Leaky Bath Faucet - Attempt to Repair or Call a Plumber?

Pretty easy to do but does require a few specialty tools to pull the valve stems out and either change out the parts or simply buy new stems and replace the old ones. It takes a pretty deep socket type tool to reach into the faucet body to access the stems and any big box store will have that set of stem remover tools.

Depending on what faucet you have, you may be able to find new stems at a big box store, but it is best to take the stems to a real plumbing supply place so you can get exactly what you need.

First things first is to turn off the water coming into the house or once you remove the stems you're shooting water everywhere.

I called a plumber for this the first time. It was dumb simple. He literally just took pliers, twisted off the valve stem and replaced it. $250. I could of done it for $30 and a trip to the store. Valve stems do look intimidating if you’ve never messed with them before. After you do it, it’s simple.

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He literally just took pliers, twisted off the valve stem and replaced it.

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If replacing the valve stems, you can use pliers, channel locks, vise grips, etc. to remove them, but I'm betting dollars to donuts he used the valve stem socket type tool to put the new stems in so he didn't bung up the end the faucet handle secured to.

Yes, vey easy job to do with the right tools and just a bit of knowledge. Hell, there's probably hundreds of u-tube videos on how to replace faucet stems.

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if you screw it up your water will be shut off until you get a plumber over to fix it.

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this

just know this going in and have a plumber on standpoint or look forward to a very angry spouse

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Good to know. I do have two whole house shutoffs. One at the street and the other butts up against the house where the water line enters.

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If you decide to do this yourself, just cut off where it enters the house, and go find your lowest fixture. Usually it is a hose faucet outside. Turn that on until the water runs out of all the pipes. With no water pressure, gravity will let it clean out the lines of any water. Doesn't necessarily have to be the lowest, but needs to be lower than the tub you're working on. After that then you can replace the faucet parts. Tub stems aren't that bad, and I learned this one the hard way years ago after paying a plumber to replace one.

When you go to turn the water back on, do it slowly. My cutoff inside is in the basement and is a round handle like on a hose faucet. Open it up just a little bit until you hear water running, and once it goes for 10-15 seconds, open it up a little more. Then turn it all the way back on. This helps it fill the water lines back up slowly since there is now air in them, and turning it on full blast and it filling up quickly can cause issues in older fixtures.

If you can't get the bonnet nut off by twisting with average force, don't try to use your muscle to untighten it. Either call a plumber, or get a large set of slip joints to bend it or crack it free, then replace the trim kit.

Trust me. Otherwise you can break the copper supply lines and end up with a shower remodel on your hands. Or so someone told me...