Bought a house and the bathtub spigot leaks at the base down the wall. It drips when water is going through the spigot. It is a slow, steady stream from the base down the wall when I pull up the shower pull thingee and the shower is on. How do I remove the spigot? There are no screws or anything. Do I just unscrew counterclockwise? Once removed, do I just replace whatever is in there, whether it's teflon tape or plumber's putty or gaskets; or should I buy a new spigot, too?
If no screws underneath the spout, it *should* unscrew counterclockwise. BUT.....if the pipe is copper or ancient galv iron, there is an even chance that it will pretzel or snap off.
If you do manage to get it off, replace the spout with one just like it. Use Teflon tape in the threads.
Some words of painfully learned advice- shut off house water first, and have a plan of attack if the pipe doesn't come out clean. Like figure out what you will do if it busts off in wall behind tile. Hopefully, wet wall backs up to a closet or something, and you can easily cut an access panel into the back, and just put masonite over it later for future access. Either have the spare parts on hand (they are pretty cheap), or do the work when the supply place is open. If this is the only bathroom, good idea to have some way to stub out the pipes so you can turn water back on, if something major happens and you have to call in a pro. Hopefully house is new enough to have copper or plastic feeds- those are a lot easier to deal with than galv iron. Nipple from (usually bronze) faucet casting is probably galv iron, and if threads are cut too deep, they love to tear off flush in the bronze. In that case (been there, done that) you get to try to grab the remaining threads with pliers and chase them out, sometimes after inside-cutting with a hacksaw blade to weaken them. Royal PITA. As long as the bronze casting isn't TOO chewed up after that, a fresh nipple and lotsa teflon tape will usually put you right back in business.
We won't talk about how wall is probably rotted out due to long-term slow leak before you bought the place- that would just depress you. :^/
I vote twice for AEM's idea, I've been there and done that once too often as well. You have no idea how fast a little tiny drip can completely destroy a wall until you finally repair that "small" drip. Start this job early on a morning when the store is open so you can buy supplies. Make sure you buy EVERYTHING you need. The first job might be to install shutoff valves so at least you can get some water elsewhere in the house if this job turns out to go overnight.
While I have your ear, let me recommend MAPP gas with an instant-on gizmo instead of propane. And do buy the teflon fire protection blanket if it's available. Get in fast, use a mirror if you can't have free access and practice a few joints first so you can get up some speed. You really don't want to linger when there's a wooden wall waiting to catch fire.
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