Second cartridge faucet just went. Tenant called this morning to say the handle broke off. It's a one handle Moen with a cartridge. She shut off the water under the sink. I left a message for the plumber. It's her sister's unit. Tenant lives downstairs and was giving upstairs sister's cats some water. So she will use downstairs sink until plumber comes. He has a house at the shore so I guess that's where he is.

So the other day, tenant at Cute Cape Cod calls and she says there is water on the floor in the basement right under her bathroom. Plumber comes. It's shooting out the front of the faucet knob and the back. It's another cartridge faucet. She he attempts to pull the cartridge and it breaks off. It's stuck in there. He gets it out in pieces. Took a long time and he charged me $400 for his time but at least I didn't need a new diverter.

Vee, so you are saying Moen will send me a free cartridge if I contact them with the model number. The thing is, who wants to wait that long to fix a faucet.

It's two separate units. Unit one had the tub cartridge fail last week and get stuck in there and broke off when the plumber tried to pull it. Unit two had the kitchen sink cartridge fail today. Come to think of it, maybe he wasn't using that cartridge puller tool.

I dislike Moen due to the expense to repair. Yes you can get free parts, if you wait.

I've always bought Moen because of their guarantee. If a cartridge leaks, they'll send you a new one. However, you do have to wait. I've noticed lately though that their quality seems to be slipping.

For less than 400.00 he should have been able to supply and install a new faucet.

Just pick a major brand and stick with it. All of them seem to be good now on free parts. Save your parts list and receipt if you can. The problem is waiting for the part.

We started this years ago. If a kitchen faucet problem. We take a complete new one of the type we use.

If the house has the same one that we have put in before.

Then we use it for parts. Then later order and wait for the free parts and put them back in the spare. Five minutes or less to replace any part.

If the house has a different model. Then most often it is a very old model before they covered them for lifetime parts anyway. And the finish also looks bad

So we install the complete new faucet. About 30 minutes.

Really has saved a lot of hassle over the years. Anything for quicker or less maintenance.

As a Plumbing Contractor, my clients have asked me the same question. What Brand of Faucets should they buy?

On thing every landlord here should know, Imported Faucets sold at Big Box Stores like Home Depot and Lowe's (That use their Brand Name) -- are "HERE TODAY AND GONE TOMORROW". Measured in months, not even years anymore. Then PARTS are no longer available.

I purchase (wholesale) between a dozen to 50 faucets to strip them for "PARTS", to be used to repair fancy Box Store Brand Faucets that parts can't be found anywhere on earth anymore. Stems with ceramic inner's and fancy broach tops to fit only one type of handle.

AllyM,

I don't want a faucet with a good guarantee or one that's easy to repair...I want one that WORKS without failing!!

I only allow Price Pfister with ceramic washers now called Pfister.

We have NEVER had a call back on a Pfister and we have A BUNCH of them!

An extra $20 investment for a better faucet would have saved you a fristrated resident, a service complaint for you to handle, phone calls to a plumber, meet the plumber, and pay $400.

I started with Delta because the brand seemed reputable and are made nearby, employing some of my residents. I have a whole box full of Deltas we had to cut out to remove because they could not be repaired. Why would I want a free replacement with another bad faucet?

A inexpensive brand or on sale? NEVER!

Faucets are one of the most frequently used mechanical items in the house and the most frequent causes of complaints. A dripping faucet can add hundreds to a LL's water bill.

BRAD

Thank you. I am at the mercy of the plumber all the time it seems. You have all figured out something that suits you. I do have to maintain the temperature control aspect of the faucets to keep up with the codes and rentals here require that. Every faucet has some kind of temp control somewhere. I will suggest to the plumber that he pick up a Pfister if he is stopping at the supply house on the way here. The supply houses are only a couple blocks from here. I used to go there but they were full of grubby people who made remarks. Finally the supply house people would handle my transactions in one of the offices for me. Now I have to limit what I do since too much walking will make surgical areas painful due to hernia mesh. I will be 71 in a month so I have to depend on what the plumber will do. I pay his prices because he is very smart and very experienced and will rush out here fast because I don't argue with his prices. Unfortunately he also knows how to do a simple job and make it look complicated. Someday I will tell him that I know he was ripping me off but I had to tolerate it. I have been through all the bad plumbers around here. One of them was leaving the job for the assistant to complete which took twice as long and I got charged twice as much. That guy was stealing from his employer who had him on camera. The boss sent him to the police station to "fix a urinal" where they cops already had seen the theft footage and arrested him right there.

I pretty much only buy moen....but only certain moen faucets, some are very flimsy...I stay away from those.

The huge advantage for me to buy moen is their factory is only 10 mins from my house and they have been fantastic at immediately giving me repair parts when I go to their plant.

American standard and delta might be slightly better quality in general, but I cant get replacement parts quickly.

Ally,

Just find a dependable handyman. Even one half qualified should be able to handle replacing a faucet.

You should be able to have him replace the whole faucet for half the price of a plumbers rates.

Andrew, you have an opportunity to sell those faucets on Ebay at a good markup. Have you thought of that since you get them at such a good price?

Don, that's a great idea but I don't have flex lines. Everything is copper and I can't get under a sink anymore because I have hernia mesh after a surgical hernia. My handyman is now too old and fat to get under a sink and I am looking for another. This plumber has a younger assistant and they fixed the second problem this morning.

The plumber stopped and looked at it and called his guy who was at the supply house to bring a new faucet. Then the plumber left and the assistant came and installed it. I was taking my dog to the vet at the time for a little emergency.

AllyM....I suppose I coukd sell them for a small profit, but I "make" more money by keeping them for use in my rentals.

We buy the same type of Moens,...AND ask that they send some cylinders to have on hand. Moen always sends them,..

AllyM,

Swapping out a faucet is a handyman job, no $200/hour plumber needed.

Lowes will install for about $75-100. And they sell Pfister faucets, too!

We are stuck with some Moens that were in place when we purchased the homes. The cartridge price has gone waay up!

Folks, think...do you really want to take all the time to install a faucet that you happily keep parts on hand??

BRAD

Moen and Delta