Leaking Taps in Brighton and Bayside
Dripping taps, mixers and outdoor taps fixed in one visit where possible, with common parts on the van.
- Fixed quotes upfront
- Local Bayside team
- Workmanship warranty
What this service covers
A dripping tap is easy to ignore and expensive to keep. A steady drip wastes thousands of litres a year, shows up on your water bill, and slowly stains the basin or bath under it. Most drips come down to a worn washer, seat or cartridge, and most of them are a straightforward fix when the right parts are on hand.
We repair and replace taps, mixers, laundry sets and garden taps across Brighton, Brighton East, Hampton, Gardenvale, Elwood and Sandringham. The van carries the common washers, O-rings, cartridges and spindles for the tapware we see in these suburbs, which is how most jobs get finished in a single visit.
Signs you need this service
- A tap that drips after you turn it off, no matter how hard you tighten it
- You have to force the handle to make the drip stop
- A squeal, shudder or banging in the pipes when a tap is turned on or off
- Water seeping from around the spindle or the base of the tap when it is running
- A mixer that will not hold its temperature, or drips from the spout overnight
- A garden tap that sprays from the handle or cannot be turned off fully
- Rust stains or mineral streaks in the basin or bath under the tap
What our plumber actually does
Tell us what you have
A photo of the tap or mixer with your enquiry helps us bring the right parts. Older homes around Brighton often have tapware that takes specific spindles or seats, and knowing what we are walking into is how one visit stays one visit.
Isolate the water and strip the tap
We shut off the supply, open the tap body and inspect the washer, O-rings, seat and spindle rather than only swapping the washer. A new washer on a worn seat starts dripping again within months, so we check the seat every time.
Reseat where the brass is worn
If the brass seat inside the tap body is pitted or scored, we machine it flat with a reseating tool before fitting the new washer. This is the step that makes the repair last, and it is the step skipped when a tap someone fixed keeps dripping.
Replace cartridges and service mixers
Modern mixers use ceramic cartridges rather than washers. We carry common cartridges and can source brand-specific ones where needed. If a mixer is obsolete and parts are no longer made, we tell you plainly and quote a replacement instead of forcing a repair.
Fixed quote before any work starts
Once we have seen the tap, you get a fixed price for the repair, or for a replacement if that is the better path, before we start. If the honest answer is that new tapware costs little more than repairing a corroded old set, we say so and let you decide.
When a second visit is needed
Almost all tap repairs are done in one visit. A second visit happens when a discontinued cartridge has to be ordered from the manufacturer, or when you choose replacement tapware we do not carry. We fit what we can on the day, order the part, and book the return before we leave.
Local knowledge
Leaking taps in Brighton and Bayside homes
A lot of the tapware we service around Brighton and Elwood is older than the people using it. Period homes still run original or mid-century tap sets, and some of those were made to imperial sizes before Australia went metric. A standard modern washer or spindle does not always fit, and forcing one in is how threads get stripped. We carry the odd sizes and the adaptors because we see them every week.
Original recessed wall taps in Edwardian and Californian bungalow bathrooms bring another catch: the tap body is set into the wall behind tiles that may be irreplaceable. Our first approach is always to service these in place, reseating and re-washering without disturbing the tiling. Where a body is too far gone, we talk through the options honestly before anyone touches a tile.
Closer to the beach, in Hampton and Sandringham, it is the outdoor taps that suffer. Salt air corrodes garden tap handles and spindles faster than inland, and a seized outside tap is a common small job we bundle with other work. It is also worth fixing promptly, because a garden tap that cannot close properly is a leak you pay for on every bill.
How the job runs
Call or send a quote request
You describe the problem to a person, not a call centre. We ask the questions that tell us what gear to bring and how soon you need us.
We agree a window that suits you
We book a time window around your day and confirm the day before. We do not promise arrival times we cannot keep.
Fixed quote before work starts
We assess the job, explain what is going on and give you a fixed price. Nothing starts until you have agreed to it.
The work, then the tidy-up
Drop sheets down, the job done and tested, and the area cleaned before we leave. Your home is not a worksite.
Warranty on the work
Our workmanship is backed by our workmanship warranty and your rights under the Australian Consumer Law. Details are in our warranty policy.
Common questions
Is a dripping tap really worth calling a plumber for?
Yes, and it is exactly the kind of job we are set up to do efficiently. A steady drip can waste well over ten thousand litres a year, which you pay for, and the constant moisture damages the fixture under it. If you have more than one drip, or a running toilet as well, tell us and we will fix the lot in one visit.
Can I just replace the washer myself?
If you are handy and the tap is a standard modern set, you can. The catch is the seat: if the brass inside the tap is worn, a new washer drips again within months, and reseating needs a specific tool. Old imperial-sized tapware in period homes is also easy to damage with the wrong parts. If your DIY fix did not hold, the seat is the likely reason.
Why do my pipes bang or shudder when I turn a tap off?
That is usually water hammer, and a worn tap washer or loose spindle is a common trigger, because it lets the water shut off unevenly. Servicing the tap often fixes it. If the banging continues with taps in good order, the pipework may need securing or a hammer arrestor, and we can assess that while we are there.
My tap or mixer is really old. Can you still get parts?
Usually, yes. Washers, O-rings, spindles and seats for older Australian tapware are still made, including imperial sizes, and we carry the common ones. Some discontinued mixer cartridges are the exception. If parts genuinely no longer exist, we tell you and quote a replacement, and for period bathrooms we can suggest new tapware that suits the style of the room.
How much does fixing a leaking tap cost?
It depends on the tap type and what has worn, so we look first and then give you a fixed price before any work starts. Repairing several taps in the same visit costs less per tap than separate callouts, so it is worth listing every drip when you book.
The leak is under the sink, not from the spout. Is that the same job?
Not quite, but we handle it in the same visit. Water under a sink usually comes from a flexible hose connection, the waste trap or the mixer body rather than the tap seals. Flexible hoses in particular fail with age and can flood a kitchen, so if yours are bulging or rusty we will show you and quote a swap on the spot.
How we price this work
We do not publish prices because honest plumbing pricing depends on what we find at your place, and a number on a website tells you nothing about your job. What we do promise is this: you get a fixed price before any work starts, we explain what it covers, and the invoice matches the quote. If we uncover something unexpected once work is underway, we stop and agree the change with you before going further.
Where we do this work
We do this work across all six of our suburbs, including Hampton, Gardenvale and Elwood. Many jobs sit alongside general plumbing and toilet repairs, so it is worth mentioning anything else on your list when you get in touch.
Want to read more first? See Fixing Leaking Taps in Period Homes and Is a Dripping Tap Really Wasting Water?.
Get a fixed quote for leaking taps.
Send us the problem and we will come back with a fixed quote and a booking window that suits you.
