Dripping Delta Shower...do I need a cartridge or what?

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BeautyFish

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Guys -

I had a plumber come and look at two issues in two different bathrooms. The guy didn't know what he was doing, and I was helped on this forum with the bathtub faucet issue, which didn't need the $230 spout replacement the guy quoted me. Instead, I was able to fix it myself with with five bucks worth of parts and tools I had lying around. Now I'm asking for help with a dripping Delta shower head and faucet. I have no way of turning off the water locally, so I'm hoping someone will look at the picture and recognize the part. The plumber said that the Delta piece doesn't use O rings or washers and would need a new cartridge to the tune of $300. The only way for me to disassemble to faucet involves going down to the basement, unscrewing an access panel, shutting off the water for the house, and opening the faucets for the upstairs to let the water drain out. I'd like to save myself the trouble if any of you can tell me if the guy was correct or not. The plumber also said that fixing it would involve sweating pipes, which is not my strong suit. Does anyone recognize this particular type of faucet/valve and know whether or not I can fix the drip by replacing a part myself without doing any serious work with a torch/solder, etc.?

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Shower.jpg
 

SHR

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You will have to shut off the water to the faucet. No sweating pipes, no pipe work at all. A leak does not indicate a need to replace the cartridge. Generally replacing the seats and springs located in the middle of the faucet cartridge repairs the leak. Purchase the repair seats and springs locally or contact Delta for free replacement parts and advise.

http://www.deltafaucet.com/repairparts/details/rp64483.html

Getting to the cartridge is a staightforward process but sometimes is complicated by years of build-up on threads. If you have problems removing the retainer nut (bonnet) search the forums as there is great advise already available to you on how to remove stubborn Delta faucet parts.
 

hj

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The age of the faucet will determine WHICH cartridge you need. Do NOT "force" the retainer nut to unscrew or you WILL need to replace the entire valve. IF you can determine which cartridge it is call 1-800-345-DELT and they will send a replacement. They may ask you to send that photo to them to make the determination.
 

BeautyFish

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I went on the Delta site, identified the faucet by sight, and was led to the parts list. My local Home Depot had the replacement cartridge for 36 bucks. I watched a video put out by Delta, and replaced the cartridge in about 20 minutes. This was my second plumbing repair. Leak fixed. I'm trying to figure out why the plumber quoted me $330 dollars for the repair. There is no legitimate way, right? I don't want to call the guy a crook without understanding the plumbing business, but this was so straightforward.
 
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Jadnashua

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Most plumbers (and this includes many tradesmen) charge from the time they leave their office until they get back, so depending on where you live, most of that price could have been his labor costs just to get to your house and then back (often, they'll give you a break if they have another job in the area).
 
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