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I have a standard two-handle faucet in my shower. I noticed a drip from the faucet, and decided to repair this. The rubber seal on the hot water side was completely ruined, so I figured this was the problem. I replaced the stem, which improved the situation but did not seem to cure it.

I then learned that a damaged valve seat can also cause leaks. When I looked into this, it seemed that I do not have a valve seat on the hot side (as compared to the cold side). Is this correct?

That being said, I also do not see any threads to install a valve seat now. So maybe this is normal? Or maybe it is just some kind of "flat" seat?

I'd really appreciate some advice how to proceed.

Faucet (note that hot / cold are reversed from standard set - with hot on right hand side) faucet

Hot water side (missing valve seat?) hot water valve seat

Cold water side (appears to have valve seat) cold water valve seat

EDIT The only marking I see anywhere is "Jameco Canada". But that is on the handle cover plate, so I am not sure that is actually part of the faucet. (You can actually partially see this marking in the "hot water" photo above.)

As requested, adding a couple of photos:

Handles handles

Stems (matching replacement part was labelled Jameco 1100 hot) broken on left and replacement on right stems

The valve seats ended up having the keyed portion very deep-set, which made it very hard to notice originally: removed valve seat

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There is a seat there on the hot side, unfortunately it has been ground flat. Most (not all) seats have an internal hex shape which facilitates removal with a seat wrench (I cannot tell from your pics if yours does).

enter image description here

You need to pull that seat out and change it. Another (less optimal) alternative would be to "grind and dress" the existing seat, in place. This sometimes works OK and sometimes it does not, and requires a special seat grinder/dresser tool.

enter image description here

Found this image of Jameco tub/shower seats (hex, not square, hole to remove with wrench) enter image description here

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  • Thanks. Actually I am relieved to hear there is a seat there (makes it seem more "fixable"). I tried dressing already, using the tool in your image, but no luck. I am happy to change the seat, but there does not appear to be a hex inside (on either hot or cold sides). You mentioned some seats do not have this hex, so how is the seat removed in this case?
    – Roberto
    Commented Jan 6, 2016 at 12:30
  • Could you post a picture showing the stems and handles? There may be more to this puzzle. Some styles have the seat as an integrated component of a removable barrel or collar, yours may be that type. Is there a maker's mark or name on any components?
    – Jimmy Fix-it
    Commented Jan 6, 2016 at 12:34
  • Do you see how there are flat spots on the piece in your picture? I think you need to unscrew that whole piece.
    – Jimmy Fix-it
    Commented Jan 6, 2016 at 12:35
  • Not that it helps the OP, but for future reference, the hole in most seats is square, not hex.
    – JPhi1618
    Commented Jan 6, 2016 at 14:17
  • @JimmyFix-it thanks, I added the photos requested. I had tried to remove that barrel, but it is really stuck. I stopped because I was afraid I was wrong about that piece coming off and that I might break something. If you think that is the way to go, I can try penetrating oil etc.
    – Roberto
    Commented Jan 7, 2016 at 5:31

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