Moen shower handle leaks when turned on - how to remove?

[REWahoo]

The original installer had not secured the valve body to the wall framing, so when I applied force, it broke the copper pipe connection. I then had to remove the sheet rock from the other side of the wall, remove the entire valve assembly, add the correct blocking to mount a new valve, and re-plumb the whole thing.

Yikes!

 

[samclem]

I then had to remove the sheet rock from the other side of the wall, remove the entire valve assembly, add the correct blocking to mount a new valve, and re-plumb the whole thing.

I remember having one of those thoughts flash through my head just before the pipe broke ..."maybe I'm messing up here..uh oh"

I'm guessing you didn't put in a Moen valve as a replacement.

I'm wondering what brand of fixtures I should buy as replacements when needed. I want fixtures that:
1) Are durable
2) Are made to be repaired easily and without special tools or skills
3) Have readily available spare parts. (Lowes or HD, not internet and wait three days)

I'm guessing Delta mid-priced units might fill the bill. I installed some Price-Pfister units recently and they seem okay.