Water flows from faucet even with shut off valve closed

Factual Questions
1

Single knob faucet, pull to turn on, push off, clockwise cold, counterclockwise hot. I think it’s Price Pfister valve.

  1. Then I noticed that if I shut off both hot and cold shut offs at the wall, it still flowed with the faucet on for several minutes, suggesting that one or both of the shut offs are not working. Looks like hot is probably the culprit. Will the fix likely be replacing the knob and hoses?

  2. Any idea how much this might cost to pay a plumber? I imagine I will have to shut off the water to the building, so although I probably could do this myself, I will pay a professional as it’s a condo and it will be likely the whole building (condo) needs to be shut down.

  3. I initially noticed that my faucet was flowing (not merely dripping) when turned off. If I pulled it out slightly, it would then stop completely; fully out and it flows full like normal. Do you think this is related to the above?

2

The chances of both the faucet AND the shutoff being bad are slim, but it does happen, especially if it’s older and even more so with ‘multi-turn’ valves (As opposed to quarter turn/ball valves).

If you have someone replace the valve, get both done and get ball valves put on. Much more reliable.

Having said that, you mentioned that it stops after several minutes. Is it ‘flowing’ or just dripping? You also said this is a condo, I’m going to make the assumption that the shut offs are still below the faucet, right? If (for some odd reason) they’re physically above it, that could a whole different thing, but it’s probably not the case.

Anyways, does it eventually stop? If it does (even if it slows to a drip), you could probably take a crack at replacing the faucet yourself, especially since you said the lines from the shut offs to the faucet are hoses. That means no soldering, not dealing with precut copper pipe and compression fittings. It’s just a matter of having everything ready to go and working fast if it’s dripping. As long as you leave the drain connected and the (new) faucet in the open position while you’re working, if it’s just dribbling or even a small stream, it shouldn’t be too bad. Just empty everything out from under the sink, put down some towels and keep a bucket under it.
Oh, one other thing, I should have asked at the beginning. What happens when you open the faucet all the way and close both of the shut offs? It keeps running a little?

As for a plumber, in a house, shutting off the water, replacing a faucet and two shut offs would probably take an hour plus parts. I’d expect $200-$400. I don’t know if it would be any different in a condo.

One last thing, I noticed you said that when you pulled the knob out slightly it would stop. The valve is probably just wearing out. If the valves under the sink do actually shut the water off, you may be able to buy a kit to rebuild the innards of the faucet at Home Depot. It’s usually very cheap. Like $10 cheap. However, if you don’t know what you’re doing OR if the water doesn’t totally shut off with the shut offs, it’ll be easier to just replace the whole thing. Two plumbing connections under the sink is easier than rebuilding that, especially if the water is going to be moving while you’re working.

3

The replacement part is will be something like this.

The top cap comes off, a screw comes out, the knob pops off, the old cartridge pops out, this one goes in and everything goes back together. In theory, the project should take like 5 minutes. But if the water is running, it’s going to flow over the top, you’d have to decide if you can work fast and the water can run into the sink or if you’d rather just take a hose off and let it dribble into a bucket…come to think of it…you could just disconnect the hose from under the sink of it’s a problem and let it sit in a bucket while you work, but that could create it’s own set of problems if you didn’t put something together right and you’re trying to check your work for leaks by screwing on a live connections.

And as long as I’m rambling here. Some plumbers have a trick to work in your situation where they need to swap a valve (or deal with a burst pipe) without shutting off water to a whole building. Some have a tool that can freeze a section of pipe for long enough to work on it.

4

It is quite normal for the wall shut off valve to fail. And you find out that it can not be shut off when try and to shut it off to repair a fixture. So finding that both are failing is common and not the exception.

I have just switched to replacing the shut off valves with 1/4 turn shut off valves. Time will tell if these will last.

As to the have to turning off the whole buildings water. Do you get a water bill. If so then your water is not a common water source and you should be able to turn water off for your unit.

do you have a water heater in your unit? If so the hot water can be turned off in your unit.

There is a quick and dirty fix. Shut the water off at the wall carefully, sometimes the valve will break or the packing nut will leak. Open the faucet completely. If only a small amount of water comes out of the faucet. Disconnect the hose from the wall valve to the faucet. Add a short piece of tubing (hose) on the wall valve. connect a new valve onto the tubing. Connect the sink hose to the new valve. Repeat with the second water line. Now you shut the water off the faucet and either repair or replace.

Note empty out cabinet where the wall valves are. Have a bucket handy and rags.

You will also need to be sure the short section of tubing will fit both the wall valve and the new valve. Make sure the hose from the faucet will fit the new valve.

I am guessing but probably a 3/8 X 3/8 feral valve will do.

5

I have almost come to expect the shut off valve to be bad when replacing or repairing a faucet. I do not even bother to start until I have a spare valve with me.

6

Thanks.

It doesn’t stop. I meant that it’s not just dumping whatever’s left in the pipes past the cut off. It flows, with the regular “hiss” sound, not dripping.

Yes, under the sink. And it’s not a matter of them just being hard to turn.

Nope, doesn’t stop. I bought the guts (kept the receipt in case it’s the wrong one). As Joey P notes, maybe I can try replacing it quick, but I’ll be doing it while water is coming out. Something like this I think.

7

If the place was built as condo (NOT an apartment converted to condo), there is likely a master shut-off for each unit.
No, it is NOT obvious in most cases.
By not putting it where any idiot could find it and make a mess, they prefer that only a real plumber know how/where.
Do the “shut off” valves change the flow rate? Open the faucet with shut-offs open. Close one shut-off. Any change in flow?

If neither shut-off has ANY effect, you probably have the wrong shut-offs. Your problem faucet has other shut-offs - or it has none.

8

Work quick, move fast, have everything cleared off the bathroom counter and probably have towels lined up around it in case it comes out faster then it goes back into the sink.
I’d also have the area under the sink cleared with a bucket down there so if you can’t deal with it you can unscrew the hose from the sink and put it in the bucket. That’ll buy you some time.

Also, try not to totally destroy the old stem when you pull it out in case you need to put it back in and if you do need to get a different one, maybe take some pictures of the old one.

You might want to look into what Snnipe said and see if you can shut off either of the water lines before the sink. I know you know, but it would be helpful. You’d be able to replace the valves while you’re at it. Also, the last time I swapped out my faucet (since they no longer had the repair parts), I had to add valves. I got the Sharkbite ones (with compression fittings on the other side that a hose fit on). I wasn’t looking forward to soldering under my sink and these worked great. They literally just slipped on and that was it. Totally water tight in one try.

9

Shut off valves connections are three type.
Solder connections. I never install these type and If I remove one I replace with either
Pipe thread inlet.
Feral connection

10

Update: I replaced the cartridge. It took me awhile to figure out how to take it out but one of the packages I bought had instructions (the more expensive one). You have to put the knob screw temporarily directly back in the cartridge, then pull on it with pliers. I did this with hot water streaming out; a little tricky but it worked. Parts came off the old one so I don’t know if that was the cause or it or it happened when I pulled it out.

No, there is no unit shutoff, and I don’t pay a water bill aside from the flat HOA.

I’ll deal with the shut off later.

11

Tks for the up date.