Faucet repair and replacement in North York

Know your faucet

• Compression: two handles you crank tight. Washers and seats wear.
• Cartridge: single or two handles, smooth turn. The cartridge wears or cracks.
• Ball: one handle over a dome cap. Springs and seats wear.
• Ceramic disc: one lever with a wide cylinder inside. Seals wear; discs rarely do.

Repair first

The plumber shuts the stops under the sink, plugs the drain so no screw goes down it, and takes the handle apart. We look at the cartridge or stem, match it at the supplier if needed and swap it. A leaking spout base on a kitchen faucet usually means worn O-rings on the swivel.

Older two-handle bathroom faucets in North York bungalows often have brass seats that are pitted. We resurface or replace the seat along with the washer, or the drip returns in a month.

The plumber shuts the stops under the sink, plugs the drain so no screw goes down it, and takes the handle apart.

From the counter

When replacement makes sense

• Parts are no longer made for that model
• Corrosion around the base or a cracked body
• You want a pull-down sprayer or a different style
• Stop valves under the sink are seized and need replacing anyway

The install

1. New quarter-turn stop valves if the old ones do not shut cleanly.
2. Old faucet out, deck cleaned of old putty and mineral.
3. New faucet set, sealed and tightened from below.
4. New braided supply lines, never the old ones.
5. Aerator removed, lines flushed, aerator back on.

Questions

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