Shower Faucet Remodel Kit?

[Gator95]

In the guest bathroom, we have a 3-knob setup with hot-diverter-cold. The facet knobs themselves are a little beat-up and I've had a steady drip since I moved in 3-years ago that is getting worse over time. Not 'look at that water bill' worse, but 'gee... kinda sucks that a gal of fresh water a day is going down the drain' worse.

The shower is tiled, and there is no pre-made access to behind the facuets, would have to go through drywall either in the bathroom or the hallway if I needed to access the plumbing behind the faucets, so replumbing the whole thing is not an attractive option right now.

Was thinking about something like this:

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?actio...s&N=4294951182

Couple of questions:

1) Do these remodel kits suck, or are they OK?
2) If the level of suckage is low, how much of a pain are they to install assuming a very basic level of plumbing expertise?
3) There is no indication of brand on the faucets in the bathroom now. How do I know the manufacture so I get the right remodel kit?

Any thoughts or comments on experiences would be helpful.

[cabinetman]

Years ago I replaced the handle assemblies as an upgrade. I don't remember the brand, or if I tried to match the brand. But, it was fairly easy. The rubber washers are easy to get to from the tub side, which will stop the leaking. The threads were what you call standard so the new handle assemblies just threaded on. But, you didn't say what type you had. A picture would help.

This may be of some help.
.

[Salty]

I've got basically the same situation.
Mine only drips when the valve is on but the handles are ugly.
I was considering a rebuild but remembered how difficult it was to get those old handles off from past experience. I roughly priced out the stems, washers and seats from items at the local hardware and realized that I would have over half the cost of a new faucet invested. Not being sure I would be able to renew what is there, I decided not to rebuild it.

So, there is a new Delta single handle behind me that will probably go in this weekend.
My other motivation is that the inlaws use that bathroom when they visit and having a single lever will be easier than a 2-handle.
I also do not have access to the back but plan to remove enough tile to do the job from within the shower stall. Mine is a shower only valve and I have extra tile from the repair job I did at the bottom of the stall.
A few weeks ago I installed shutoff valves on those lines so if I mess up, I still have water throughout the house.

[gad5264]

Gator,
I had the same problem about a month ago but mine was a little worse than a gallon a day so I got right on it. My house was built in 1968 and the mauve colored shower and toilet in the master bath lead me to believe it is the original set up. I was very leary of tearing into it because of what you say, I didn't want to have to eventually tear out the drywall and start from scratch. I gatherd my tools and headed for the bath and crossed everything I could think of to keep luck on my side. Surprisingly enough the hot stem came out a heck of alot easier than I thought and when it did come out I found that the gasket on the end of the stem was just about cut in half. After a trip to The BORG, $1.14 and 1 hour of my time, I had a non dripping faucet.

While in there I pushed my luck and changed the same gaasket on the cold side as well. End result.....it will hold together until I tear is all out this summer to remodel.

[Black wallnut]

My thoughts are that this is a simple matter of taking things apart and then taking them into your local Ace hardware that has a well stocked plumbing section. Most of the parts likely will not need replacement,possibly just the washers and maybe the seats. A seat wrench will be the only special tool you'll need. Even if all parts need replacing you may get off cheaper than a whole package deal. It's also possible that if it is just your control handles that you don't like that your local ACe will have a replacement that suits your tastes.

[jhart]

If you have a plumbing supply company nearby that sells to the public also, I would take the parts there and talk with them. There's one about a 10 minute drive from me and they always have the replacement parts needed as well as great advice on installing or fixing the problem (With a total of 10 rental units, there are at least 30 fixtures to deal with, many of unknown manufacturer). I'm always amazed on how they can recognize the parts manufacturer just by looking at it.

Look under plumbing supplies in the phonebook.

[cgallery]

If that retrofit kit changes the guts so they no longer use washers/seats, I'd be inclined to try one. I got real tired of changing washers, but waited until I remodelled to do anything about it.

[vaking]

I just fixed identical problem in my bathroom.
1). You must be able to remove handles in order to get to faucet. If handles are stuck - get a tool called "handle puller" from HD or Lowes. It is around $8. Replacing handles is the easiest thing to do, you don't even need to shut the water for it. HD and Lowes sell various types of handles separately.
2). Find the way to shut off water, remove the diverter and one of the faucet stems. With parts removed go to HD and match the hardware against the catalog of replacement parts they have in the plumbing section. Never mind what they have in stock - look in printed catalog instead. After you determine name and model of faucet you are dealing with - look for replacement parts. It can be a rebuilt kit for entire faucet or separate units. In my case it turned out I have "American Standard" faucet "heritage" line. There was no rebuilt kit for it, HD had separate hot and cold water replacement stems but diverter was not even in the catalog. I ended up replacing the stems ($8 each) and replacing the whole set of rubber rings and washers on the original diverter stem. Replacement stem includes the seat (bronze ring that goes unter the actual valve) and all the new set of rubber parts. I would have replaced the diverter set as a piece if the had it.
Additional info - if your water is dripping constantly - you have problem with hot/cold water stems. If you can shut off water but it drips from the faucet when it is supposed to go via shower - diverter needs work. When buying and replacing stems pay attention to details. For instance - Hot and Cold stems are alike but have different direction threads.