The Wife and I have installed about ten or so faucets over the years, and we just did another one in the kitchen this weekend.  If you’ve never done it, it’s actually rather easy, and very satisfying.  But I would be lying if i didn’t say that we always run into a few hiccups, and this one was no different .  Here are some quick tips on how to make for an easy (and non-marriage threatening) faucet installation:

1. Read the instructions.  Twice.  And while you’re at it, read them again.  And not just you–have the other person read them.  Wed got everything installed, and the spray hose had a tiny leak, and it turned out to be because yours truly forgot to hand his wife a simple rubber washer.  Argh!
2. Test the connections before you start.  We had a smaller connector on the new faucet than the old faucet, and had to make a last-minute trip to Ace hardware to get the (very common) adapters,  make sure you have a simple adjustable wrench, and some silicon tape, and a flashlight.  Total cost for all these items?  $10.00.
3. Shut-off valves:  make sure you have turned off the shut-off valves, and that those shut-off valves work.  If they don’t, make sure to shut off the downstream water in the basement and lower floor bathrooms.  We had a cold-water valve that wasn’t shutting all the way, and a tiny bit of water was coming it, which it made it difficult to make the connection, and we had to re-do it.
4. Be realistic.  We have always had a water pressure issue due to older pipes in the house.  That is one of things we hope to renovate over the next few years, replacing the old iron pipes with PVC or copper.  But just because you have a pretty new faucet doesn’t mean that your water will suddenly come out faster.  But it is pretty–even if it looks like the Silver Surfer’s penis.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 7th, 2008 at 1:14 pm and is filed under Home Improvements. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.