Earlier this week we asked you if you had ever considered replacing the faucet in a rental kitchen. We realized this could be a simple way to upgrade our kitchen, and this week we did it as our Kitchen Cure special project! It was remarkably easy and straightforward, and we can't believe we didn't do this sooner. Here's a look at the process of replacing a faucet; anyone can do it!
First of all, full disclosure: Price-Pfister offered to send us a new faucet to try out, and we accepted. The faucet we chose is the Ashfield design with equipment for 4 holes, and a single pulldown control handle.
This design is a little more traditional than our preferred style; we would normally choose a brushed nickel finish or something a little sleeker. But this design seemed to best suit our vintage brown porcelain sink and the general farmhouse style of the kitchen.
• More info on the faucet: Price Pfister Ashfield 4-Hole Kitchen Faucet, Rustic Bronze, $159.95 at Amazon
So, having said all that, obviously the first step in the process of replacing a faucet is choosing a new one. Check your sink first, to see how many holes it has in it. Ours had four, so we chose a faucet style with a built-in soap dispenser and a sprayer.
After you decide what you want, shop around at Amazon, Overstock, and your local home improvement store to find a style you like with functionality that you need. You can find great deals on Overstock especially; there are many styles there that we liked.
OK, so faucet is in hand! Here are the basic steps of replacing a kitchen faucet.
- Before & After: The kitchen faucet before replacement, and after! The new one is far more functional, with the high neck and one-handled operation.
- Check all the parts: My husband, a good and thorough engineer, went through the parts list and all the parts in the box before doing anything, just to make sure.
- Read the instructions: This should go without saying, but read the directions! This is one thing we were really impressed with; the Price-Pfister instructions were excellent. Well-written, well-illustrated, and well-designed, with a layman plumber in mind.
- Gather tools: The tools that you will probably need include a headlamp, pliers, a putty knife or chisel, and an adjustable/channel lock wrench. Also, this job will be MUCH easier if there are TWO people — one to handle the process, and the other to aid by handing tools, mopping up, and stabilizing parts while they're bolted in. (I'll let you guess which part I played.) Also, be ready to get a little dirty; this will involve being on your back under the sink.
- Under sink - Turn off the water: Turn off the water sources under the sink by cranking the valves on the water supply lines.
- Disconnect the water hoses from the faucet handles: - If you have a two-handle sink, like we did, then you will need to disconnect the hot and cold water hoses from the handles. Have a bucket ready, since they will drip out whatever water is left inside.
- Note hot and cold hoses: When you do this, make special note of which one is the hot water, and which one is the cold. It's often not as obvious as it should be, and you'll want to be sure when you reconnect them.
- Unbolt the faucet: The faucet will probably be held on to the sink underneath by these plastic bolt-type things. Unscrew them. Easier said than done, of course; this may be the most difficult part of the whole process! It involves lying on your back in an awkward space, trying to unscrew these things with pliers.
- Above sink - Scrape away grout or putty under the faucet top: Scrape away any putty that is holding the faucet to the sink. Gross!
- Remove the old faucet: This should be easy at this point, now that those plastic bolts are gone, and the putty scraped away.
- Clean the faucet area: Clean the faucet area down with soap and water, after scraping away any remaining grout or putty.
- Under/above sink - Assemble new faucet in holes - Back under the sink! This is where, now, your process may diverge a little from ours. You just need to follow the instructions for your new faucet. Place the new tap in the hole, and screw on the washers and bolts that will hold it in. There is usually a rubber washer that goes between it and the sink (we didn't feel putty or grout was necessary with this particular faucet set) then screw on the washers and bolts below. This is also where it's very helpful to have two people: one to stabilize and tighten from above, and the other below.
- Tighten washers and bolts - Make sure the faucet is tightly bolted in and doesn't wobble. Repeat with the other faucet elements, including a sprayer, if included, and the handle.
- Check over your handle situation: Doublecheck the handle, as you put it in, and make sure you can see where the hot and cold hoses should go. If you have a sprayer there will be a third hose on the faucet handle that will get connected to the sprayer's hose.
- Reconnect the water! Carefully screw the water leads into the appropriate hoses. You will probably look something like this. (The headlamp may look dorky, but believe me — it is really, really, really helpful in this particular situation.) Once you are sure the hoses are all attached properly, turn on the water valves again.
