Do-it-yourself kitchen faucet replacement

Periodically, the taps in the kitchen need to be changed. They are operated in a hard mode, detergents get on them in large quantities, because of which they become unusable or simply lose their appearance. Therefore, many come to the need to change the kitchen faucet. But calling a plumber for this is not necessary at all. Replacing a faucet in the kitchen is a simple job, you can do it yourself, and they will ask for a decent amount of money for it. We save money and do everything ourselves. 

What is needed for work

Replacing a faucet in the kitchen consists of two stages – first remove the old one, then mount and connect the new one. In addition to the new faucet, you will need keys of the right size and some auxiliary materials. Most often, keys are needed for 10 and 11, for 22 and 24. In order to remove the mixer from the countertop or sink, you will need two adjustable wrenches.

One more moment. You will most likely need new hoses. Although most kitchen faucets are equipped with flexible hoses, their length is 30 cm. This is not always enough. Before starting work, you need to make sure that the length of the regular hoses is enough.

It depends on how far the cold and hot water pipes are from the mixer. The hoses should sag slightly, because when the tap is turned on / off, a sharp change in pressure occurs, from which the hoses twitch. If they are stretched, the connection will loosen very quickly and leak. So, if from the pipes to the inlet of the mixer 25 cm or less, regular hoses will suffice. If more, buy longer ones. And advice: get high-quality, not the cheapest. They quickly become unusable and can flood both you and the neighbors from below, if any. Therefore, take flexible hoses in a stainless braid or corrugated stainless pipe. They will serve for a long time and without complaints.

To buy hoses for a kitchen faucet, you will need the size of the “needle” – the tip that is screwed into the faucet, as well as the diameter of the pipe and the type of end (male-female) – to select the correct fittings.

To seal the connection, you will need linen tow with sealant paste or fum tape. You will need various gaskets and o-rings (should come with the kit, but just in case, find everything you have).

How to remove the old

Before starting work, turn off the water supply to the tap, drain the remnants that are in the pipes. Now you can start replacing the faucet in the kitchen. To remove the old faucet from the sink, unscrew the nut that is screwed onto its body from the bottom of the sink. If the sink is installed in a kitchen cabinet, it is very inconvenient to work. It’s better to remove the washer. For this you will have to:

• Open the siphon. There are many designs of siphons, but each has a nut that must be unscrewed. It is hard to confuse it – it has protrusions for a better grip. Unscrew the nut, remove the lower part of the siphon.
• Unscrew the hot and cold water hoses that go to the mixer. The cap nuts are usually removed. To do this, you need a key for 22 or 24.
• Cut the sealant around the perimeter of the sink, if any.
• Loosen the screws securing the sink to the countertop. You will see the bolts if you “dive” into the table.
  

Now you can lift and turn the sink. Here you will see a nut that needs to be unscrewed. You will need two wrenches for this job. One is holding the body from the “front” side of the sink, the second is unscrewing the nut.

Sometimes it is very difficult to remove the old faucet in the kitchen: it “sticks”. For this case, kerosene or universal grease in cans of WD-40 is suitable. Both substances have a low density and are able to seep into microscopic cracks. The composition or kerosene is applied to the connection that needs to be disassembled, they wait 10-15 minutes, they try to unscrew it.

If all the tricks did not help, there is a simple method that is suitable if the old mixer is not going to be used anywhere else: you can cut the body with a grinder along with the nut. The method is tough, but after suffering for an hour in an attempt to remove the nut, they resort to it.

If the faucet is installed on the countertop, you will have to work “from the inside” – crawl into the closet with a flashlight, and unscrew the nut in this way.

Repair in the kitchen 9 sq. m. with a photo, see here. 

Kitchen faucet installation

Replacing the faucet in the kitchen is nearing completion. Now we assemble the crane and install it in place. It is much more convenient if the work can be carried out on a removed sink. If this is not possible, all manipulations will have to be carried out reclining in the closet. Approximately as in the photo.

Assembly

First, we fasten flexible hoses to the mixer. They are screwed in by hand, then tightened a little with a key – no more than 2 turns.

Now you need to put a rubber gasket on the body, which seals the junction of the mixer and the sink surface. This rubber ring of decent diameter is included in the kit. It is pulled through the installed supply hoses, placed on the body.

In modern kitchen faucets, there are two different forms of attachment to the sink. The first – with the help of a nut – you saw in the part where it was about dismantling the mixer. It’s just an “older” system. The second provides for the presence of rods and spacers-clamps in the form of a horseshoe. The rod is usually one, but there may be two. If there are such rods, they are screwed into the appropriate socket. If a nut is screwed on it, it is removed.

Installation on the sink

Now the kitchen faucet can be installed on the sink. First, flexible hoses are inserted into the hole, then the body is placed in the center of the hole. Further actions depend on the type of fastener. If this is an ordinary nut, they simply tighten it, trying not to overtighten it.

If it is a model with rods, the appearance is different, although the meaning is the same. First, the gasket is put on (it is also in the shape of a horseshoe), then the pressure plate. Next, the nuts are screwed onto the rods. The nuts are slightly tightened with a wrench. TODE nothing complicated.

Turn the sink over and turn on the faucet. He must be dead. There shouldn’t be any loopholes. If there is movement, tighten the mount.

Kitchen set planning is described here.

Washing installation

Now the sink with the mixer installed on it is placed in the prepared place. First, silicone sealant (not acrylic – it quickly turns yellow) is applied from the back of the sink around the perimeter. Then the sink is installed in place, the fixing bolts are tightened.

Then everything is simple: put in place, align with the edges of the table, tighten the fasteners. It is made in the form of petals that attract the sink to the countertop when you tighten the nuts. The sink must stand firmly, without shifts.

Connecting hoses and siphon

With a siphon, everything is simple – they pulled the corrugated hose to the nozzle, tightened the nut by hand until it stops. All. Do not use the keys – everything is made of plastic.

With the connection of the water supply is not much more difficult. Just be sure not to confuse the place of connection of cold water. Its entrance is on the right. After making sure that there is a rubber gasket in the union nut of the flexible liner, we bring it to the pipe, tighten the nut as much as possible with our fingers. Then we take the key and tighten it one or two turns. Do not pull hard – you can cut through the gasket and then the connection will flow.

But what about tow, winding and paste? When using hoses of normal quality, they are not needed. Connection without them is reliable and tight. It will be possible to rewind a lot if, after a test run, drops of water appear from under the nuts. But this shouldn’t be. There is no need to wind tow or fum-tape just like that. Extra time and extra pressure on the union nut.

After connecting to the hot pipeline, we can assume that the independent replacement of the faucet in the kitchen is over. It remains to turn on the water and check if everything is working properly and if the connections are leaking. To do this, the joints are wiped with a dry cloth, and then carried out several times by hand.