Answered 24/7 · the valve gets checked too
Faucet repair, and the shut-off underneath that nobody thinks about
The faucet, the supply lines feeding it and the angle stops that isolate it are one assembly, and the parts that fail first are usually the cheapest ones in it.
- CFC1433655Florida plumbing contractor license
- Stops and supply lineschecked, not just the faucet
Why does a dripping faucet turn into a bigger job?
Because of what is under the sink. Repairing or replacing a faucet means isolating it at the angle stops, and in a house where those stops have not been turned in twenty years they frequently will not close, or will not re-seal after being closed. At that point the small job needs the whole house isolated and the stops replaced before the original work can start.
That is not a reason to avoid the repair. It is a reason to expect the conversation, and it is the single most common way a straightforward fixture job becomes a longer visit.
The other thing worth checking at the same time is the braided supply lines. They have a service life, they are the cheapest part of the assembly, and when one fails it does so at full pressure under a cabinet, which is a considerably more expensive event than the drip that brought us out.
What you are seeing
What each symptom points at
Most of these are cartridges, seals or aerators rather than the faucet body.
A steady drip from the spout
Usually a worn cartridge or seat. It is a repair on most modern faucets, and the part costs a fraction of the fixture.
Weak flow from one tap only
Start at the aerator. Regional water leaves mineral deposits and they collect there first, which makes this the cheapest thing to check and the most often skipped.
Water at the base or under the cabinet
That is the supply connection, the stop or a failed braided line rather than the faucet, and it is the one worth acting on quickly.
A handle that is stiff or will not stay put
Cartridge wear again. Common in hard water, and a repair rather than a replacement in most cases.
A shut-off that will not turn
Worth knowing before there is an emergency. A stop you cannot close is the reason a small leak becomes a whole-house shutdown at two in the morning.
Questions
Straight answers before you call
Repair or replace the faucet?
Repair, in most cases. Cartridges, seats and aerators are serviceable and the parts are a small fraction of a fixture. Replacement makes sense when the body itself is corroded or when parts for that model are genuinely gone.
Why does the plumber want to change the valves under my sink?
Because if they will not close, the faucet cannot be isolated and the work cannot proceed without shutting the whole house down. In older houses that is common, and it is better to hear it at the start of the visit than in the middle of it.
Are braided supply lines worth replacing preventively?
They are the cheapest part of the assembly and they fail at full pressure inside a cabinet. If they are being exposed for other work anyway, replacing them is the small decision that avoids a large one.
My water is weak at one tap only. Is that the pipe?
Almost never. One tap points at that tap: usually the aerator, sometimes the cartridge. If every tap in the house is weak, that is a different question entirely and it is about the supply rather than the fixtures.
Related work
What a fixture call sits next to
Small jobs that share the same cabinet.
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Dripping, or water under the cabinet?
A person answers at any hour. Water under the cabinet is the one worth calling about today rather than at the weekend.
No obligation. Work performed under Florida plumbing contractor license CFC1433655.