If your bathtub faucet needs to be repaired, it may be a good idea to replace it. Since the old one will have to be removed for repair, you can take this opportunity to upgrade the look of your bathroom. You can replace a bathtub faucet within a couple of hours. The old faucet will have to be removed first and taken to the hardware store. Make sure that the new faucet has the same inside diameters of the old one. Does this Spark an idea?
Remove the Old Faucet
Place a sheet inside the bathtub to prevent scratches and damage to the finish while you are inside removing the old faucet assembly. Turn off the water supply to the bathtub. You may have to turn the supply off to the entire house if a shut-off valve is not on the bathtub faucet. There are plastic caps in the middle of each handle. Pop these off with a flathead screwdriver and then remove the screw that secures each handle. Pull the handles off and remove the escutcheon or cover plate from around the stem. Use an appropriate-size socket wrench to remove the packing nut that holds the stem into the wall plumbing and pull out the stem.
To remove the spout, check underneath the spout for a set screw. It will be located on the spout close to the tub. Unscrew the set screw with a screwdriver. Slip the spout off of the stem. If your spout does not have a set screw, then the spout will have to be unscrewed from the stem. Use a pipe wrench to carefully rotate the spout in a counterclockwise direction. Once it is loose, you can finish unscrewing it by hand.
Install the Spout
When replacing screw on type spouts, start by threading them by hand. Once you have hand tightened the spout, wrap a towel around the spout. Using a plumbers pipe wrench, finish tightening the spout. For slip-on spouts, you need to slip it over the stem flush with the wall. Line up the hole for the set screw and secure the spout by tightening the set screw.
Install the Handles
Install the washer on the stem and set the stem inside the faucet plumbing. Attach the new packing nut over the stem and into the faucet plumbing. Tighten the packing nut down with a socket wrench. Place a bead of plumbers putty to the back of the new escutcheon plate and set it around the stem and against the tub. Place the handles on the stems and attach them using the attaching screws. Place the covers over the screw hole, and turn the water supply back on to the tub.
Tags: bathtub faucet, will have, around stem, each handle, faucet plumbing, have removed
