I Would Like To Know How To Replace a Leaking Brass Valve in My House

Replace brass valves that leak to avoid damage to the floor beneath the pipes.

Brass valves often serve as shutoff valves for faucet connections throughout a home, but sometimes valves develop leaks. When this happens, replacing the valve is often your only recourse. Usually the replacement process is simple, but some valves are soldered into place, increasing the difficulty. Even if it is soldered, you can take off the valve and replace it with another shutoff valve, stopping the leak immediately. It takes only a few tools and the proper steps to do a professional-type job.

Things You'll Need

• Adjustable wrench
• Flame-resistant cloth
• Heat-resistant work gloves
• Propane torch
• Locking pliers
• Cloth
• Emery cloth
• Replacement valve

Instructions

1. Turn off the supply of water to the valve at the water main. Open a faucet in the basement, if available, to drain the water from the pipes, and a faucet on a floor above, also if available, to aid in the draining process.

2. Unscrew the nut connecting the faucet supply line to the top of your valve with the adjustable wrench and remove the supply line from the brass valve. Grasp the base of the valve against the pipe leading into your wall with the wrench and twist the valve off the pipe treads to remove it.

3. Unsolder brass valves that have a ring of solder holding them in place, using a propane torch. Put on a pair of heat-resistant work gloves. Cover any nearby flammable surfaces with the flame-resistant cloth. Turn on the gas from the torch by twisting the torch valve and light the torch with the striker. Hold the valve steady with a pair of locking pliers in one hand, then melt the solder surrounding the valve with the flame from the torch. Pull the valve free with the pliers, turn off the torch and wipe any solder from the pipe with a piece of cloth held in your glove-protected hands. Sand away any solder residue remaining on the pipe using an emery cloth.

4. Slip a new compression nut and a ferrule over the pipe leading into the wall. The ferrule creates a seal on the end of the nut that prevents water from leaking out through the connection between the pipe and the valve.

5. Press the new valve over the pipe and onto the ferrule. Pull the nut over the valve end and twist it onto the valve treads until finger-tight. Give the nut one more half-turn with a wrench.

6. Connect the faucet supply line to the other connector on the valve, tightening the nut of the supply line in place over the valve treads. Close the two faucets above and below the valve, then turn the water mains back on.

Tips & Warnings

• Place a bucket beneath the valve before you remove it to catch any water still contained in your pipes.

References

• The Family Handyman: How to Replace a Shutoff Valve