Yes, the soap dish problem is a biggee. Even if I found the exact replacement, I fear that removing the existing would be impossible without damaging the surrounding tiles. I do have extra tiles, but I have this vision of escalating destruction. I'll call some re-chroming places, but I doubt the process can be done in situ. I did read about the process, and I'm really impressed. If I could remove them and carry them in, it might be possible, but again, removing them a big problem. I wonder if there is a tiny concrete saw that does minimal damage? So, it gets to maybe the best solution is to sand down as much as possible all the corrosion and pitting and find an epoxy paint that will not only look acceptable and hold up to the dampness of the shower.

davidrol, The faucet was an American Standard---about twenty years old. It had been slowly falling apart in various ways for some time. We had been putting up with it until now. I am shocked to hear that the hose could not have been full of holes, because when I emptied out the cabinet and turned on the faucet, the hose was leaking at multiple points along the length---kind of like a soaker hose. Unfortunately, the faucet has been put out in the garbage, so I can't offer a post-mortem autopsy to provide any other answers. As I said, the faucet must be about twenty years old, so I think it provided adequate service for some time before giving out. This was one of the first faucets made with a pull out sprayer instead of one on the side--quite advanced for the time, but archaic compared to modern faucets. The pull out sprayer portion was made of black plastic. You pressed on the top of the sprayer and the water stream would change to a spray and automatically go back to the regular stream when it was turned off. It stopped going back to the regular stream when it was turned off years ago, so we had to turn it on and off manually ourselves. We had a friend who worked for a plumbing supplies distributor at that time and he was able to get us a good deal on it at the time.

Yes, you can change your own faucet - sometimes. I've changed a few dozen of them. You must be able to shut off the water. There are two shutoff valves, one for cold water, one for hot, usually below the sink inside the cabinet. In my experience, about 75% of these don't work since they haven't been moved in 10 years, and usually they don't quite shut off the water flow. There should be a main water valve to your home that can also be shut off (although this will shut off water to every other faucet, shower, tub, and toilet; and if you live in a condo or apartment you might not have access to this valve or have to schedule it). These valves sometimes leak a bit when turned on or off, but this usually goes away quickly. If your shutoff valves are good, save yourself alot of pain and buy this tool from Home Despot. I don't know how I got by without it. You may need a few other basic tools, but this thing does the hard part of reaching into remote areas and twisting obscurely-shaped fasteners that are usually rusted in place and don't want to move - it gives you the leverage you need and fits perfectly. Also, make sure your replacement faucet fits into the same holes your sink or countertop already has. You can fill unused holes with covers, soap dispensers, or instant-hot water dispensers. You can also drill new holes. If you have to install new shutoff valves (or if you didn't have them in the first place - some older homes don't), spend an extra few bucks for 1/4-turn ball valves, which are vastly more reliable than the cheap football-shaped things that turn 4 or 5 rotations. You may want to change the supply lines (that run from your shutoff valve to the faucet) to start with new seals and prevent leaks. Flexible dull-silver braided nylon or aramid etc. (looks like stainless steel, but isn't) are the best - flexible, easy to install without extra tools (except a 99-cent roll of teflon pipe tape or PTFE pipe dope, your choice), and don't spring leaks a few years later. Actual stainless steel braided is second best, almost as good but it will eventually rust some. Copper tube with compression fittings work well but are more difficult for amateurs to install and require some specialized tools. Avoid the thin grey plastic tubes - they break under pressure. Some local plumbing codes don't allow them.

If you can't squeeze in there, you'll have to remove the top. It shouldn't be too difficult, though. It's usually held down with just a couple dabs of caulk. Did you remove the doors to see if that would give you enough room to get in there? Even if you can get in there, it's ultimately probably easier to just remove the top.