Tap Seat Refacing to Fix Dripping Tap

How hard could it be to fix a dripping tap? I’ve been battling with this one in my mother’s kitchen for several decades.

Part 1 - Refacing 9/7/2022

I’ve changed washers multiple times which didn’t appear to fix the problem. The only thing it could be is that the tap seat, the smooth, flat surface inside the tap body to which the tap valve seals, was scored.

Thus I made trip #1 to Bunnings to buy a tap seat refacing tool.

Next step was to take out the spindle. I’ve done this multiple times using my ancient tap spanner but I just couldn’t get it off.

So trip #2 to Bunnings to buy a full tap spanner set.

Turns out the problem wasn’t that I was using the wrong spanner, it was just that due to sloppy tolerances mine was slightly too big for the job. The 22.5 mm worked fine.

Seat looks pretty dirty.

This is the refacing tool which made the job easy.

Here you can clearly see the pitting.

A bit more cleaning and it’s like new.

Everything back together and it is fixed once and for all.

Part 2 - New Tap Set 23/7/2022

The dripping was fixed but the sink spout still leaked. I purchased a new Dorf El Toro Wall Sink set (part number 2660.044A) on special order from Bunnings.

It’s so much easier when you have instructions!