Shower Valve Replacement in Markham

Signs you need shower valve replacement

A shower valve mixes hot and cold water and, in most homes built since the 1990s, keeps that mix steady when pressure changes elsewhere in the house. Over time cartridges wear, brass bodies corrode and older two-handle valves start to drip constantly. Here is what people usually describe on the phone:

• Sudden bursts of hot or cold when a toilet flushes or the washer fills.
• A steady drip from the shower head long after it has been shut off.
• A handle that's stiff, loose or will not reach full hot.
• Water stains on the ceiling below the bathroom.

Our routine on the day

Not every complaint needs a whole new valve. Often a new cartridge matched to the existing brand solves the problem in an hour, and we try that first when parts are available. When the valve body itself is worn, corroded or no longer made, replacement is the honest answer.

Where there is an access panel behind the shower, usually in a closet or the next bedroom, we work from that side and leave the tile untouched. Without one, we cut a neat opening at the valve, swap the body, and fit a trim plate large enough to cover it. For tub-and-shower combinations we test the diverter as well, since a tired diverter often shows up at the same time.

Before closing up, we pressure-test the new connections, set the temperature limit stop so the handle cannot deliver scalding water, and run the shower with you so you can feel the difference.

Markham houses and what shapes this job

Split levels in Thornhill and Milliken Mills from the 1970s commonly still have two- or three-handle valves with no anti-scald feature. Homes from the 1990s onward in Berczy Village and Box Grove tend to have single-handle pressure-balancing valves whose cartridges are easier to source. Poly-B supply lines feeding the valve are worth a look while the wall is open; see Poly-B replacement.

Questions to settle first

Think about whether you want a separate tub spout diverter, a hand shower or a rain head down the road. Choosing a valve body that supports those options now saves opening the wall a second time. Bring us a photo of the current trim and we can often identify the brand before the visit, which speeds up ordering cartridges.

Ring us without delay if

If water is coming through the ceiling or the shower will not shut off at all, close the bathroom's isolation valves or the main shut-off and phone us. Ceiling leaks can also come from drains and grout, which our leak detection service can sort out.

What we check before we pack up

1. Fill and drain the fixture and watch every joint
2. Set temperature limits on shower valves

Markham note. Builder-grade fixtures in 1990s and 2000s Markham subdivisions are now twenty to thirty years old, which is when fill valves, shower cartridges and the plastic shut-off stops under sinks start to fail.

Quick answers