a happy ending

We've had a drippy bathtub faucet for a while. It started not long after we moved into this house and two weeks ago, we'd finally had it. I took the faucet handles apart, but couldn't figure out how to get the valve stems (the parts the handles connect to that turn to open and close the valves) out to change them, so we decided to bite the bullet and call a plumber to come fix it. He came, replaced the valve stems, charged us $250 (ouch!!) and left.


The faucet still dripped.


We called the plumbing company and they sent the plumber back. He insisted that there was sediment in the line and the valves just needed to be flushed for a few minutes. Five minutes of flushing later, the faucet was still dripping. Then we got the bad news: the plumber figured that the valve body was cracked and quoted us $650 to fix it. YIKES! Keep reading, I promise that happy ending is coming...



I wasn't about to shell out more money for a plumbing fix that I could probably figure out myself. So, using the new reciprocal saw that my parents gave me for my birthday this year (thanks Mom and Dad), I enlarged the tub plumbing access door in Jack's closet, disconnected the valve body, and took it in to BJ Plumbing Supply.



I am very happily married to my wonderful husband. But if he wasn't in the picture, I'd marry the entire staff of BJ Plumbing Supply. All of them. In a heartbeat. That's how much I love that store. I get the best customer service there that I've ever recieved for any purchase anywhere. They don't treat me like an idiot woman when I come in with what are probably obvious questions (an attitude that I've gotten elsewhere). And they just saved us a lot of money.



Right. Enough with my crush on BJ Plumbing. Back to the story...



... I took in the valve body and told the guy at the counter that I needed a new one. He found one for me, rang me up for a new one ($150 that I was happy to pay), and then thought to ask me what was wrong with the old one. When I told him that the plumber said it was cracked inside, he asked to take a look at it. He took it into the back room and took it apart. A few minutes later he brought it back and said, "There's nothing wrong with your valve body. The plumber over-tightened the valve seats and cracked them."


To make a long story shorter, he put in new valve seats for me and I walked away with a bill for $10, instead of $150. I learned how to solder copper pipe and our faucet no longer drips. Happy? Yes, but we're still not done.


Joe took the cracked valve seats into the main office of the plumbing company. He was ready to put up a big fight, but didn't have to-- they were very reasonable and refunded the cost of labor-- $200-- of the original repair.


Final total cost: $150 (and that includes my new blow torch and soldering supplies)


And we all lived happily ever after...