- Test, enjoy, and brag about installing your own faucet. - If you've done this properly, you should now have water coming out of your faucet, and you're entitled to full bragging rights as a DIY plumber. Congratulations!
That's it! There are a lot of steps listed here, but they are very logical when you have all the parts in front of you. My husband knocked this out in less than an hour, shocking us both! (We had calculated it would take about three; we aren't the handiest people on the block.)
We already are totally in love with our new faucet; it effectively doubled the size of the pots and baking sheets we can fit in the sink comfortably, and the look of it suits our kitchen so much better than the old one.
Our main advice is to have the tools you need, and to be organized as you step through the process. Anyone can do this, and it can make a really huge change for the better in a rental kitchen.
Republished article originally posted November 6, 2009.
Related: Rental Kitchen Upgrade: Replace the Faucet
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What about a bathroom faucet? Ours, which is so ugly and crappy, leaks and causes slime mold to grow around it (which I wipe away every two days but is still a gigantic pain).
Footnote: Our "landlord"/management company won't even give us recycling bins (a Boston city law) so I'm thinking even a series of phone calls would still end in our fixing it ourselves.
Thank you!!!!! I have had this on my to-do list since summer and this is the exact motivation I needed to get this done this weekend. Perfect timing!
Oh so jealous. I REALLY want to replace our kitchen faucet - we can't fit big pots/pans underneath it, which is even more of a problem because it's a double sink with two relatively small bowls. I'd replace the bowl itself but we are planning to do an entire kitchen renovation in the next year or two, so the faucet seems like the easiest/cheapest option, which we can also reuse when we reno.
So why aren't we doing it? Two words: lazy fiance.
Wow! What a difference.
This could be an idiotic question, but how do you know how many "holes" your sink has? I thought it would be how many things you had in your old sink, but you had three there. I'm quite a home improvement newbie...
Not an idiotic question at all! I just didn't show it explicitly; there was a big fourth hole on the other side of the sink, where our water filter had been until it started leaking last spring. :-)
this is so easy and ironic. we changed our faucets out on Saturday afternoon last week. It was so easy in the kitchen. Only one bolt gave us problems in the second bathroom. In a couple of hours, we had clean brand new faucets in both the baths and the kitchen. Since we are renters, we kept the old ones which we will put back and take our nice new ones with us when we go!
oh..and we used a basin wrench. made it so much easier...and my husband handed me the tools and held the faucet in place....girl power!
This is the one major repair I need to do to my 'new' old house. There's something wrong with the lever where the water won't turn off unless you force the main portion where the lever connects. very annoying!
The sink is stainless steel but I'm trying to slowly replace out all the assorted hardware in the house with satin nickel (from gaudy shiny brass). Do you think a satin nickel faucet would look odd over a stainless steel sink?
Just a word of advise to folks, Price Pfister is junk! My dad will never put one in because they are hard to replace parts for and almost always break! He's been a plumber for 52 years!
a basin wrench makes this job a lot easier and the knuckles a little less banged up!
To poster elaineathon. Do it yourself. My husband is the same way. See I start to do something and then he sees me struggling. Voila. Instant help. Its way better than nagging.
Thank you! What a timely article. I'm moving into a new apartment next month and am going to replace the gross faucets with my own.
What about waste disposals? Does anyone know how easy those are to install, and if they can go in any sink? It's the one thing I really really wish my new place had...
Waste disposals are easy enough but won't install onto every basin. Most, but not all. The biggest issue is sinks with a disposal normally have a power outlet ran under the sink and a switch on the counter. If you lack that then you will need to come up with a different solution.
it is also more effort than just faucets as you will need more parts to fit it more likely than not. Not difficult, just more work.
It is also more likely, if a rental, to get you in trouble if your sink clogs.
This post was a Godsend. I forwarded it to my fiance which finally gave him the motivation to get a fauce at Home Depot (The American Standard Fairbury) and install it, all in the same weekend! Thank you, Faith!!!
My next door neighbor and I replaced his bathroom fixture. It took us two days and lots of running to Home Depot for the right tools, but eventually we did it! Neither of us had done it before, so it was a huge learning experience and now he has a wonderful bathroom fixture. Rental apts have really old hardware and that was one of the hurdles we encountered. We basically had to break the old fixture to get it out because the bolts was so crusted over under the sink. Our landlord(who is awesome) said that we can do pretty much anything to our apts as long as we don't knock down walls. I lucked out because when I moved in, the landlord had mine replaced for me. :-)
I've done this in three different rental kitchens over the last 10 years. I always save the old faucet and when I move, the old faucet gets reinstalled. I have a Delta, pull up faucet and sprayer in one which is simply indispensible.
