Replacing your faucet

 

 

Although at first glance many would find replacing a faucet  a little bit overwhelming you would be surprised to hear that it’s actually a fairly simple job if you just act with patience and caution.

Luckily the new faucet models are manufactured specifically to be easy to install so, even if your old faucet is broken and urgently needs replacing, or you just want redecorate a bit , you can easily do it yourself and you will be done in no time.

 

First thing you need to do is to make sure you choose a right faucet that suits your sink and covers the old mounting holes. If you’re not pretty sure what model to choose you should go with an adjustable faucet designed to fit many types of sink.

 

With the new item acquired, grab your tool box and start disassembling the old faucet carefully , so you don’t damage the sink. Don’t forget to shut off the water supply first , or you will flood the place. Also after shutting of the water supply open the faucet and allow it to drain and release any pressure. You will find the shutoff valves underneath the sink and you can turn them off. Remember though that  they only ever get used when you need to replace the washer on a faucet, or when replacing the faucet. As such, its not unexpected that they might be a little siezed up. So don’t force them to hard or they could break.

 

After that, remove the old faucet. Basically, faucets are mounted in one of two ways-Bottom mount faucets are removed from above. For these, the handles and escutcheons must be removed to get to the nuts which secure the faucet in place. Top mount faucets are held in place by nuts located underneath the sink, and must be removed from below. The nuts may be loosened using waterpump pliers or a special basin wrench. The basin wrench is necessary when the area in which the nut is located is too tight to allow the use of pliers.

Disconnect the water supply lines. If you choose not to replace the lines, disconnect them from the faucet only. If you choose to replace them, disconnect the lines from the shutoff valve. Actually, you might as well change them now since you are going to the trouble of replacing the faucet. It could save you an extra trip under the sink later.

 

 

If it is an old sink and the nuts are rusted or corroded in place, apply penetrating oil and allow it to work into the threads before trying to remove the nuts.

 

Before installing the new faucet, you might  apply plumbers\' putty around its base. Install the new faucet assembly into mounting holes located in the sink. With the new faucet assembly in position, place washers and nuts on assembly\'s mounting studs under sink and hand-tighten them carefully, making sure assembly is in proper position and any gaskets are correctly aligned. Then further tighten nuts with basin wrench.

 

That being done, is time to take it for a test.

 

Turn on hot and cold water supplies to fixture. Run both hot and cold water full force to clear supply lines and to check fixture for leaks. If there\'s any evidence of leakage check the pipes and make sure everything is firmly tightened and pay attention especially to the supply lines since you might find most of your problems there

plumbers solihull, gas engineers