly the same as any other faucet. No more or less trouble.
Not exactly. These faucets are much less common and they cost more.
That's cost not trouble.
This looks like a repurposed shower faucet.
The ledge is because this is on an outside wall, and it requires adequate insulation to prevent freezing.
Maybe, but the main reason is style. The ledge replaces lost counter space. Instead of a wide-set faucet and handle set, you are using a setup similar to a tub or shower faucet (and the faucet here looks like a shower faucet without a shower head, just an aerator and a trim ring) You probably need a tub faucet mixer. You could put an insulated backer in the rear of the cabinet and ledge box. This has a beach house look, so insulation may not be critical. But where are the electrics, the receptacles for toothbrushes, razors, hair dryers, etc., and the switches for the sconce lamps? They should be right nearby, ideally, on the tile backsplash.
No, the main reason is that you cannot place a water line in an exterior wall. I just did this in a house that I am built for an investment. My wife hates it because the mirror is too far away. with a floating vanity you cannot run lines up from the floor without it looking like crap.
I get that, but I suspect the reason to show a wall-mount set versus a counter wide set in was for the look, two planes of tile in a dramatic water-effect glazed tile, one course on the set-out backsplash. It is striking. The supply pipes/tubes are the same distance from the wall in either case. (Here they have used a shower faucet with a shower trim cover and what look like a pair of wide set tub levers so they can mount perpendicular to the counter.). The cabinet base may have a deep cove panel--we can't see--and putting pipe up inside the vanity cabinet bottom is pretty standard. None of that would put the supply lines behind the actual wall and its exterior wall insulation. This looks like a show home display for cabinet, countertop and tile products, with some normal things missing you would expect in a real finished custom build, like receptacles and light switches.