Well, in Heathcliff's defense, a lot of houses didn't have them when
new, but got them the first time the tub plumbing crapped out around
year 15 or so. Mebbe he only works on newer houses? There is a hole in
the wall of my hallway closet I have been meaning to build a pretty
cover for since I bought the place 3.5 years ago. Too big for one of the
borg snap-in covers- it goes all the way down to the floor. Probably end
up with painted masonite or thin plywood, held in place with screws,
since I don't feel ambitious enough to frame and case the hole and put
up a panel held with magnetic catches. (Which is how we did it on fancy
houses in the old days....)

Most of my houses were built before 1930, and they generally have a
varnished panel held in place by screws. While I like the idea of
magnetic catches, I haven't seen them used, in even on fancy old
houses. The panels are big enough to be able to replace the waste &
overflow on most of them, and possibly the mixer.

JK