On a Saturday evening in October, Andy L.'s do-it-yourself shower cartridge replacement went wrong in Woodinville and the water to the whole house had to be shut off. Caleb drove out that night, got the broken valve out and the lines capped so the house had water again, and was back Tuesday morning with the new valve.
What We Did
The shower backed onto a bedroom wall, so the Saturday repair began with taking apart a platform bed to reach it. Caleb removed the broken valve, capped the lines and turned the house back on. On Tuesday he opened the drywall, installed a Moen Posi-Temp pressure-balancing valve with built-in service stops, reconnected the supplies and riser, set new trim, tested it and left an access panel in the bedroom wall.
Andy also asked about the kitchen sink, which had flooded twice since a remodel. The sanitary tee in the wall sat too high, so the previous plumber had set the P-trap in reverse to reach it, a joint that works loose. A cancellation freed Caleb's afternoon, so he opened the wall, lowered the tee, rebuilt the trap the right way round and replaced both angle stops as a courtesy, with a three-year warranty on parts and labor.
In Andy's Words
"Thanks to Lighthouse plumbing and especially to Caleb for restoring water to our home after my DIY shower cartridge replacement failure forced us to shut off water to the whole house late on a Saturday. Caleb jumped into action including helping me carefully disassemble my daughter’s platform bed in order to get access to the shower plumbing. He removed the broken valve, got the lines capped and restored water service which saved the day.
Early on Tuesday he returned to install a new valve. He did a very professional job. While he was there I asked him for an opinion on an issue we’ve had under our kitchen sink since it was remodeled several years ago and has twice flooded. He confirmed my suspicions, walked me through how it should have been done. He gave me a fair estimate for repair and due to a cancellation in his schedule was able to fix it same day.
I appreciated Caleb’s attention to detail, customer focus, willingness to help, respectfulness of our home, and of course his plumbing expertise."
Andy L., Woodinville ★★★★★ (excerpt from a Google review, October 2026)
Why It Matters
- A seized cartridge is a valve problem. When the old brass will not let go, forcing it breaks the valve body, and the fix is a new valve through the wall.
- Service stops are worth asking for. The new Posi-Temp has shutoffs built into the valve, so the next shower repair closes one fixture instead of the whole house.
- A reversed P-trap is a leak on a timer. Fixing it meant moving the tee in the wall, not tightening the nut again.
- Restore first, replace second. Water back on Saturday night, the proper job on Tuesday.
Why Woodinville
Many of Woodinville's established neighborhoods, from Wellington and the streets around Woodinville High School to Hollywood Hill, date from the 1970s through the 1990s, and their original shower valves are reaching the age where a cartridge swap turns into a valve replacement. Woodinville is about 40 minutes from our shop in Fall City, a real drive on a Saturday night, and one we make.
Get a Stuck Shower Valve Replaced
Call 425-549-2400 or schedule an appointment.
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