I'm not sure what to do with the sink
November 7, 2023 7:31 PM Subscribe
BathroomFixtureFilter: Can you help me figure out how to fix this faucet?
Our last tenant vacated our rental the other day, and when I was over there today, I noticed something that has been a slight problem for a while but has gotten markedly worse in the year-plus since we lived in the place.
The bathroom hot water handle does this (cold also does it a little, but nowhere near as bad as the hot). The faucet/handles work just fine, no leaks or drips or anything, but looking at it from the top, the handle should be at perpendicular to the faucet when fully off and at parallel to the faucet when fully on.
Looking under the sink, the only connections I see are the screws that connect the faucet to the counter (and the water connections to each handle, obviously). My question is - and YANMP, etc - if I unscrew those screws and lift out the handle, will I find some sort of limit screw or other mechanism inside the base there that I can adjust?
My brain can't get past thinking there's something like the little screw that holds towel bars onto the bracket screwed into the wall inside that flared casing there, but what I don't want is to get the thing apart and realize "well this was OK but now it's off and you broke it and it won't ever go back on right" or something. Can you tell I have no confidence with this stuff?
Anyway, is what I'm thinking correct, that once I unseat that handle it's a routine-ish adjustment to make it do what it needs to do, or am I about to find out I need a new faucet?
Our last tenant vacated our rental the other day, and when I was over there today, I noticed something that has been a slight problem for a while but has gotten markedly worse in the year-plus since we lived in the place.
The bathroom hot water handle does this (cold also does it a little, but nowhere near as bad as the hot). The faucet/handles work just fine, no leaks or drips or anything, but looking at it from the top, the handle should be at perpendicular to the faucet when fully off and at parallel to the faucet when fully on.
Looking under the sink, the only connections I see are the screws that connect the faucet to the counter (and the water connections to each handle, obviously). My question is - and YANMP, etc - if I unscrew those screws and lift out the handle, will I find some sort of limit screw or other mechanism inside the base there that I can adjust?
My brain can't get past thinking there's something like the little screw that holds towel bars onto the bracket screwed into the wall inside that flared casing there, but what I don't want is to get the thing apart and realize "well this was OK but now it's off and you broke it and it won't ever go back on right" or something. Can you tell I have no confidence with this stuff?
Anyway, is what I'm thinking correct, that once I unseat that handle it's a routine-ish adjustment to make it do what it needs to do, or am I about to find out I need a new faucet?
Best answer: the only connections I see are the screws that connect the faucet to the counter
Years of having the handle forcibly slammed might have loosened those if they're the kind that simply clamps some kind of ring up under the countertop rather than actually penetrating it, allowing the whole valve assembly to twist away from the orientation it was originally installed with.
The handle itself will be connected to the valve stem with some kind of spline or square drive, and is unlikely to twist on that stem. Sometimes those handles don't even have a set screw, relying instead on some kind of click-home clip to hold them onto the stem, which makes them kind of a pain to take off again.
If you open the faucet all the way, so that the handle's motion becomes constrained by an internal stop rather than by banging into the back wall, you might be able to make the parts under the countertop wiggle visibly by hauling on the handle. If you can, then the under-counter mountings are probably the clamping type and they're probably loose, in which case you should be able to fix things by loosening them a little more, then hauling the whole assembly around to where it's supposed to sit when fully open, then tightening them up again.
posted by flabdablet at 12:31 AM on November 8, 2023
Years of having the handle forcibly slammed might have loosened those if they're the kind that simply clamps some kind of ring up under the countertop rather than actually penetrating it, allowing the whole valve assembly to twist away from the orientation it was originally installed with.
The handle itself will be connected to the valve stem with some kind of spline or square drive, and is unlikely to twist on that stem. Sometimes those handles don't even have a set screw, relying instead on some kind of click-home clip to hold them onto the stem, which makes them kind of a pain to take off again.
If you open the faucet all the way, so that the handle's motion becomes constrained by an internal stop rather than by banging into the back wall, you might be able to make the parts under the countertop wiggle visibly by hauling on the handle. If you can, then the under-counter mountings are probably the clamping type and they're probably loose, in which case you should be able to fix things by loosening them a little more, then hauling the whole assembly around to where it's supposed to sit when fully open, then tightening them up again.
posted by flabdablet at 12:31 AM on November 8, 2023
Alot of the cheap end bathroom fixtures are throw away quality. Fixing something like this or replacing the cartridge are not cheap or easy. Replace it and upgrade paying attention to ease of changing o-rings and parts. Buy commercial quality for a rental unit.
posted by JJ86 at 3:53 AM on November 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by JJ86 at 3:53 AM on November 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Agreeing that there's probably a set screw somewhere on the handle that you can adjust. It might just be on the back of the handle (facing the wall). Use a mirror or your phone to look for a little hole that would admit a hex key.
posted by mskyle at 6:01 AM on November 8, 2023
posted by mskyle at 6:01 AM on November 8, 2023
Response by poster: @JJ86: these are not low-end fixtures. For all its other...let's generously call them "quirks", the building containing this unit used high-end faucets/fixtures in all the sinks/shower (I had to replace a different one a few years back for other reasons and I was stunned at how expensive it was). So I don't think it needs to be replaced at this point.
Also I found a set screw! It was in a place I least expected it to be, at the joint between the handle and its axis on the underside of the handle. Now to figure out how to adjust it so the handle does what I want.
posted by pdb at 8:26 AM on November 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
Also I found a set screw! It was in a place I least expected it to be, at the joint between the handle and its axis on the underside of the handle. Now to figure out how to adjust it so the handle does what I want.
posted by pdb at 8:26 AM on November 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Different set with this issue, and another, may have tips you can use.
posted by Iris Gambol at 10:30 AM on November 8, 2023
posted by Iris Gambol at 10:30 AM on November 8, 2023
It's likely that the set screw has simply come loose (or was never tightened properly). Try loosening off the set screw and you should be able to lift the handle off. You will then be able to see if there's a stop there, although most likely the cartridge itself has the stop. Hopefully, you can position the handle correctly and tighten the set screw and it will be fine.
posted by dg at 4:31 PM on November 8, 2023
posted by dg at 4:31 PM on November 8, 2023
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I actually just bought a new faucet set (and then had a plumber install it) and so I've seen a LOT of faucets recently. This looks like plenty of models in the Delta catalog. Peruse that, find one that's close, and then look at the installation manual for it.
posted by intermod at 10:00 PM on November 7, 2023 [2 favorites]