It’s never fun listening to a leaky faucet. It keeps dripping and becomes quickly annoying. The interesting thing is that you can swap out the old faucet for a new one in only a few simple DIY steps. You only need to be willing to wedge yourself up under that sink in order to get the job done.
The one difficulty you might encounter is getting the old faucet removed. The reason is that you might encounter rusted out nuts that are hard to remove. You might also find that getting your body positioned just right underneath a small cabinet area creates a challenge during your project.
However, if you exercise patience and follow a few simple instructions, you’ll soon discover that the job is completed. If you do run into any problems that cause too much frustration, then you can always call Conrad Martens Plumbing North Brisbane and we’ll be happy to help.
The First Step is to Look Under Your Sink
Here’s what you’ll see under the sink area:
- A PVC drain line. This is the line used to carry water away from your sink. You might actually see several lines tied together.
- Water supply lines. You’ll typically find two or more of these lines. A normal situation will reveal a hotline and a cold line that runs water into your faucet from the water heater. They are usually made of some sort of stiff material. You might find PEX, galvanized pipe or copper. These run through an oval knob that is called the shut-off valve.
You might also see other water lines that run from a disposal, purifier or other drainage lines. It’s worth taking a little time to test where everything is flowing from by closing faucets and valves until you understand the system you’re working with.
Remove the Old Faucet
Shut off the water via the valves you’ll find under the sink. Make sure water doesn’t flow out of the faucet before you start disconnecting anything. Two sets of nuts exist below the faucet. One is usually metal and it keeps the water supply line in place. The other set is typically plastic and bigger.
Use a basin wrench to remove these nuts so you can get the old faucet out of the sink. Keep in mind that it might be difficult to get everything removed. Keep working at it until you have everything loosened up. It could be necessary to bring out a hammer and tap a rusted nut lose.
Put the New Faucet Into Place
You’ll now basically reverse the steps you took when removing the old faucet. You’ll fasten your new faucet to the sink with the mounting nut. This is the larger plastic nut normally fastened in by hand.
You might also encounter a plastic gasket that exists between the sink and faucet. Every sink and faucet situation is a bit different. You’ll need to look at the instructions that come with your new faucet in order to see which situation you’re currently dealing with.
Your next step is to reattach the supply lines at the shut-off valve and at the faucet. Use Teflon tape on the connector threads because this will help provide a good water-tight seal. All you do is wrap the tape around the pipe threads.
A Few Items to Consider During Your DIY Faucet Project
Inspect the holes on your sink prior to buying the new faucet. You need to get a good view of how they are configured. You might encounter one to four holes. There are various spacing sizes between these holes. It all depends on the style of faucet you’re dealing with. You can buy hole plugs in case your desired faucet leaves open holes after installation is complete.
As you can see, it’s really not that hard to take out the old faucet and install the new one. The main thing is to be patient throughout the process. Make sure you’re buying a faucet that fits your sink. Get your tools together, read the new faucet’s instructions and then start your project.