kitchen faucet

plumby dumby · Dec 15, 2007

We got a new price pfister kitchen faucet last month, and now the single lever, hot/cold, off/on handle is extremely hard to raise, lower and turn. What can I do? (Olive oil wasn't the answer

)
Thanks.

Jadnashua · Dec 15, 2007

Silicon plumber's grease on the cartridge might solve this. You'd have to take it apart first to get it there, though.

Sponsor · 2022-01-29T12:20:58-0800

plumby dumby · Dec 15, 2007

Girls need more detailed info please

I'm a bachlorette so excuse me in advance for asking...what is a cartridge? What is Silicon plumber's grease? Do I need to involve a plumber to take it a part? I was hoping my roommate and I could do this ourselves!

Smellslike$tome · Dec 15, 2007

Saved a lady from having me install a pp lav faucet the other day. I do not like their products. I know you just want to know how to fix it but that is not something I can do without tearing it down. My best advice is to take the loss, remove it and install something of better quality.

Smellslike$tome · Dec 15, 2007

plumby dumby said:
I'm a bachlorette so excuse me in advance for asking...what is a cartridge? What is Silicon plumber's grease? Do I need to involve a plumber to take it a part? I was hoping my roommate and I could do this ourselves!

Just saw this post. Stop everything and call a plumber. Who installed it? Call a pro.

plumby dumby · Dec 15, 2007

We can fix it. Need the magic answers!

Can't we just put something in there to lube it? Love the faucet's appearance, it's only a month old, and I really don't want to uninstall it. Any idea what makes it hard to turn, anyway? Thanks

Smellslike$tome · Dec 15, 2007

Who installed it? If it was a professional plumber and he provided the faucet he may warranty it unless it came from one of the box stores via one of their "contractors". If that's the case good luck getting them back out there. The parts are certainly warranted by PP and one thing I will say for PP is that they are usually pretty good about sending warranted repair parts quickly and without much hassle it's just that they are necessary fairly often and they of course don't cover the cost of the repair if you have a plumber do it. However you should certainly call whoever installed it unless you did it yourself.

plumby dumby · Dec 15, 2007

A really nice man who recently lived across the street installed it. He has moved, so no chance of getting help there. A warranty idea is a good one. But, I don't even know what if any parts could be defective? A plumber would cost more than the faucet probably, so I would like to solve this via the internet if possible. What is the silicon grease and do you think that would work? BTW, are you a plumber? Thanks!

Herk · Dec 15, 2007

Pouring olive oil on it may not have been the best idea. Plumber's grease - either silicone or earlier types - will not damage rubber parts. Various oils may damage the internal parts.

Why is it hard to raise and turn? Perhaps a defective part. Perhaps poor quality. PP would not be my first choice, or my third. But unless you're feeling suddenly qualified to shut the water off and tear the faucet down to its component parts and replace the cartridge, I'd call someone to help you.

Smellslike$tome · Dec 15, 2007

plumby dumby said:
A really nice man who recently lived across the street installed it. He has moved, so no chance of getting help there. A warranty idea is a good one. But, I don't even know what if any parts could be defective? A plumber would cost more than the faucet probably, so I would like to solve this via the internet if possible. What is the silicon grease and do you think that would work? BTW, are you a plumber? Thanks!

Yes, I am a state certified master plumber and yes the plumber will certainly cost you more than the faucet cost (I'm assuming the nice man installed it for free). I know that you would like to solve this over the internet but if you do not know what you are doing and no offense but it is obvious that you do not, then you need a professional. Maybe you could do it and maybe you are about to step into plumbing hell. I know it's not what you want to hear but call a pro. If he repairs it it will be less than if he replaces it of course but it will probably be a couple of hundred dollars anyway. If you try to fix it and wind up destroying it it will cost you much more.

Verdeboy · Dec 15, 2007

Here is an exploded view of a typical Price Pfister single-handle faucet. To take it apart, all you would need is the small allen wrench that hopefully came with the faucet (to remove the handle, after you removed the plastic cap that covers the set screw) and a channel locks to unscrew the knurled cap and to pull out the cartridge. You would also need to buy some plumber's grease for $2.00, which you can get at any hardware store.

You would have to turn off the water to the faucet first. The shutoffs are under the sink. The tricky part would be getting everything back together again.

http://www.pricepfister.com/website/documents/Products/PRD_8art_14960_ex-534-01.pdf

Any good handyman would do this for $40.00. (At least I would).

plumby dumby · Dec 15, 2007

What're you doing right now? HAHA!

Thank you thank you thank you for your link and for your help!! I agree I am not qualified, but I have nothing to lose if I wreck it, right? It's not like I'm going to flood anything.
I have the allen wrench, channel locks, and can turn off the water. I just got back from home depot with the grease. I plan to lay the parts out in order as they are removed. Now, is the "cartridge" the third part down in the diagram? The thing with the white rectangular thing sticking up? Do I grease the underside of that?
Thanks for helping, Eric.

