Dripping faucet, leaking shower valve, rocking toilet, a commercial flushometer that will not stop running. MVP Plumbing repairs fixtures, valves and toilets across Baytown and Mont Belvieu, and where we can we do it without taking your wall apart.
Licensed master plumber, MPL 38224. Call 832-334-2836.
How do you replace a shower valve without matching my tile?
Where the valve allows it, we cut in from the front through the tile, measured so the escutcheon covers the opening.
Matching fifty-year-old tile is close to impossible, and a tile setter is a second trade to pay for. Cutting from the front means no wall opened from behind, no tile replaced, nothing to patch or repaint.
Job notes · Baytown — two-handle to single-lever conversion
The old valve was leaking. Parts to rebuild it were several days out, so we priced both options — repair it, or replace it with a new Moen valve carrying a warranty. The repair would have cost nearly as much and taken three days longer. They chose the new valve.
Real tile, not a fiberglass surround. We cut in from the front, through the tile, measured so the escutcheon would cover the cut.
What is the closet trick?
We try to leave houses easier to work on than we found them.
It is not always possible from the front. But around Baytown a lot of tub and shower valves back onto a closet.
When that is the case we cut the sheetrock from the closet side and fit an access panel instead of patching it. It costs nothing extra now, and the next time anything needs doing back there — by us or by anyone else — the plumber opens a panel instead of cutting your wall again.
We know how houses around here are plumbed. More on that on the Baytown page.
Do I repair the faucet or replace it?
Two customers, both with Moen fixtures, got opposite recommendations from us in the same month.
Job notes · Mont Belvieu — Moen cartridge
Dripping faucet. The customer is planning a full bathroom remodel in a year or two and did not want to spend money on a faucet that is coming out anyway. Moen cartridges carry a lifetime warranty, so the part cost nothing — they paid for our time.
The first customer, above, had parts days out and no remodel planned, so a new valve with a warranty behind it made more sense. The second had a remodel coming, so we repaired what was there.
Same brand, different advice. The difference was their situation, not what we felt like selling.
My toilet is rocking. What does that mean?
Job notes · Mont Belvieu — toilet flange
Customer noticed the toilet rocking. We pulled it and found the plastic flange broken. Slab house, so we went back with a stainless flange anchored into the concrete. They had caught it early — no water damage, nothing else to repair.
A rocking toilet is a flange problem. Sorted now it is a straightforward job; left alone you are paying for water damage as well.
Going back with another plastic flange just resets the clock — plastic is what broke in the first place.
Why rebuild the whole tank?
Job notes · Mont Belvieu — toilet tank rebuild
Leaking flapper. We gave three prices: replace the flapper, rebuild the whole tank, or install a new toilet. They chose the full rebuild, because every part in that tank was the same age as the flapper. New gasket, new brass bolts, all internals.
Same logic as two water heaters in an attic. Replace one part and you are back for the next one.
Brass bolts matter too. The originals are what corrode and seize, which is why getting an old tank off is such a job.
Our commercial toilet runs constantly
Job notes · Baytown commercial — flushometer rebuild
Commercial toilet running constantly. A flushometer is built to be rebuilt, so we rebuilt the valve rather than replacing the fixture. We carry the rebuild kits, so it was fixed on the first visit.
A running flushometer wastes water twenty-four hours a day. It is a rebuild kit and about half an hour, not a new fixture. See commercial plumbing.
Related work
Leak detection · water line repair · repiping · commercial plumbing.
Fixture and toilet repair in your area
Baytown, Mont Belvieu, Beach City, Anahuac and the surrounding area.
Common questions
Will you have to take my tile off to fix a shower valve?
Usually not. Where the valve allows it we cut in from the front through the tile, measured so the escutcheon covers the opening. No wall opened from behind, no tile replaced, nothing to patch or repaint.
What is the closet trick?
Around Baytown a lot of tub and shower valves back onto a closet. When that is the case we cut the sheetrock from the closet side and fit an access panel instead of patching it. Costs nothing extra now, and next time anything needs doing back there the plumber opens a panel instead of cutting your wall again.
Should I repair my faucet or replace it?
It depends on your situation, not on the brand. One customer had parts days out and no remodel planned, so a new valve with a warranty made more sense. Another had a remodel coming in a year or two, and Moen cartridges carry a lifetime warranty, so we repaired what was there and they paid only for our time.
My toilet rocks. Is that serious?
A rocking toilet is a flange problem, and sorted now it is a straightforward job. Left alone you are paying for water damage as well. In a slab house we go back with a stainless flange anchored into the concrete, because going back with another plastic flange just resets the clock - plastic is what broke in the first place.
Why rebuild a whole toilet tank for one flapper?
Because every part in that tank is the same age as the flapper. Same logic as two water heaters in an attic: replace one part and you are back for the next one. Brass bolts matter too - the originals are what corrode and seize, which is why getting an old tank off is such a job.
Our commercial toilet runs constantly. Does it need replacing?
Almost certainly not. A flushometer is built to be rebuilt. We carry the rebuild kits, so it is fixed on the first visit - about half an hour and a kit, not a new fixture. A running flushometer wastes water twenty-four hours a day.
Last updated · written by a licensed master plumber, MPL 38224