I had an outside frost proof faucet that was leaking around the handle. I pulled the stem and took it to a faucet (no kidding) shop. They replaced the graphite packing with a silicone washer and put a new washer on the end. I went home and put the stem back. I tightend the stem as much as I thought I should and turned the water back on. Now there is a very small leak in the spout. I don't want to tighten the handle anymore since I think I put more than enough force on. It might be the seat in the faucet is not true. I would like to replace the faucet, but the water line that supplies water to the faucet is covered up where the faucet comes into the basement. The line is exposed from the "T" in the feed line to where the basement covers it up. What I would like to do is to put an in-line valve where the line is exposed. This way I wouldn't have to cut a hole in the basement ceiling to replace the faucet. The problem is the copper pipe follows the stringer about an inch away. I am thinking about nailing a wet towel on the stringer where I am going to solder the valve on. This should prevent the stringer from catching on fire. Also last night at Menards, I saw a soderless valve. It had nylon washers on either end and it looked like the pipe fit inside the plastic sleeves and that was all there is to it. This is a simplistic explanation on what it looks like, but the instructions were inside the package and I was in a hurry to get home. Being highly skeptical, I don't think I would trust it, but I have been wrong before. Can I protect the stringer by a towel or can I use the solderless valve with confidence?
Thanks.
CJ
Thanks.
CJ