Fix a Leaky Faucet - PEP BB plumbing.sand.tiny.leakyfaucet

May 02, 2019 16:28:26

This is a badge bit (BB) that is part of the PEP curriculum. Completing this BB is part of getting the sand badge in Plumbing.

In this Badge Bit, you will fix a leaky faucet. (Note that this BB is part of a 6-part choose your own adventure list BB called the Tiny List. You must complete six Badge Bits in the Tiny List.)

Some articles fixing leaky faucets
- How to Fix a Leaky Faucet
- Repairing a Kitchen Faucet
- Fixing a Leaky Outdoor Faucet
- How to Fix a Leaky Outdoor Faucet

To complete this BB, the minimum requirements are:
- fix a leaky faucet

To show you've completed this Badge Bit, you must provide:
- a before picture of the leaky faucet
- an in progress shot of you repairing the leaky faucet
- an after picture of the same faucet no longer leaking
- OR a 2-minute video of you doing this

Dave Burton · May 11, 2019 20:02:12

Had a kitchen faucet that the wife has been wanting fixed for a while, so I got it done today after watching the videos yesterday. First time I’ve ever done this, so it was a good experience. My 7 year old son was my helper, as well as he is a big motivator for me coming to the first PEP1 workshop!

I hope it still counts if I had supervision... lol

Mike Barkley · Jul 21, 2019 18:43:49

I plumbed rainwater into my greenhouse the other day. Instead of buying a new faucet I found an old one in the plumbing parts bin that I had been holding onto. It was too old for use on a house but perfect for this application. Unfortunately after I put it in and opened the valve at the rainwater tank, I could hear air leaking out of the valve. So I took it off and moved into the garage. I expected to find a worn out rubber washer but the washer was in great shape. Not that I've seen many of these but it was pristine. There was some plastic-like junk sitting on the seat where the washer sits though. I cleaned that out, put it back together and now it doesn't leak!

Pro tip: The brass nut that I took off was a bit undersized for a standard "English" wrench so I found that a metric wrench actually fit better.

Mike Haasl · Aug 25, 2019 21:33:51

I guess a shower head would be classified as a kind of faucet.

Mike Haasl · Aug 27, 2020 06:26:14

Slow leak that proved hard to get an action shot of. Thankfully all it took was to loosen things, clean some lime scale , adjust the handle, then tighten it back up. No need to purchase new parts.

gir bot · May 13, 2021 17:21:51

I fix a leaking Price Pfister faucet by replacing the o-rings

gir bot · Jan 13, 2022 11:34:45

The faucet in the bathroom had been having trouble for some time, with it being difficult to turn the cold tap all the way down and drips occurring from time to time. Then, one day while trying to turn it off, the knob came off in my hand and I couldn't put it back on! Talk about a leak!

I managed to turn the water off with some vicegrips and then had time to look at what was going on. As you can (hopefully) see, the bolt holding the handle on was totally stripped, taking on a tapered cone shape. This faucet dates back to the 1990s or earlier, and has seen some abuse. I looked at getting a replacement part from the company, or getting a new set of knobs, but with the supply chain crisis, the former was challenging and the latter would have cost $90 for an equivalent pair of metal ones!

So I got a stainless bolt and stainless washers to make the same shape and installed them. Fixed the immediate problem of having no knob, as well as the leak that had been occurring previously!

gir bot · Mar 30, 2022 22:49:09

Fixed a leaky faucet in the bath today. I took a variety of tools as I've had trouble before. Luckily I only needed the adjustable spanner today.

Hmm it was leaking heavily to my eye in the first photo but my phone didn't capture it. Should have used video I suppose.

gir bot · Feb 20, 2023 18:49:55

Fixed a leaky outdoor shower today. It had two problems:
1. The threads on the riser were leaking
2. the washers inside the valves were worn out and cracked from over tightening.

You’ll notice mold and algae on the decking showing that is staying wet. The end if the video is scanning the entire fixture just to show that it isn’t leaking. Sorry about the crappy videography, it had gotten dark by the time I got back from the store with the needed washers and I didn’t have my tripod with me.

Pro Tip: use both pipe joint compound (pipe dope) and teflon tape for threaded connections, it is messy but worth it. Also use pipe dope where two hard surfaces come together as I did on the union fittings for this fixture. It makes your work a lot less leak prone. You’ll often find this on slip joint p-trap fittings.

https://youtube.com/shorts/q4ilekZHugc?feature=share

gir bot · Oct 30, 2023 08:20:54

Our old tub faucet was rusty, leaky, and squeaky. It rally needed replaced. so We replaced it. The pipes were tightened super tight, but I was eventually able to detach them. from then on it was simple, and now we have a new shiny, non-squeaky, non-leaky faucet.

gir bot · Mar 08, 2024 12:24:28

I replaced the gaskets in this faucet last season, but found a new very small leak at the threads this year. I turned the water main off, took the faucet head off, and inspected the threads. Not in perfect shape, and the plumbers tape was hanging on by a thread. So I took the old tape off and replaced it with an even layer of new tape. Good as new! It may be prudent to rethread the pipe in the future, but for now this will do as we have a large water leak hiding underground in the house main to find and repair.

gir bot · Aug 10, 2024 10:06:21

Our kitchen sink had become increasingly difficult to shut off, having to find the exact right spot, and finally gave up the ghost this morning.

The videos and links in the top post were helpful and gave me the courage to figure it out, as did the price tag on a new faucet ($200+?? Yikes!)

I bought a replacement cartridge for $24 and was on my way. The whole thing took less than 15 minutes. It took longer to drive to and from the store.

I didn't like the taste of tongue and it didn't like the taste of me. I will now try this tiny ad:

The new kickstarter is now live!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/paulwheaton/garden-cards