In the 4 years I've lived in my house I've had to replace the faucet valve in the bathtub about 5 times. It probably would be more if I fixed it as soon as it started leaking. It usually leaks for about 3 months before the wife bugs me enough to fix it. It seems like they're good for about 6 months. It's driving me nuts.

I think part of the problem is the valve unit is probably more on the budget side. It's mostly plastic (from what I can tell) and uses the little plastic cartridge valves. Here is the valve at Home Depot: valve . It's always the hot valve that goes out, and I'm assuming that these cheap plastic valves just don't hold up well to hot water.

Is there anything I can do to fix it more permanently, short of tearing into the wall and replacing the whole valve assembly? I've tried to find a brass valve that would fit but haven't had any luck.