One bit of advice, make sure the shut-off valves beneath the sink work, before starting this project. A faulty hot water shut-off delayed my installation for a number of months until I could get the landlord to repair the valve.
We replaced our tap and sink (almost) a few weeks ago and the water pressure increased by double! What a time saver!
The hole for our previous sink was too large to place our new sink in, which was a shame because we loved our new one (http://rona.ca/img/product/full/1297070.jpg). :(
I just replaced a bathroom faucet last week and have done many replacements before (lots of older houses with yucky outdated fixtures) and agree this is one of the most worthwhile projects for the effort. As a matter of fact, I have faucets still in boxes on my kitchen table that just arrived last week waiting for me to install sometime in the next couple of weeks (husband isn't plumbing friendly so this stuff has always been my domain).
Here are my best tips:
Number #1 hint I can give you is first to have a basin wrench. This will be the best <$10 you'll spend for plumbing projects.
While you're at the hardware store, buy some 3/4" plumbers tape to put around the threaded ends of connections before you screw everything back together - helps prevent random leaks. When using it always roll it around the pipe clockwise (and you need less than you think - roll tape about 2 times around the end).
Also before heading out to hardware store, measure your trap (that big u shaped drain pipe connected to the sink) - good idea to buy a spare while you're already at the hardware store in case you can't get the old one back together easily (but only if it's if it's black/pvc plastic - if soldered metal then likely not a diy replacement), sometimes its easier to replace the whole thing (and you can return it if you don't use it so keep the receipt).
Before unscrewing anything, have a supply of old rags/towels and a small bucket to use to catch/mop up water that will come out of hoses - there'll probably be more than you think, even when the water's turned off.
Put an old thick bath towel on the edge of the cabinet door (where you'll be lying) to pad your working area - your back will thank you the next morning by not having bruises from rolling back and forth on the edge.
If at all possible, the easiest way to do this is to disconnect the sink from the trap and hoses underneath, unscrew the little plates that are holding the sink in place (usually 2-4 of them with 1 screw each screwed to the wooden underlayment under the sink top), remove the sink and then put on all the plumbing fixtures onto the sink while it's out. Once the new faucet's onboard and screwed on tight, drop sink back in, tighten screws and 99% of the work is done. If you have a small cabinet/bathroom with little clearance for wrenches hands, this can be a good option.
This is also a great chance to redo the caulking around the sink if yours is looking ratty (don't forget to buy silicone caulk if you do this - not painters caulking).
ur husband seems so handy. i think ppl should change faucets even if they dont need to bc it makes them look good.
I've been really frustrated with my shallow sink and low faucet...it's almost impossible to wash pans and larger pots without getting water all over the place. The faucet is also crusted and gross. I might have to try and talk my husband into helping me with this...maybe a romantic V-day project! :)
You forgot the most important step - loudly and extensively cursing any and all previous plumbing workers! Ok, maybe not always necessary, but a combination of very tight working space and creepy old corroded washers that took many days to overcome still gives me nightmares a year later... Totally worth it though! Even with all the bruising and lacerations!
@lemonadefish - My boyfriend used to be a [boat] mechanic and said that cursing is essential to doing any type of work (plumbing or mechanical). It seems to help loosen bolts, etc. much faster and easier ;)
I replaced the kitchen faucet at my house about 6 months ago. It was super easy, plus the instruction guide that came with was very detailed and, surprisingly, had lots of humor in it as well.
We're working on a kitchen remodel and installing the faucet, sink, and countertops were last weekends projects. The faucet was the easiest part! Don't be afraid to try it; we hadn't planned on replacing our old one (though it was a Price Pfister that I hated almost as soon as I bought it), but our new sink only had one hole and I wasn't about to cut out more. We chose this one from Ikea:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40113383
and have been using it for just one day and I love it! The nozzle pulls out so you can spray the sink down, etc.
Nice one, thinking about this here - plumber put a tap in when he installed the sink, but not sure i love it. Doesnt seem that easy with a shelf under the sink (he did it before the drain pipes etc were put in).
Anyone have experience working around them? It is a huge shelf, not possible to remove (it goes around the corner!)