HOME DESIGN : Plumbing Problems? Then Grab a Wrench . . .
It is a fact of life that faucets hardly ever begin leaking during normal business hours, when the local plumber is around and not charging overtime on top of his or her usual fee of about $60 an hour.
But you don’t have to put up with that annoying and water-wasting drip all night or all weekend. In many cases, you can fix a leak yourself. You can even fix one during normal business hours and use the $60 plus parts you would have paid the plumber to help treat yourself to a nice evening out.
That is not to say that you should never call a plumber--if you have a gusher instead of a mere leak, or are looking at very old plumbing or a very new and expensive European faucet, it might save you money and grief in the long run to let a professional do the repairing.
But if you are looking at a standard American-made faucet with a standard made-in-America leak, then grab a wrench and follow along.
First, however, a look at what causes leaks.
The major culprit, according to John Biard, owner of Biard & Crockett Plumbing Services in Orange, is water.
“It is the most destructive element known to man,” he said, and over the years, ordinary tap water can etch pits and grooves in the soft brass of a faucet’s innards.
That, in turn, ruins the seal between the faucet washer and its seat--a removable machined part into which the washer compresses when the faucet is turned off.
Other causes of leaks include:
Foreign objects--rust from the walls of a pipe or grit in the water--that tear up the seat or jam open the ceramic discs in a washerless faucet.
Inferior parts, usually poorly machined seats or improperly fitted washers.
Old age--no faucet will last forever without maintenance.
Mistreatment by homeowners, generally from turning faucet handles too tight. This often results in torn washers, cracked ceramic discs or even a cracked faucet body.
The first step in repairing a leaky faucet is to identify the problem and the type of faucet you are dealing with.
“We stock more than 100 different combinations of faucet seats and washers,” Biard said, and faucet manufacturers are creating more every day.
The proliferation of home supply centers has also helped the faucet explosion, with each chain finding its own cut-rate suppliers, often from Asia.
“We get people bringing in parts I’ve never seen and that we just can’t get replacements for,” said Greg Biard, who runs Biard & Crockett with his father. Many of the less expensive faucets don’t even have replacement parts, he said. “They are made to be throw-aways.”
If you are looking for a faucet that is going to last for a decade or more, the Biards said, also beware of special sales that often feature discontinued models, for which repair parts are not widely available.
John Biard said his basic rule of thumb, after 30 years in business selling fix-it supplies and dispatching crews to repair problems that homeowners couldn’t handle, is that a good quality kitchen faucet set that will last 15 years or more with normal maintenance is going to set you back $100 or more in today’s market.
“Of course, you can go a lot higher,” he said, citing ornamental faucet sets--often studded with semiprecious stones and plated with gold--that can run $2,000 or more. One plumbing fixtures manufacturer, he said, makes a shower head that retails for $3,500--and you have to buy the faucet set separately.
But whether you paid $19.95 or $1,995 for your faucets, and whether they work with handles that you twist to turn the water on and off, or by levers that you push or pull, they come in two basic types:
Washerless, which allow water to flow by aligning openings in a pair of ceramic, plastic or stainless steel discs.
Compression, which staunch the flow of water by shutting off the opening when a rubber washer on the end of the stem is compressed into the specially machined seat.
The basic parts of a faucet (see illustration) are the same on both the hot and cold sides but differ in compression and washerless models.
When you look at that leaky faucet, you are looking at:
A pair of handles, usually secured with a set screw at the base or with a machine screw that runs down into the top of the stem and is hidden by a plastic or metal cap.
The spout or spigot, out of which the water flows.
The faucet body into which the working parts are fitted. In a three-piece faucet set, the bodies are separate and water flows through them to the spigot through a pair of connectors, either braided stainless steel flex hose, or solid stainless, or copper. In a one-piece faucet set, the water channels leading from the hot and cold sides to the spigot are molded or machined into the faucet body.
The stem body. This consists of the stem, or spindle, to which the handles are fastened. Twisting the handles turns the stem, which turns the washer or ceramic discs to control the flow of water.
The washer is connected to the base of the stem and fits against the seat. A washerless faucet’s discs are an integral part of the stem and come as part of a replaceable cartridge assembly. In compression faucets, a packing nut fastens to the packing gland, securing the stem packing (a thick rubber or graphite bushing) that keeps the water from leaking out. In most washerless models, the cartridge itself is threaded and screws into the body.
If you are in a quandary as to what type or make of faucet you have, or what size parts you need to repair it, dismantle the stem by first removing the handles and then unfastening the packing gland nut. Lift out the stem and take the whole thing--including the faucet handle--to your local plumbing supply shop. The owner or counter clerks there should be able to look at what you have and tell you exactly what you need to get. One necessity in repairing compression faucets is a special tool to remove the seat and tighten down the new one. A good plumbing supply shop will even give you step-by-step instructions on fixing your faucet.
Generally, if the leak is a slow drip through the spout, you are looking at replacing the seat and washer or the washerless cartridge.
In a compression faucet, always replace both washer and seat. Merely replacing the washer usually won’t give you a permanent repair because the roughened seat will continue chewing up every washer you install.
In a washerless faucet, the cause of a leak often can be a tiny piece of grit or rust that gets trapped on the disc surface and prevents a tight seal between the two. Dismantling the faucet and cleaning the discs can often stop such a leak. If not, you will need to replace the entire cartridge.
If the water is seeping out from around the stem, the problem most likely is in the packing gland, either because the packing itself is shot or because the nut isn’t tight enough. To repair, simply buy a new piece of packing--again, it must be the proper type for your faucet--and make sure the packing gland nut is properly tightened.
The Biards said that people often are unable to correct a leak themselves because they have installed the wrong washer, washer seat or ceramic discs or have tightened things too tight, which can crack the faucet body, break discs or washers and, on occasion, even drive the stem through the back of the faucet body.
Putting in the wrong seat can be especially hazardous because if the threads don’t match they can foul the threads in the faucet body, ruining the entire faucet set.
Two final faucet tips from the Biards:
When connecting lines are called for, always use braided stainless steel flexible hoses. Nylon reinforced flexible plastic connectors are widely sold and are cheaper, but they are prone to coming apart under pressure--especially on the hot water side. The initial cost of a stainless steel connector pales by comparison to the cost of drying out your home if a plastic hose breaks while you are away for the day.
Always wipe your faucets dry after every use. Water corrodes metal, and no matter what the finish on your faucet set, leaving water to stand will ultimately damage it. It will take a lot longer for water damage to show on a high-quality, triple chrome plated faucet than on a $29.95 lacquered brass number from a discount home improvement store, but pits, bubbled finish and corrosion ultimately will appear. Wiping down the faucet with a soft, dry cloth after every use, however, will greatly prolong the life of the finish.
Are you handy? Do you install your own skylights, French doors and electric lighting or build your own bookshelves, gazebos, brick walls or wine cellars? If you have completed--or are in the midst of--special projects around your house, share them and your expertise. Write: Do-It-Yourself, Orange County Life, The Times, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, Calif. 92626.
