Faucet and fixture installation

A drip a second is roughly 3,000 gallons a year, about 8 gallons a day from a single tap. A faster drip or a small stream can be several times that. It is not the biggest leak in a house, but it is the easiest one to fix, and the repair is usually a cartridge that costs less than a month of the waste.

Repair if it is a decent faucet with a brass body and available parts, many quality brands supply cartridges for decades and some carry lifetime parts warranties, so the repair can be almost free in materials. Replace if the body is plastic or zinc, if the finish is already flaking, or if parts are no longer made. The labour is similar either way, so put it toward something that can be repaired next time.

Start with the aerator: unscrew it from the spout, soak it in vinegar or a descaler and rinse the screen. Scale and debris collect there, and it accounts for most single-tap flow complaints. Particularly after any work on the main or a repipe, which flushes debris into every aerator in the house. If that does not fix it, check that the supply stop under the sink is fully open, then suspect the cartridge.

No. Whole-house low pressure is a pressure or pipe problem. Test static pressure with a gauge at an outside hose bib: below 40 psi points at a failing pressure regulator, a partly closed valve, a restricted service line, or, in houses built before 1960, galvanised supply pipe closed up with internal rust. Replacing faucets will not change any of those.

Yes. Old two-handle valves have no compensation, so any pressure change on one side shifts the mix. A modern pressure-balancing valve holds the ratio, and a thermostatic valve holds an actual temperature. If you already have a single-handle balancing valve and it still swings, the internal spool or cartridge is worn. That is a cartridge replacement through the trim plate, not a wall-opening job.

Not necessarily. Most shower complaints are solved by replacing the cartridge, which is done through the trim plate with no demolition at all. Replacing the whole valve body is what needs access, and that can often come from behind. A closet, an adjoining room, or a basement ceiling. Where a tiled wall has no rear access, ask about fitting a neat access panel while it is open so the next repair is simple.

Eight to fifteen years. A unit that hums without turning is usually jammed and can often be freed. One that trips its reset repeatedly, or that leaks from a body seam rather than a connection, is finished. Bear in mind that disposals send food solids and grease into the drain line, so if drains have been slowing, the disposal may be a contributing cause rather than an innocent bystander.

Almost always a hose left attached through a freeze. Water trapped in the valve body cannot escape, it expands as it freezes, and the body cracks, then leaks inside the wall the next time the tap is opened in spring. The fix is a frost-free sillcock, correctly pitched to drain, with a vacuum breaker, and the habit of disconnecting hoses every autumn.

Yes, and the difference in cost is trivial. Rubber washing machine hoses and plastic ice-maker tubing are among the most common causes of severe domestic water damage, because they fail suddenly at full pressure and often while nobody is home. Braided stainless lines on every appliance and fixture, plus quarter-turn shutoffs, is the cheapest water-damage prevention available.

Yes, and it is often cheaper. Two things to check before you buy: that the hole count and spread match your sink or countertop, and that the manufacturer actually supplies replacement cartridges. A cheap faucet costs the same to install as a good one and cannot be repaired later, so the saving is usually temporary.