Expert: speedball1 - 7/29/2004

Question
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Followup To
Question -
My plumber recently replaced shower faucet stems, washers and seats (all new parts), but the faucets still drip.  Brand is Gerber.  I tried changing from beveled washers to flat washers, but the leaks continue.  Any suggestions?
Answer -
Good morning George,  Are you sure he changed the seats?  Run your fingernail around the seats.  Find any rough edges or nicks?  Or he could have got the seats crossthreaded when he replaced them.  Do both hot and cold leak or just one side?  One more question.  Did the plumber replace all the parts, test his work, saw that there were leaks, and then charged you and left?  I'll wait on your reply.  Regards,  Tom

Tom, thanks for the fast response.  The plumber is a family friend, licensed with many years experience.  He told us before leaving that he could not determine why there was still slight leakage and only charged us for the new parts.  He was very frustrated and apologetic.  His guess is a crack somewhere.  He did replace the seats, which I verified by taking one out and reinstalling.  I believe both the hot and cold side are leaking.  I'm wondering if the replacement stem assemblies aren't quite the right fit.  They operate smoothly and feel like they are compressing the washers, but maybe someone over the past 30 years installed the wrong replacements and my plumber assumed what he replaced was correct.  The one seat I removed came out and went back in without a struggle, so I would assume no cross-threading problems.  I think I'll try another pair of seats.  Normally I would not have hired a plumber for this type of repair, but at the time I was recovering from a medical treatment and wasn't up to it.  George

Answer
This time George, wrap the seat threads with teflon tape and see if that don't stop the leaking.  The threads holds back pressure just the same as the washers.  I had a faucet that leaked past the seats because the threads wern't prepared with tape or pipe joint compound.  Have you checked the length of the replacement stems against the old ones? Please keep me in the loop and let me know how you made out. Hope this helps, that you're feeling better and thank you for rating my answer.  Tom