An escutcheon plate is the disc around a plumbing pipe or a fixture handle at the wall penetration that seals the wall opening. The photo above shows a chrome escutcheon plate where the water supply pipe for a toilet enters the wall. You will also find escutcheon plates at the pipe penetrations under sinks and behind water heaters. The base plate that seals a faucet to a sink and the large disc around a mixing valve in a shower are both also escutcheon plates. We occasionally see the word used to refer to the disc surrounding a door lock, but it is more commonly called a “rose”.

    The escutcheon plate is necessary at a shower valves and sink faucets to keep water from leaking behind them, while the escutcheons underneath sinks and at toilets are used to close any small gap around the opening in the wall, which makes a neater installation and deprives insects and small vermin of a nesting place in the wall.

    Although an escutcheon is integral with a shower valve or sink faucet, it is a separate piece at pipe/wall penetrations and is required to be installed by plumbing codes: “Collars or escutcheon plates shall be provided to cover the openings around pipes penetrating walls, floors, or ceilings in finished areas that are exposed to view.”

We typically see missing escutcheon plates under kitchen and bathroom sinks that have been remodeled by a homeowner or handyman. The one-piece escutcheon plates that were originally installed cannot be replaced without disassembling piping, so there is a ragged opening around each pipe penetration, like in the photo below.

 The solution is a split-ring escutcheon plate, shown below and available at hardware and big-box home improvement stores, which can be retrofitted easily around each pipe.

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Here’s links to a collection of our other blog posts about PLUMBING PIPES:

• How can I protect my pipes to keep them from bursting during a hard winter freeze in North Florida?

• Can galvanized steel pipe still be used for new water lines in a house? 

• How can I tell if I have cast iron pipes in my house? 

• Why can't a sanitary tee be used for a horizontal-to-horizontal drain pipe connection? 

• What is the difference between green and white sewer drain pipes?

• Is a washing machine drain hose required to be secured at the standpipe?

• What are the abandoned pipes sticking out of the wall in my house?  

• What are the code requirements for plumbing vent terminations?

• How do you accurately find a broken water pipe leak under the floor slab?

• What is the difference between water pipe and sewage (waste) pipe? 

• Are plastic pipes (PVC, CPVC, and PEX) safe for drinking water? 

• Is a hot water faucet handle required to be on the left? 

• What is a dielectric union? 

• What's that powdery crust on the pipe connections at the water heater? 

• If all the plumbing drains have water in them and you can still smell sewer gas, what's causing the problem?  

• How can I find out what type of water pipe runs underground from the water meter to the house (service pipe)?

• What is a P-trap?

• Why is old galvanized steel water pipe a problem for homebuyers?

• What does polybutylene pipe look like? Why is it a problem? 

• Which water pipes are an insurance problem and possibly uninsurable?

• Can you connect CPVC pipe directly to a gas water heater?  

     Visit our PLUMBING page for other related blog posts on this subject, or go to the INDEX for a complete listing of all our articles.