I am replacing my 44 year-old 3 knob shower/tub control set-up with a aingle handle Moen. I also bought the Moen chrome "repair" plate that will cover up all the holes to make it look decent. The problem is, the plate does not have any type of gasket to seal it to the tile wall. Their round trim plate that comes with the single handle unit has a spngy rubber type gasket that seals it to the wall. On a faucet I just replaced, that same material was on the bottom of the plate that seals the faucet to the sink. What is that material called? A round variety would be best (like a rope) and it would need to be pretty thick-like 1/2"-3/4". Using silicone would be impractical in this case.
Thanks.



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some kind of weather stripping would do. it comes in various thicknesses and materials. it also comes sticky on one or both sides. I would use sticky on one side and stick it to the plate.
leave a small gap or two at the bottom so if any water should get behind, it will drip out.

I would still use caulking in addition to any weatherstripping. You will want something to fill the entire void all the way to the surface to stop soap buildup and water from entering through any crevices

Ok, thanks. I found some rubber sponge foam weatherstripping which seems to be the same stuff that Moen uses to seal their trim plates. I thoght about using some silicone on the surface that's against the tile wall to help it bond to the wall.

it doesn't want to bond to the wall, it wants to compress against the wall.

I have always just used silicon caulk and never had a problem.