Question About Diverter And Handles

[YANKEEFAN]

We just bought a house and a friend who is a carpenter said the diverter needs replacing and he would get a plumber for us. He wants $800 to replace it. Is that about right? Also the cold water handle has water running from it when we turn on the water. Any idea what that could be?

[Verdeboy]

You Yankee fans are really gullible.

It shouldn't cost $800 to replace your entire shower valve body assembly.

It sounds like you have a 3 handle set-up: Hot, cold, and diverter. What exactly is wrong with the diverter? You may just need to replace only the valve stem or even just a washer.

Remove the cold water handle and tighten the packing nut to fix the other problem.

[hj]

What is gullible about paying an old pitcher an exhorbitant salary for working 1/2 a season, plus giving him a "travel allowance"?
But maybe the plumber thinks he is the Roger Clements of the plumbing industry. What is he doing for the $800.00? There are very few faucets the HAVE to be replaced instead of repaired.

[YANKEEFAN]

Well, that old pitcher is better than most in baseball today STILL...

Maybe I didn't explain this right. I have a handle that leaks for one. I guess that is a totally different problem than the diverter. The guy we know said the diverter was leaking. He could see it from the cellar. The ceiling in the cellar is wet and something leaks and he said it was the diverter. The house was built in 1958 so I don't know if it's the original. There is a puddle on the floor in the cellar. When I looked at it yesterday the pipe was dripping and we hadn't run the water in days. We haven't totally moved in yet.

Any help would be appreciated. Is there a special tool to take off the faucet handle?

[jadnashua]

There are generic handle pullers. Are the pipes galvanized or copper? If galvanized, sounds like it should be repiped. If you go to that trouble, you should probably replace the valve, too. Depends on what he has to do and how easy the access is. Sounds high, but might not be if the pipes need replacing, too.

Note, for safety reasons, it might not be a bad idea to replace it with a pressure balanced shower valve or a thermostatically controlled one which weren't in the picture when your house was built. They're code now. If you can just repair the old, you don't have to update, but if you need to do major rework, most places require it.

[Verdeboy]

When I looked at it yesterday the pipe was dripping and we hadn't run the water in days. We haven't totally moved in yet.
Any help would be appreciated. Is there a special tool to take off the faucet handle?

The diverter should only leak if the water is running. Someone needs to open up an access panel behind this shower and repair either a leaky supply pipe or a leaky shutoff valve.

Use a handle puller (see attached photo) if necessary to remove the cold water handle. Then tighten the outermost nut on the valve stem using a crescent wrench or socket. If it won't tighten down anymore, you will have to unscrew that nut and replace the packing material.

BTW, what's wrong with Mariano Rivera? Is he all washed up?

[geniescience]

... guy we know said the diverter was leaking. He could see it from the cellar. The ceiling in the cellar is wet and something leaks and he said it was ....

welcome to home ownership. "My friend says there is water in the cellar", and now you can see it too. Hmm. Sooner rather than later is a good time to learn everything there is to know. You made a good move signing in here as a start. Diagnosis first, before attempting repair or rework, is a key rule in every field. Assessment first, prior to diagnosis. Information and fact-finding prior to that. You get the picture. It might be the thingie your friend mentioned, and it might be a leak somewhere else. The fact that water is dripping is certain; that is all that is certain.

Assuming (I may be wrong here) that you have to repair the damaged ceiling, then since you have to rip out the soggy parts of the ceiling anyway, do it now while the house is empty and to give yourself more time to see what you can, spot things that need to be noticed, collect information, assess the whole picture and ultimately diagnose things. Take out a lot of the ceiling so you can see up into the wall.

you did good so far, and you'll get better at figuring out what may be wrong. I am sure of it.

David