Another home fix (plumbing)...fixing rather than replacing

[passatdoc]

The diverter valve on the tub faucet was stuck, wouldn't move up/down so no longer could divert water to the shower head above the tub. The faucet manufacturer offers a lifetime warranty, if a part breaks they send you a new one. About ten years ago, the original faucet had the same problem and the manufacturer sent me a new one, free.

There are a few problems with this process:

1. The manufacturer forces you to dial their number (often not toll free) and you wait on hold for half an hour. They ship you a free part after charging you shipping and handling of $10-15.

2. I don't like throwing things out into landfills---or even for recycling---if they can be fixed.

I removed the faucet and saw a lot of lime deposit in and around the diverter gate. I placed the faucet end-first into a large measuring cup and added enough Lime Away to cover 1/3 of the faucet. I let it sit for eight hours, and returned to find that the formerly clear liquid was now milky white (from all the dissolved lime). A few taps on the diverter and it began sliding freely up and down without any resistance. I polished the exterior with Barkeeper's Friend and now it is good as new and back in service.

I think I caught the "repair, don't replace" bug from all of you on this board!!

 

[polkanut]

Jim,

Now some poor soul in China won't be able to make his/her quota tomorrow. LOL  Glad to hear that it was an easy fix. 

 

[hydralique]

You're Lucky . . .

That the manufacturer ever replaced it without questions; a lot of plumbing manufacturers have a clause requiring that the installation be by a licensed plumber or there is no warranty.

 

[danemodsandy]

Hydraulique:

I'm not seeing that requirement as much as I used to, and I think there are two reasons:

1) Big-box DIY store chains would not stand for it, because they'd have lots of wrangles from customers about it. And....

2) Installation is now more a matter of screwing pre-formed connectors into place, not the pipe dope and other pro requirements of yesteryear.

I'm sure some brands still do this, but I haven't seen it on anything I've bought at DIY stores for some time.

 

[passatdoc]

The faucet was Price-Pfister brand, it was what the builder used when the home was built. The faucet easily screws off from a connector in the wall. Just needs Teflon tape. There is a plastic O-ring which forms a tight seal between fixture and wall.

I had a few problems with the Price-Pfister kitchen faucet (replacement---not the original faucet that came with the house) and each time they mailed me replacement parts to my home. What I noticed were rising S&H costs and longer waits on hold to speak to a customer service rep, but if one were persistent, it paid off. This time, however, it was far better to use 6 oz of Lime Away and have a good as new faucet, rather than waste an hour on the phone with them.

 

[beekeyknee]

Try a water softener. Most problems fixed all around the house.

 

[spookiness]

Price Pfister

"The faucet was Price-Pfister brand, it was what the builder used when the home was built. The faucet easily screws off from a connector in the wall. Just needs Teflon tape. There is a plastic O-ring which forms a tight seal between fixture and wall."

A few months ago I had plumbers replace the "guts" of my PF tub & shower 3-handle faucet. The diverter had not worked properly for years, and the cold was starting to get dripper. There is a rebuild kit, and my plumber had one in stock. To my knowledge the faucet is original to the house (1956), but now it has new stems and knobs, and it operates like brand-new.

 

[whirlcool]

In these houses the builder used plastic water valves for all the sinks and the toilets. About a year ago or so the one in the back bathroom suddenly burst shooting water at full pressure into the room. I was lucky enough to get the water main turned off within a minute so I only had about 10 gallons of water in the bathroom and hall. I replaced the valve with an all metal 1/4 turn valve.

Over the past year and a half I have been replacing the plastic valves with metal ones. My neighbor across the street had two of them let go on her. Once while they were at work and came home to 6 inches of water all over the house and another one let go during the middle of the night.

Today as I was driving home there was a house two streets over that had all their wet/soaked furniture out on the driveway with a bunch of wet carpet and some hardwood flooring. I wonder if they had a plastic valve go out on them? I've discussed this with other neighbors and nobody seems to know a thing about it. This house BTW was built in 1994.

 

[lordkenmore]

Plastic valves and other nasties in newer houses

One argument I've heard in favor of having new construction is that one will have many trouble free years. And yet, I have heard so many stories about newer houses (particularly ones built in developments) that have lots of problems occur like with the plastic valves mentioned above. I've even heard stories of really huge things going wrong...and sometimes even in the first few years (but, of course, usually AFTER the warranty/guarantee period has ended.)

This is not to say that all new construction will have problems, nor, for that matter, older construction from a "better era" will always be better. But if I were buying a new house, I wouldn't make assumptions about a long service life of anything without careful inspection to learn exactly what is there, and what the realities of that something are.

 

[davey7]

The detailing on newer houses is overall better, but thank god for shoddy construction, it keeps a lot of architects & contractors in business. Around Chicago, stuff built during the "boom" is particularly poorly built.