DIY Doctor UK DIY Forums

Hello all,

I have no experience with any kind of plumbing but really need to sort out our kitchen tap, which has been slightly leaking when used for far too long (and developed significant limescale buildup), but now leaks all the time. It's a Franke Davos 'J' tap.

Now, I feel like a bit of an idiot. I have turned off the water to the tap, taken off the spout, and taken off the screws from the ends of the handle. I was of the impression that they should now just come off (and there are no other screws visible as far as I can see), but they won't budge. Does it mean that they are just stuck really tight? (Turning the handles on and off is no problem.)

If so, do you have any suggestion of how to get them off? I hesitate to apply too much force, and pulling on them, or turning them back and forth to loosen them, has not helped very much.

What adds to the confusion is that the tap's manual, which I managed to find, seems to show some bolts at the bottom of the handle, but no screws at the end. There definitely don't seem to be any screws/bolts at the bottom, as far as I can see. I've looked for the part online, and as far as I can see it doesn't have any other screws.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

PS. I've taken some pictures, but somehow the forum doesn't let me embed them. ("It was not possible to determine the dimensions of the image.") Links are below:


Tap from front: https://i.ibb.co/6gDcvJZ/IMG-20230811-191754147.jpg

Handle from the side after screw removed: https://i.ibb.co/g4HcXWk/IMG-20230811-191806279.jpg

View from underneath (no screws/bolts visible) https://i.ibb.co/jfDrrxJ/IMG-20230811-191823921.jpg

Diagram of the tap from manual: https://i.ibb.co/R0RQkcv/IMG-20230811-203651053.jpg

Handle 3035R shown oline: https://i.ibb.co/tLjBvwz/IMG-20230811-203727213.jpg

Hi plumbingnewb,
It looks like the handles are held on with a screw in the side. If you look at your picture from underneath you can see the access hole. If you are lucky it will be an Allen key screw.
Regards S

Thank you. There isn't a screw underneath - they are held in with screws on the sides, which I had already taken off if you look at the pictures. I did manage to prise one handle off by using hot water and, in the end, levering it off with a wooden spatula that I managed to get in. It was just stuck due to all the limescale I think.

The other one is still stuck, so if there are suggestions for getting it off, then that would be appreciated. I was trying to lever it off with a screw driver, but ended up slightly damaging the handle (luckily in a place that isn't really on show), and it's still stuck so I'm not sure what to do - other than using force and buying a new handle if I have to ...