Before you consider calling in for commercail repair, look at what is involved in repairing the faucet you have.
The first common issue faced when working on a home repair is to open the faucet mechanism. To this you have to remove the Allen screw that holds it all together. If you can’t unscrew the Allen screw to remove the handle from our rotary ball faucet, should you give up and buy a completely new faucet? No. Don’t let that 15 c screw force you into a $100 faucet replacement just yet! Normally you have to remove the handle to get the worn rubber seats that cause the drip. First try wetting the screw with penetrating oil every day for a few days. Then try the screw to see if it’ll come out. If this doesn’t do it,or if you finally strip the head of the Allen screw, attempt to drilling out the screw. Use a bit about the same size as the screw and work gently. You’ll destroy the handle and have to replace it, but it’s well worth it if you can save the valve inside. As a final strategy, you can actually unscrew the cap with the handle still connected.
If the Allen screw is stuck, or if you damage it so it won’t come out, remove the cap with the handle still in place. You can’t grab the flattened edges with the handle in place. Instead, cushion the plier jaws and grip the round edge below.
This is difficult, because you can’t grab the flat edge of the cap, the part that’s shaped for the pliers. Make sure to protect the jaws well when you grip the smooth, rounded body of the cap. Use rubber tape, because you can’t squeeze the cap too hard. Move the cap counter clockwise to unscrew it. The assembly you remove will contain the handle, cap, cam, packing and ball.
The next is to release the ball from its stem. The Allen screw clamps onto the stem. Try holding it with the pliers and twisting. The goal is to separate the parts so that you can salvage and reuse the cap. You’ll still have to buy a new handle and a repair kit that includes a new ball.
If this doesn’t work, the only alternative is to replace the entire faucet. This is a challenging fix.
Copyright 2008 - All Rights Reserved - www.kitchen-repair.info
