Faucet Repair and Installation in Port Orchard, Kitsap, Pierce and Mason Counties

What makes a faucet drip, and why it is not always the washer

Faucets seal water in one of four ways. Old two-handle faucets use compression stems with rubber washers that wear and let water past. Ball faucets, the original single-handle kitchen design, use springs and rubber seats under a slotted ball. Cartridge faucets, which is most of what has been sold in the last thirty years, use a replaceable plastic or brass cartridge with O-rings. Ceramic disc faucets use two polished discs that rarely fail but can be scored by grit.

The symptom tells you which part is tired. A drip from the spout when the handle is off is the seal at the valve: a washer, a seat, or a cartridge. A leak at the base of the handle when the water is running is an O-ring on the stem or cartridge. Water pooling at the base of the spout on a kitchen faucet is the spout O-rings. A leak under the sink is usually the supply connection, not the faucet at all.

Hard water and sediment make all of these worse. Homes on wells in Mason County and rural Kitsap often have enough grit or iron to score a ceramic disc or lodge in a cartridge, and a faucet that is rebuilt without addressing the water will be back in a couple of years. We note what we see in the cartridge and mention it if a sediment filter would help.

Repairing a faucet worth repairing

Moen, Delta and Kohler all stand behind their cartridges, and we carry the common ones on the truck. A cartridge swap on a kitchen or bathroom faucet is quick when the faucet was installed properly and slow when the old cartridge has seized in the body from mineral scale, which is common on the well water side of the county. We have the pullers for that. Compression stems get new washers and the seats get dressed or replaced so the new washer has a smooth surface to close against.

Aerators are the cheap fix people overlook. A faucet with a weak, sideways or sputtering stream almost always has an aerator packed with grit or scale, and a new one restores the flow. On a pulldown kitchen faucet, the spray head and the hose are replaceable parts too, and a hose that has split inside the spout is the usual cause of a mystery puddle in the cabinet.

Where repair stops making sense is a faucet whose body has corroded through, whose finish is flaking into the sink, or whose maker no longer exists. A lot of builder-grade faucets in tract homes fall into the last category: a cartridge is not available, or it costs nearly as much as a better faucet. We tell you that before you pay for a repair.

Replacing a faucet properly

Replacement starts under the sink, not above it. The angle stops that feed the faucet are often the original multi-turn valves, and if they have not been turned in fifteen years they will either not close or will not reopen without dripping. We replace suspect stops with quarter-turn ball valves while we are there, because it is far cheaper on the same visit than on a separate one. New braided stainless supply lines go on every faucet we install; the old gray plastic and thin rubber lines are a flood waiting to happen.

The old faucet comes out, and that is where corroded mounting nuts, a deck that has rotted under the escutcheon, and a sink hole that does not match the new faucet show up. One-hole, three-hole and four-hole sinks, eight-inch widespread versus four-inch centerset, and a deck plate to cover unused holes are all things we sort out before you buy a faucet, not after. If you want to pick your own, call and we will tell you what fits.

The new faucet is set with a bead of plumber's putty or the manufacturer's gasket, tightened square to the sink so it does not twist, connected with new supplies, and tested hot and cold with the aerator off to flush debris and then on to check the stream. We look at every joint under the sink with a dry paper towel before we close the doors.

Kitchen faucets, pulldowns and the extras people want

The kitchen faucet is used fifty times a day, so this is where spending a little more pays back. Commercial-style and high-arc pulldowns with a magnetic dock, a metal-braided hose and a ceramic disc cartridge are what we install most, in chrome, brushed nickel, matte black and brushed gold to match the hardware. Touchless and touch-activated models work well when the batteries or the power supply are accessible; we route the control box so it is not buried behind the disposal.

Side sprayers are mostly gone, replaced by the pulldown, which means the fourth hole in an older sink gets a soap dispenser, a filtered-water faucet or a cover. If you have or want an under-sink filter or an RO system, this is the time to add its faucet. We often install the filter and the faucet together so the cabinet is only opened once.

Bathroom faucets and the small details that matter

Bathroom faucets come as centersets on four-inch spacing, widespreads on eight-inch spacing with separate handles, single-hole single-handle units, and wall-mounts for vessel sinks. Matching the new faucet to the holes in the vanity top is the first question. Widespreads on a marble or quartz top need the flexible connections underneath aligned carefully so the handles sit square; it is slower work than a kitchen faucet, and we take the time.

The pop-up drain assembly usually gets replaced with the faucet, because the new faucet comes with one and the old one is often the source of the slow drain. We clean the overflow, set the pivot rod so the stopper seals and lifts fully, and check the tailpiece and trap connections. A dripping bathroom faucet that has stained a sink with blue-green or rust streaks is telling you about the water as well as the faucet, and we will say what we think it means.

Flat-rate pricing with the shutoffs included in the conversation

A cartridge or stem repair is a modest service call plus the part. A faucet replacement is quoted with labor, supply lines and, where needed, new angle stops, so you see the full number before you approve it. If you supply the faucet, we install it for the same labor price. If we supply it, the faucet is a separate line you can see.

Our satisfaction guarantee and extended labor warranty cover every faucet we install or repair. If a connection we made drips, we come back and fix it at no charge.