fixtures
Shower & Tub Plumbing Repair
Your shower and tub see the heaviest daily use of any plumbing fixture in your home. When the showerhead constantly drips, the water pressure drops, or you can no longer get a consistent mix of hot and cold water, the daily routine becomes frustrating. Because the most critical components of a shower—the rough-in valve and pipes—are hidden behind tiled walls, repairs require specialized knowledge to fix the issue without destroying your bathroom.
The heart of any modern shower is the mixing valve cartridge. This internal component balances the pressure of hot and cold water to prevent scalding if someone flushes a toilet elsewhere in the house. Over time, hard water minerals calcify inside this cartridge, causing the handle to seize up or water to leak continuously. We carry a vast array of specialized cartridges and tools to extract and replace these components safely.
Signs You Need Shower & Tub Repair
- The showerhead drips constantly even when the handle is turned off forcefully.
- The handle is extremely stiff, hard to turn, or freely spins without doing anything.
- You experience sudden blasts of scalding or freezing water when other fixtures are used.
- The tub spout continues to run water even when the diverter is pulled up to shower mode.
- Water pressure is significantly lower in the shower than in the rest of the house.
Our Process
Valve Access
The handle and decorative trim plate (escutcheon) are carefully removed to access the valve body in the wall.
Cartridge Extraction
Using specialized pullers, the old, calcified cartridge is extracted from the brass valve body.
Component Replacement
A new balancing cartridge or tub diverter is installed and lubricated.
Calibration
The rotational limit stop is adjusted to ensure the water gets hot enough without reaching scalding temperatures.
What Affects the Cost
- The brand and age of the shower valve (some rare or obsolete cartridges are expensive and hard to source).
- Whether the valve body itself is cracked, which requires cutting open the drywall from behind to replace the entire brass unit.
- If the issue includes a clogged or leaking drain that requires accessing the ceiling below.
✓ Safe to DIY
- Unscrewing the showerhead and soaking it in CLR or vinegar to dissolve mineral buildup.
- Checking the caulk lines around the tub to ensure water isn't seeping behind the tile.
✕ Stop & Call Us
- Attempting to pry out a stuck shower cartridge with pliers; you will likely break the brass valve body inside the wall, turning a $200 repair into a $1,500 wall-rebuild.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is my shower handle so hard to turn?
The internal rubber seals and plastic gears of the mixing cartridge have calcified or degraded. Forcing the handle will eventually snap the stem. The cartridge needs to be replaced.
Why does my shower go freezing cold when a toilet is flushed?
Older showers lack "pressure-balancing" valves. When the toilet flushes, it steals cold water pressure, so the shower suddenly delivers straight hot water (or vice versa). We can upgrade the valve to a modern balancing model to prevent scalding.
How do I fix a leaky tub spout?
If water leaks from the spout when the shower is on, the diverter gate inside the spout is failing. The spout itself needs to be unthreaded or un-set-screwed and replaced.
Related Services
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