Plumbing Fixture Repair in Fort Worth, TX

Dripping, running, low flow or leaking: start with the symptom

• Dripping: a spout that drips after it's closed has a worn washer, seat or cartridge (faucet repair). A showerhead or tub spout that keeps dripping points to the valve behind the wall (shower repairs). A dripping hose bib or washer valve usually needs a new washer or stem packing.
• Running: a toilet that hisses, refills on its own or runs until you jiggle the handle has a flapper, fill valve or float problem (toilet repair).
• Low flow at one fixture: a scaled or rust-clogged aerator or showerhead screen, grit in a cartridge, a stop valve that's partly closed or a kinked supply line. If every fixture is weak, see water pressure repair.
• Leaking: water in a sink cabinet usually comes from a supply line, stop valve, trap or strainer seal (sink repair); water at a toilet's base points to the wax ring. A ceiling stain below a bathroom or a damp wall behind a fixture means a hidden leak; leak detection finds it before anything is opened.

Fixture repairs covered on this page

• Shut-off valves (stops): the valves under sinks and behind toilets that drip at the stem, won't close fully or are seized. A working stop lets you shut off one fixture instead of the whole house.
• Supply lines: cracked plastic, corroded chrome or bulging braided connectors. Replace one that bulges or rusts at the fitting before it bursts.
• Tubs: stoppers that won't hold water, trip levers that won't lift, leaking overflow gaskets and loose tub spouts.
• Hose bibs: drips, broken handles, failed vacuum breakers and freeze damage.
• Laundry valves and utility sinks: washer valves that drip or won't shut off, plus utility sink traps and supply connections.
• Commercial fixtures: restroom, kitchen and utility-room fixtures (commercial plumbing).

A disposal that hums, jams or leaks is covered under garbage disposal replacement.

Hose bibs before the first freeze

DFW's average first freeze arrives around November 22, and the earliest on record came on October 22. A hose left connected traps water in the hose bib; when it freezes, the valve or the pipe behind it can split. Often nothing shows until you next open it and water runs into the wall instead of out of the spout. Disconnect hoses before cold nights and get dripping hose bibs fixed before winter (see frozen pipes). If water runs into the wall, close the hose bib and call us.

Older Fort Worth homes: why fixtures wear out faster

Many houses in Riverside, Oakhurst, Six Points, Northside and Fairmount date from the 1920s to the 1960s, and fixture trouble there often starts behind the wall:

• Galvanized pipe sheds rust that lodges in aerators, showerhead screens and cartridges, so flow drops and new parts wear out early.
• Old multi-turn stops seize after decades unused, and forcing one can break the corroded pipe behind it.
• Discontinued faucets and valves may have no parts left.
• Hard water scale wears cartridges, washers and seats in homes old and new.

If several fixtures show the same rust or weak flow, the pipes are likely the cause, and repiping is the lasting fix.

Repair or replace the fixture?

On a visit we check the fixture, its stop valve and supply line, find the failed part and explain the options before any work, then test every connection for leaks. Repair is the right call when the fixture is sound and the part can be serviced. Replacement makes more sense when the body is cracked or heavily corroded, the fixture keeps failing, parts are no longer made, or you want an upgrade. See fixture installation and sink installation.

When a fixture leak can't wait

Close the stop valve under or behind the fixture (clockwise). If it won't turn or keeps leaking, shut off the main valve at the house or meter box. A burst supply line or water coming through a ceiling is an emergency: call (817) 755-5621 at any hour for our 24/7 emergency service.

Plumbing Fixture Repair FAQ

Call for plumbing fixture repair in Fort Worth

A drip, a running toilet, a weak faucet or a stuck valve? Call (817) 755-5621. We serve Fort Worth neighborhoods from Riverside, Oakhurst and Six Points to Northside, Fairmount and Near Southside, plus nearby towns in our service areas.