Home Improvement

Replacing a kitchen faucet is not that hard at all once you have the right tools, and are ready to get down low in the hopefully not so cramped under cabinets of your sink. At first glances it may appear like a rats nest under there with multiple pipes, but if you take it one step at a time, you should be fine.

The first thing that most people don’t do, but is probably one of the smartest things to do is to take a photo with your camera of how everything looks under the sink before removing and disconnecting the drain lines. this ensures that you can put things back together again should you forget a step, or get confused with what connects where.

The first thing you want to verify is that there are some shutoff valves under your sink which will allow you to cut off the flow of water. If you do not have them, then its not a bad idea to add some so that you can control the water that comes from just those lines alone. If you do have them, then make sure they are working properly by alternating the test of hot and cold and shutting off the valves one at a time while testing.

Next check your supply tubes. Are they in good working order? If not then you might want to consider buying some steel–sleeved supply tubes which allow for a lot longer use then the basic ones. Plus they won’t kink up however you bend them to fit.

The next thing you will want to make sure you have is a basin wrench which will relieve you of a lot of headaches. Now its time to get to business. After removing everything under the sink, make sure that you can access the underside of the faucet for dismantling. If pipes and P-traps are in your way, then remove them so you can access what you need to get at.

If you have not already turned off the water lines then now would be a good time. Remember, if you have shutoff valves under the sink then you can just turn those off, but if not you will have to turn all your water off temporarily until you get the job done.

Once the water lines have been disconnected, then use the basin wrench to loosen the old faucet and remove it. Now you are ready to add your new faucet. Remember to just do things in the reverse order and if you need to take a look at the photo you took earlier when you started.