Smellslike$tome · Dec 15, 2007

Verdeboy said:
Here is an exploded view of a typical Price Pfister single-handle faucet. To take it apart, all you would need is the small allen wrench that hopefully came with the faucet (to remove the handle, after you removed the plastic cap that covers the set screw) and a channel locks to unscrew the knurled cap and to pull out the cartridge. You would also need to buy some plumber's grease for $2.00, which you can get at any hardware store.

You would have to turn off the water to the faucet first. The shutoffs are under the sink. The tricky part would be getting everything back together again.

http://www.pricepfister.com/website/documents/Products/PRD_8art_14960_ex-534-01.pdf

Any good handyman would do this for $40.00. (At least I would).

You are obviously not in business since you're overhead alone would cost you more than that per service call just to park your truck in front of her house. I am assuming of course that if you were in business you would be interested in being properly certified, licensed, insured (gl, auto, health, life, wc, etc.), bonded, drug tested, background checked, paid your phone bill, gas bill, office rent, maintained your truck in good working leak free condition, tools, equipment, materials and parts, shall I go on because I can for a really long time. Oh yeah did I mention every conceivable tax under the sun, permit fees, business licenses. Do you want to be "handymanning" when you are 80 or do you think it might be wise to plan for your retirement and your family's future assuming you have a family which I probably shouldn't assume, and so on and so on and so on. You might be an ace "handyman" but you obviously don't know squat about business.

On the other hand if you are only interested in making "beer money" and unconcerned about any of the things I listed plus a whole lot more then yes perhaps $40 would be just about right.

plumby dumby · Dec 15, 2007

Why the hostility there? No need to insult and get personal now.

Easy does it.

Smellslike$tome · Dec 15, 2007

You're right. I got a little hot. My apologies to you and to you too Verdeboy.

Chel_in_IL · Dec 15, 2007

My God.. changing a faucet isn't brain surgery. It's one of the first home-improvement jobs I ever did, before I was even able to drive!! (Surprised my mom to say the least..)

PlumbyDumby, I hope your repair job went well. Sometimes people are too timid to tear things apart, and once they did, they find it wasn't hard to do after all...

I'd like to add that I understand the overhead thing.. I do computer network consulting for a living, and some people are scared off by my hourly rate. But, I also pay my own health insurance, have worker's comp and liability, etc etc etc...

There are decent handy-people out there that will work for cheap; my fiance' does. But, it's not his main business and he doesn't depend on it to make a living.

Michelle in Northern IL

Verdeboy · Dec 15, 2007

plumby dumby said:
Now, is the "cartridge" the third part down in the diagram? The thing with the white rectangular thing sticking up? Do I grease the underside of that?

Yes, it's the part labeled 974-035. Does that look like your faucet? They have other diagrams of other faucets if it is not. Grease the underside as well as the part sticking up.

Hint: When you try to unscrew the knurled cap (part # 950-054) with the channel locks, put a rag under the teeth of the channel locks so you don't mar the surface of the cap. You may also need to use the channel locks to close your shutoff valves if they are frozen open.

plumby dumby said:
Why the hostility there? No need to insult and get personal now. Easy does it.

I get that all the time on this forum. At least he apologized--some don't. I'm just here to learn and to pass on what I learned to others, such as yourself.

Construct30 · Dec 15, 2007

Where I live it would be about a $45 to $55 job plus parts. Yes, I have almost all of the garbage you listed other than we don't do the license here, hopefully before long we will. I make about the average income or maybe a little higher after expenses for my area. I'm sure in some areas cost of living and cost of doing business is a lot less than others.

I've had relatives that live in places where they charged $400 or more to install a faucet I would do for $80, but then every thing was higher and they paid $350,000 for a house I could buy for $40,000 here. I would love to charge $100 plus an hour, but I wouldn't work. If you make the average income for your area as a plumber or handyman, then that is all you can ask, it doesn't mean you are a hack or don't know what you're doing. I have the same code books on my shelf you do and from the sounds of things tougher inspectors than most. I'm sure Eric feels the same way.

Not working for beer money here, just coffee.

plumby dumby · Dec 15, 2007

Eric, The diagram wasn't exactly my faucet, but it was close enough to be very helpful. I cannot express enough thanks!! I followed your advice and I'm proud to report I got it apart, greased, and also back together. You're right that putting it back together is tricky! And yes, it took well over two hours (and several swear words) to do! I'm sure a pro could have done ten of them in the time it took me, but the next one might only take an hour and 45 minutes.

The best part is it seems to turn and raise and lower much smoother now. YAY! Thanks for taking a leap of faith and extending your knowledge. Mission accomplished!
"Smellslike$": apology accepted.

. Thanks.
Guests coming for Christmas next week will only see and use a great looking faucet without any other notice of it. YIPPEE!!

Verdeboy · Dec 16, 2007

plumby dumby said:
I'm proud to report I got it apart, greased, and also back together... YIPPEE!!

It's great that you were able to do that. Price Pfisters tend to be high maintenance faucets, so you'll probably be taking it apart again to replace parts. Try to find your exact model on that website, so you can give them the part numbers when you need to order parts.

If you ever get tired of repairing that thing, you should switch to a Delta, which is much more reliable.

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