How can I repair this broken bathroom tap?

Question

So we had a bathroom tap that looks pretty much like this:

the red lines I drew are where the tap has a kind of screw joint that separates the head from the side hot/cold taps. The problem is the head of the tap (everything above the red lines) has fallen off! :( We can't screw it back, the screw joints seems eroded/rusty/useless. And the metal head of the tap is really heavy so it doesn't stay put long even if we try. Is there any home-made material or gluey thing that has the strength to hold the tap's head back on the bottom screw without actually blocking up the water flow?

Answer 1

In the long term, I think you need to replace the faucet, but in the meantime:

You could try an epoxy with metal added (J-B Weld is the most famous, but the SuperGlue company makes a light-duty metal epoxy that I've used for a bunch of jobs; the one-use packages are available at the 99-cent store).
In either case,

• clean and dry the surfaces (turn off the water to avoid mistakes)
• mix the epoxy and apply it (making sure not to block the water flow, of course)
• CAREFULLY clean any excess from the outside surface - it will be much harder to remove once it's set
• line things up carefully, and stabilize the joint while the epoxy sets. I recommend a "dry run" - try to tape it up and see whether it will hold, or whether you'll need some sort of clamp. There's nothing worse than finding out that your joint isn't stable when you've already glued it!
• Pay attention to the directions and DON'T remove the tape (or clamp) or try to run the water until after the recommended curing time.

I don't know whether I'd trust the resulting joint to hold pressure, but since this is beyond the valve that shouldn't be a problem.