Faucet Repair & Replacement Across the Bay Area
Dripping taps, seized handles, wobbling spouts and hose bibs that will not shut off. We repair and replace bathroom, laundry and outdoor faucets across 15 Bay Area cities, along with the angle stops and supply lines behind them, which is where a surprising number of faucet problems actually begin.
Kitchen taps have their own set of problems, from pull-out sprayer hoses to air gaps. See kitchen faucet repair for those.
- Bathroom basin taps, single lever and widespread sets
- Laundry and utility sink faucets
- Outdoor hose bibs and sillcocks, including anti-siphon replacement
- Cartridge, stem and ceramic disc repairs
- Angle stops and braided supply lines renewed
- Seized handles, blocked aerators and worn finishes
- Wall mounted and freestanding bath fillers
Faucet Problems We Are Called Out To
Catching these early is almost always cheaper than waiting for the failure.
A Tap That Will Not Stop Dripping
A steady drip is almost always a worn cartridge, a perished seat washer or a scored valve seat. On mineral heavy supplies the seat pits faster, and a new cartridge alone will not seal against it. We check the seat as well as the cartridge, otherwise the drip is back within weeks.
A Handle That Has Seized
Scale builds inside the cartridge body and the handle stiffens, then sticks, then snaps. Forcing it usually shears the stem and turns a small repair into a full replacement. If a handle has started to need two hands, it is worth dealing with before it goes entirely.
Water Under the Basin
Damp in the cabinet gets blamed on the tap when the real source is often the angle stop, a hardened supply line or the tailpiece connection. We check all of them, because replacing a faucet over a weeping shutoff simply moves the problem along rather than solving it.
Weak Flow From One Tap Only
If a single outlet is slow while the rest of the house is fine, the aerator is blocked with scale or debris, or the cartridge is partly obstructed. In older homes still on galvanized supply, corrosion breaking loose upstream lodges in exactly these places and keeps coming back.
A Hose Bib That Weeps or Will Not Shut
Outdoor taps get the hardest use and the least attention. The packing nut works loose, the washer goes, or the anti-siphon device fails and dribbles. A bib leaking continuously wastes a great deal of water quietly, particularly with a hose left permanently connected.
A Loose Spout or Wobbling Base
A tap that moves when you use it has lost its mounting nut, or the deck seal underneath has failed. The movement then works on the flexible connectors below. Tightening from underneath is straightforward if it is caught early, and much less so once the connections have been strained.
Faucets We Work On
Bathroom Basin Taps
Single lever mixers, widespread three hole sets and centre set units. Most repairs come down to a cartridge or a set of seats and springs, and most replacements are decided by hole spacing on the basin. We check the deck configuration before recommending anything, because a widespread set will not go into a single hole basin.
Laundry and Utility Taps
Wall mounted and deck mounted units feeding a utility sink or a washing machine. They see rough use, often have hoses permanently connected, and the shutoffs behind them are frequently the oldest valves in the house. Renewing those stops at the same time is nearly always worth doing while everything is accessible.
Outdoor Hose Bibs and Sillcocks
Standard bibs, frost resistant sillcocks and anti-siphon models. Backflow protection on an outside tap is a code requirement rather than an optional extra, and a failed vacuum breaker is one of the most common faults we see. Replacement usually means working back into the wall to a sound section of pipe.
Angle Stops and Shutoff Valves
The small valves under every basin and behind every appliance. Old multi-turn stops seize solid if they are never used, then fail the moment they are needed. Quarter turn stops are far more reliable and make every future repair simpler, so we fit them as standard with any faucet replacement.
How We Repair or Replace a Faucet
Identify the Fault First
We work out whether the problem is the faucet, the shutoff, the supply line or the water itself before quoting anything. A photograph of the tap and of what is under the basin is usually enough for us to price the work without needing a site visit at all.
Repair or Replace, Your Call
If parts are available and the body is sound, a cartridge or seat repair is often the sensible option. If the finish has gone, the body is corroded or the model is long discontinued, we will say so plainly. You get both prices and you make the choice.
Isolate and Protect
The stops are closed and tested, and if they will not hold we change them as part of the job. Cabinets and basins get covered first, because most of the mess in this work comes from old supply lines letting go of whatever is inside them.
Fit and Seal
The new tap is set on a clean deck with the correct seal, mounting hardware tightened evenly, and new braided supply lines fitted rather than reusing tired ones. Threads are sealed properly, and nothing is over tightened onto ceramic, thin stainless or a composite basin.
Test Under Pressure
We run hot and cold to full, check the temperature mix, look for movement in the spout, then dry everything underneath and watch the connections while the water runs. Anything weeping is dealt with before we leave rather than left for you to find later.
Why Faucet Repairs Come Back, and How to Stop That
The reason a repaired tap starts dripping again a month later is usually that only half the job was done. A cartridge seals against a seat, and if that seat is pitted by scale or grit, a new cartridge has nothing clean to close onto. On supplies carrying a lot of mineral, that pitting happens faster than people expect. Checking the seat and dressing or replacing it is the difference between a repair that lasts and one that does not.
