A retired lady friend asked me to check out a plumber's
work and estimate. Her initial problem was that a faucet
on a dressing room sink would not shut off and that
the undersink supply line cut off valve would not turn
off as well.

She was able to slow the water flow down and call a
neighbor for assistance. The neighbor shut off the main
water supply to the house and called a plumber. The
plumber replaced the two supply line cutoffs for that
sink. Cost for the service call and installing the two
cutoofs was $125, including, according to his invoice
two cutoff valves 1/2" supply, 3/8" outlet. He gave
her an estimate of $390 to replace the dual faucet
fixtures on both sinks in the dressing room.

My friend wondered if the estimate was reasonable.
I felt it was a bit high for Houston, but not ridiculous,
counting labor. But, to save her money, I told her I'd
rebuild the faucets, instead. Before going for parts,
I checked to plumber's work. He had installed cutoff
valves with 1/4" outlets! Aren't those only for
icemakers and such?

So I installed 4 cutoff valves with 3/8" outlets, four
supply lines, and four faucet stems for about $35 in parts.
The sinks work like new. I charged no labor, she
is a dear friend.

In retrospect, all that was 'really needed' was one
cutoff valve and one faucet stem. But since the
plumbing is 30 years old, I felt it better to do all
cutoffs, supply lines, and stems.

My question, I guess, is why the plumber used cutoff
valves with 1/4" outlets? All he had on truck? Wanted
to complicate things to ensure getting the additional
work? The cutoffs he used had 1/4" compression
fittings. Are these used on residential bathroom sinks
nowadays?

lee