Faucet & Valve Repair in Doraville, GA

Opening the cabinet under the sink to find a damp floor, a warped base panel or a puddle among the cleaning supplies is a common start to a faucet and valve repair call in Doraville. The water could be coming from the faucet itself, the supply connections or the drain, and each needs a different fix. A few minutes of careful observation usually narrows it down.

Three possible sources

• Supply side: the stop valves, compression nuts and supply lines. These are under pressure all the time, so a leak here drips even when nobody is using the sink.
• Faucet side: the faucet body, spout seals, pull-down or side-sprayer hose and their connections. These leak only while water runs through the faucet.
• Drain side: the basket strainer, trap, slip nuts and the disposal or dishwasher connections. These leak only as water drains away.

A simple test to narrow it down

1. Empty the cabinet and dry every pipe, valve and connection with paper towels.
2. Leave the faucet off for half an hour, then check towels tucked under the stops and lines. Damp towels point to the supply side.
3. Run the faucet into a pot so nothing goes down the drain, and watch the underside of the faucet and the hose.
4. Fill the sink, pull the stopper and watch the drain connections as it empties.

Faucet-side leaks and their repairs

Pull-down kitchen faucets have a hose that slides up and down through the spout, and the hose can crack or its quick-connect fitting under the sink can start to leak. Replacing the hose with the manufacturer's part is often a modest repair. Side sprayers have a diverter that can fail and a hose that rubs against the cabinet wall. Water that pools on the counter around the faucet base and then trickles through the mounting hole usually means the base gasket or a swivel spout seal has worn. A crack in the faucet body, which shows up as water running down the inside of the shank, means replacing the faucet. Hoses, cartridges and stops are everyday parts of faucet and valve repair, so one visit can usually handle all three.

Supply-side leaks and their repairs

A drip at a compression nut can sometimes be stopped by snugging it a fraction of a turn, but overtightening crushes the ferrule. Supply lines with rust, bulges or kinks should be replaced rather than tightened. A stop that weeps at the stem may need its packing nut adjusted or a full replacement. When the pipe stub coming out of the wall is corroded, no stop will seal properly until the stub is dealt with.

Drain leaks and damage beyond the cabinet

Drain-side drips usually come from loose slip nuts, an old basket strainer or a disposal flange. A leak at the disposal is its own job, covered under garbage disposal repair in Doraville, and a drain line damaged inside the wall belongs with drain repair. If the cabinet floor is soft or swollen, or the wall behind it is stained, water has been escaping for a while, and water restoration can dry the cabinet and wall cavity before the damage spreads.

Which jobs the city lists

Doraville's residential permit checklist lists new plumbing lines and fixture work that alters piping among the jobs that need a permit. Replacing a faucet hose or tightening a connection leaves the piping as it is, while replacing a corroded stub or moving a supply line changes it, so the second kind of job is the one to ask about.

Questions about under-sink leaks in Doraville

Why is the cabinet under my kitchen sink wet only when I use the faucet?

That pattern points to the faucet side or the drain. If water appears while the faucet runs, even when nothing is draining, the pull-down hose, its quick-connect fitting or a spout seal is the likely source. If it appears only as the sink empties, check the strainer, trap and disposal connections instead.

Can I keep using the sink until it is repaired?

If the leak is on the drain or faucet side and drips only during use, a bowl underneath can buy a little time, though particleboard swells quickly once it gets wet. A supply-side leak runs constantly, so close that stop valve until the repair, or close the main if the stop will not hold.

Is it worth replacing the faucet instead of the hose?

It depends on the faucet. If the body is sound and the manufacturer still sells the hose, replacing the hose is usually the sensible choice, and some brands cover hoses under the manufacturer's warranty. If the faucet is older, the finish is worn or the body is cracked, a whole new faucet avoids buying parts for a fixture near the end of its life.

Get the cabinet dry again

Before phoning about a wet sink cabinet in Doraville, note whether the water appears with the faucet off, running or draining, then reach Alpha Plumbing and Sewer at (404) 409-4448.