How To Replace A Bathroom Faucet
The Steps to Removing An Old Bathroom Faucet and Install A New Faucet
When owning a house, sooner or later you will need to replace a faucet. Whether to upgrade to a new look or because the old one wore out, this article will teach you how to install a bathroom faucet. Surprisingly, most of the work installing the faucet is installing the drain stopper and the drain.
brief how to
- Shut Off The Water Valves And Remove The Old Faucet
- Put The New Faucet Through The Counter Top Holes
- Attach water supply lines from the water shutoffs to each of the valve stems on the faucet
- Install the drain flange
- Screw the pivot housing onto the drain flange
- Put the stopper down the drain with the slot on the bottom of the drain stopper to the back of the sink. Slide the stopper handle down thru the hole in the top of the faucet
- Attach the stopper handle to the horizontal rod by using the clevis strap
- Attach the "p" trap to the drain flange, double check that all connections are tight and turn the water on at the shut off valves.
tools and materials
- (take a look at the nuts on the lower end of the faucet to determine which tools you will need from the list below)
- Basin Wrench, Available at most home stores in the plumbing department.
- Adjustable wrench
- Adjustable pliers
- Plumbers putty
- Teflon tape
- Water supply lines
- Rag to soak up drips of water
step 1 Shut Off The Water Valves And Remove The Old Faucet
Shut off the water at the water shut offs on the wall or floor. Remove the water supply lines from the sink and water shut offs. You should always put in new supply lines when installing a new sink.
Shutoff valves: There should be a shutoff valve under the sink. There should be one for hot and one for cold. If there is not then you should install them. If there are valves then you should check to make sure they are working properly.
step 2 Put The New Faucet Through The Counter Top Holes
Put new faucet thru the holes in the counter top and then screw plastic nuts onto the threaded faucet valve stems under the countertop. Some faucets come with a gasket that goes between the faucet base and the counter top. This should be used to keep water from going under the faucet. Tighten the plastic nuts with the adjustable wrench or pliers. The nuts should be snug enough so the faucet does not move but not so tight that the nuts break.
Lower end bathroom faucet nuts installed.
step 3 Install New Water Supply LInes
Attach water supply lines from the water shutoffs to each of the valve stems on the faucet. Use Teflon tape on the threads before putting the lines on. Put about 3 wraps of teflon tape around the threads.
step 4 Install The Drain Flange
Make a roll of plumbers putty about 1/4 inch round and 6 inches long. Wrap it around the underside of the drain flange. Press the drain flange into the drain on the sink. Put the rubber gasket, nylon washer and then the drain nut. Tighten the drain nut squeezing out the putty. Wipe off excess putty.
step 5 Install The Pivot Housing Tail piece
The pivot housing holds the horizontal rod. It will either have a nut molded onto the top of it or come with a separate nut that slides over it and screws onto the bottom of the drain flange. Either way, make sure the washer is in it and screw it onto the drain flange. When it is fully tightened the hole that receives the pivot ball on the horizontal rod should be pointing to the back of the sink.
step 6 Install The Stopper And Horizontal Rod
Put the stopper down the drain with the slot on the bottom of the drain stopper toward the back of the sink. Put the horizontal rod with the pivot ball on it thru the hole in the drain flange making sure the tip of the rod goes into the slot on the bottom of the drain stopper. Tighten the nut over the pivot ball so it is held inside of the drain flange. When it is installed correctly the horizontal rod will lift the stopper when it is pushed down. Sometimes the end of it does not get inside the slot on the bottom of the stopper and will kind of work but not perfectly.
step 7 Connect The Stopper To The Handle
Install the stopper handle down thru the hole in the top of the faucet and then attach the clevis strap to the bottom of the stopper handle, about an inch from the bottom of the stopper handle.
Put the horizontal rod in the down position. Put the stopper handle in the down position.
Put the horizontal rod thru the first half of the metal clip then thru the closest hole in the clevis strap, pinch the metal clip so the horizontal rod goes thru the second hole. When you release pressure on the metal clip it will bind and hold onto the horizontal rod. Loosen and re-tighten the nut on the top of the clevis strap so that the stopper handle sits all the way down on the top of the faucet.
step 8 Install The "P" Trap
Attach the "p" trap to the drain flange, double check that all connections are tight and turn the water on at the shut off valves. P traps use compression fittings so be sure to get the gaskets installed before tightening the connections.
