[lehcar01]

I'm having an issue with my bathtub faucet. Water only comes out when the hot is on but it is only a small trickle of water. Nothing happens out when I turn on the cold. You can hear water coming through the pipes when the hot is on but nothing when you turn on the cold. There is no shower head only a bathtub faucet. It contains a faucet, 2 knobs and lever that can be pushed up or down to hold the water in the tub or let it out. The brand is homart. I researched it and think it was from Sears. My house is old so this whole set up is probably old too. I guess my problem is two-fold. Only water coming out when hot is turned on and water is only coming out as a little trickle. I'm being generous when I say trickle. Any ideas to start would be greatly appreciated.

p.s. I used this site to fix my kitchen sink. It was such a simple fix. I wish I had fixed it a long time ago. I love this website!

Thanks, Rachel

[massplumber2008]

Hi Rachel:

Got me wondering if you have had extreme cold weather lately? If so, sounds like the water pipes could be frozen... is that possible? Are the pipes in an outside wall?

If so, you will need to OPEN the faucet hot and cold knobs to open. Then go to the basement (if you have one) and find the water pipes that go to the tub faucet. Use a hair dryer and start to heat the pipes as close to where they go vertical to the tub faucet as possible. Use the hair dryer for no more than 10 minutes at a time and then give it 5 minutes in between to avoid burning out the dryer element. If you are lucky, you will be able to thaw the pipes pretty quickly using this method. If the hair dryer won't work after 30 minutes or so you may need to use a TORCH (be very careful here) or rent a space heater from a local rental store and really heat up the area below the tub.

If you don't have a basement you may need to try simply heating the faucet... never know could get lucky with this as the faucet will conduct the heat a little distance anyway.

Worst case, you may need to open the wall from the outside~~~~?? But try above things first.

IF NO FROZEN PIPES POSSIBLE, then it could be that something has clogged up the facuet and the faucet will need to be disassembled to repair.

Let me know what you think here...

MARK

[lehcar01]

Well I know it is not frozen pipes because it has been like this for a long time. Probably since we moved in the house which was over 2 years ago. We have a shower in the basement so it hasn't been a problem but since I was just able to fix my kitchen sink I thought I could tackle this project now. ;) My dad suggested calcium build up (we have copper pipes) if that helps. But I don't know where to begin to take apart anything to clean them out or how to clean them out. I started by taking a screw out of the side of the circular plate that is behind each knob. Taking the screw out just loosen them up but I haven't been able to take them off yet. (If I even need to take apart the knobs, not sure but I thought it may be a start.) Thank you so much for responding. Please let me know what you think.

Rachel

[massplumber2008]

Got you!

You have a two handle tub/shower valve with a tub diverter knob to send it to shower... right?

Here, you need to shut off the water to both pipes (individual shutoffs) or you will need to shut off the water supply to the entire house (at the water meter). Then you need to gain access to the screws holding the handles on. The screws may be concealed behind cover plates... remove these using a small flathead screwdriver and then unscrew the screws and remove the handles. If you can't remove the handles after the screws are removed you may need a handle puller (sold at any home improvement store... see image 1). Let us know if this is needed.

Once the handles are removed you will need to remove the chrome ring and the chrome sleeve... see other image. The sleeve usually unscrews counterclockwise. Removing the sleeve can be tricky.

Once the sleeve is removed you can use a faucet wrench or a deep socket with ratchet tool (see images) to remove the stem assembly.

Once you have removed the stem assemblies (click on TWO KNOB DELTA SHOWER VALVE PDF) you will want to turn the water supply on and see if you can clear the lines of any debris (cover the openings with a towel... need two people here). Clean the stem assemblies, reassemble all and see how you make out.

Finally, if this seems beyond your abilities please consider hiring a handyman or plumber to help you... O.K.? Goodness forbid you should do any damage that could result in you going without water to the entire house for days 'cause you make a mistake here... O.K.?

Back to you...

MARK

[massplumber2008]

The stem assemblies could also look like the following images below... (I used example with three handles, but your valve should be similar but with two handles).

Let me know if I am on the right track.. O.K.

[lehcar01]

Ok, the only thing is I don't have is a shower head. My bathroom contains only a bathtub. Does this change anything? 2 knobs, 1 faucet, and a lever that keeps the water in the tub and lets the water out.
Thank You

[massplumber2008]

OK... nope changes nothing really... should be very much the same setup.

Let us know if you run into trouble... ;)

MARK

[lehcar01]

Thank You. I'm going to wait and start this next weekend when I have more time. But in the meantime I'm going to gather my tools up. I'll let you know what happens.