Toilet, Faucet & Fixture Repair and Installation in Spartanburg, SC

A running toilet is usually the flapper or the fill valve. A worn flapper lets water seep into the bowl, so the tank refills every so often on its own. A fill valve that does not shut off sends water down the overflow tube. Both waste a lot of water quietly, and both are quick repairs. A drop of food coloring in the tank tells you: if color shows up in the bowl without a flush, the flapper is leaking.

A toilet that rocks has a problem under it. The wax ring that seals the toilet to the drain flange can break its seal when the toilet moves, and then every flush can leak a little water into the subfloor. We pull the toilet, check the flange, replace the wax ring, and set and secure it so it stays put. Water around the base, a soft floor or a stain on the ceiling below are all signs to call soon.

A toilet that clogs over and over may have something lodged in its trap, like a toy, or it may be a sign of a main line problem if other drains are also slow.

A new toilet is a good fix for one that cracks, clogs constantly or wastes water. Before you buy, measure the rough-in, the distance from the finished wall to the center of the floor bolts. Most are 12 inches, but older homes can have 10 or 14, and a toilet built for the wrong rough-in will not fit.

On the install we pull the old toilet, check the flange and the subfloor around it, and repair a broken or low flange before anything goes on it. The new toilet gets a fresh wax ring or wax-free seal, closet bolts, a new supply line and a quarter-turn shutoff, and it is set level and tight so it does not rock. Then we flush it several times and check the base and the supply for leaks.

A dripping faucet usually needs a cartridge, a washer or an O-ring, depending on the type. When a faucet is old or parts are hard to find, replacing it is often the better choice.

We install kitchen, bath and laundry faucets, whether you picked one out or want us to supply it. Before we start we check that the faucet matches the number of holes in the sink or counter, then set it, connect new supply lines, and on a kitchen faucet with a sprayer or pull-down hose, make sure the hose moves freely without catching on the drain or the disposal.

The shutoff valves under sinks and behind toilets are often forgotten until they are needed. Older multi-turn valves seize from mineral buildup or start to leak at the stem when they are finally turned. We replace them with quarter-turn valves when we work on a fixture, so you can actually shut off the water the next time something goes wrong. The braided supply lines connecting the valve to the fixture also wear out, and replacing them is a small job that prevents a flood.

A disposal that hums but does not turn is usually jammed. With the power off, a hex key in the socket on the bottom of the unit can free it, and the red reset button on the bottom restores power after an overload. A disposal that leaks from the body of the unit has usually failed and needs to be replaced.

We install new and replacement disposals: mounting the sink flange, connecting the drain and the dishwasher hose, and knocking out the dishwasher plug on a new unit so the dishwasher can drain. On a house on septic, we will talk through whether a disposal makes sense before putting one in.

Disposals do not handle grease, fibrous food like celery and corn husks, eggshells or coffee grounds well. Those go in the trash. Run cold water while it runs and for a few seconds after.

An outdoor spigot, also called a hose bib, freezes when water sits in it on a cold night. A standard spigot holds water right at the outside wall, so it splits easily. Spartanburg does not freeze often, but a few nights in the teens each winter is enough.

A split or dripping hose bib is usually replaced rather than repaired, and it is a good moment to move to a frost-free model. We also install new hose bibs where you want one, such as by a garden, a back patio or the far side of the house, tapping into the nearest cold line and running it out through the wall.

A frost-free spigot has a long stem that closes the valve inside the heated part of the house, so the water drains out of the part that is exposed to the cold. It only works if it is installed with a slight downward slope to the outside and if the hose is disconnected in winter. Leave a hose on and the water cannot drain, and the spigot can split inside the wall, where you will not see the leak until the next time you use it. Outdoor spigots should also have a vacuum breaker to keep hose water from being drawn back into your drinking water.