The valves behind the faucet matter as much as the faucet. Angle stops that have sat untouched for twenty years seize, and the moment somebody forces one it either snaps or starts weeping at the stem packing. That is why we replace stops with quarter turn valves whenever we change a tap. It costs very little at the time, and it means the next repair, including an emergency one, starts with a valve that actually closes.
Outdoor taps are the most neglected fixture on most properties and the one with a code requirement attached. Hose bibs need backflow protection, because a hose lying in a puddle or connected to a fertiliser sprayer can pull contaminated water back into the supply if street pressure drops. Vacuum breakers fail quietly. If your bib is dripping from anywhere other than the spout, that is almost certainly what you are looking at.
Finish matters more than people expect on a replacement. Chrome, brushed nickel, matte black and living finishes all age differently, and a tap that no longer matches the shower trim and the towel rail is noticeable every single day. If you are replacing one item in a bathroom, think about whether the rest should follow, because doing them together saves a second visit and keeps the room consistent.
What Affects the Price
We quote every job up front, so you approve the price before anything starts. These are the things that move it:
- Whether the faucet is repaired with new internals or replaced entirely
- Availability of cartridges and seats for the model, which is limited on discontinued lines
- The replacement tap chosen, and whether the deck configuration matches the existing holes
- Condition of the angle stops and supply lines behind the fixture
- Access, which is far tighter under a vanity than at an open laundry sink
- Whether an outdoor bib needs pipe work back into the wall to a sound connection
- The number of fixtures being done in a single visit
Most quotes are free and can be done from photos or video you send us. Some on-site estimates carry a fee based on distance, and we tell you that before we come out.
Simple Faucet Maintenance
Unscrew the aerator at the spout every few months, rinse the screen and clear any grit. It restores flow, stops splashing and takes two minutes. Where the water is mineral heavy, a soak in vinegar clears the scale that a rinse will not.
Open and close every angle stop in the house once a year. Valves that move stay working. It also shows you which ones have already started weeping, well before you need one of them in a hurry.
A handle that has begun to stiffen is telling you the cartridge is scaling up. Dealing with it at that point costs you a cartridge. Forcing it until it snaps usually costs you the whole tap.
A hose left connected to an outside bib holds water against the valve. On the cold nights we do get here, that is what splits a bib and floods the wall behind it. Take hoses off through the winter months.
Put a hand around the connections under every basin twice a year. Damp, green staining, or a supply line that has gone stiff and discoloured all mean something is starting to go and can be dealt with cheaply.
Faucet Repair and Replacement — Frequently Asked Questions
Straight answers, without the sales pitch.
Is it better to repair a faucet or replace it?
If the body is sound, the finish is good and parts are still available, a cartridge or seat repair is usually the better spend. Once a tap is discontinued, corroded at the base, or has already had two repairs, replacement makes more sense. We give you both options with the reasoning rather than pushing one of them.
Why does my tap drip again shortly after a repair?
Nearly always because the valve seat was worn as well as the cartridge. A new cartridge closing onto a pitted seat will pass water again very quickly. On supplies carrying a lot of mineral this is common. The seat needs dressing or replacing at the same time, which is exactly what we check for.
What is the vacuum breaker on my outside tap for?
It stops water being drawn backwards out of a hose into the drinking supply if street pressure drops. It is required on hose bibs and it is a genuine health protection, not a formality. When one fails you usually see water dribbling from the top of the bib rather than the spout, and it needs replacing.
Can you match a faucet in a discontinued finish?
Sometimes the manufacturer still lists parts even when the model itself has gone, and we check that first. Where nothing is available, the honest answer is that an exact match is unlikely and it is usually better to replace the set so the room stays consistent. We tell you which situation you are in before you spend anything.
Do I need to replace the shutoff valves at the same time?
We strongly recommend it, and we fit quarter turn stops as standard with a faucet replacement. Old multi-turn stops that have never been moved commonly refuse to close, or begin weeping once they are disturbed. Doing them together adds very little, and it means your next emergency starts with a valve that works.
My laundry tap is fine but the hoses look old. Does that matter?
Very much. Rubber washing machine hoses harden and split, and they sit under full mains pressure permanently. A burst one empties into the room until somebody finds it. Braided stainless hoses and a set of working shutoffs behind the machine are cheap insurance against one of the most common indoor floods there is.
Do you charge extra for nights, weekends or holidays?
No. We do not add overtime charges, ever. The rate you are quoted is the same whether we come out on a Tuesday morning or at 2am on a holiday weekend.
Are you licensed and insured?
Yes. Power Plumbing USA holds California contractor license #1082507 and carries full liability insurance. All work is performed to California Plumbing Code, and we pull permits where the job requires them.
Where We Provide This Service
We cover 15 Bay Area cities from our Union City base. See the full service area →