How to Replace a Kitchen Faucet (Easiest Kitchen Makeover Ever!)

Whether you are experiencing a drip or leak or just pining for a quick kitchen makeover, sooner or later you may want to learn how to replace a kitchen faucet. It’s certainly worth learning, because it happens to be one of the easiest home improvement projects out there. With just a few tools and a half-hour of your time, even the least handy homeowner should be able to swap out a faucet without breaking a sweat. Here are the steps, plus pics and video so all is crystal-clear.

Tools you’ll need

• Faucet installation kit

• Adjustable wrench

• Phillips screwdriver

How to replace a kitchen faucet

Step No. 1: First things first: Unless you want a watery mess, turn off both your hot and cold water supply lines, says Tyler Riddell of eSUB Construction Software, in San Diego. Next, remove the old kitchen faucet, along with any associated hardware. You’ll do this by going under your counter and using an adjustable wrench to disconnect faucet hoses from the water supply lines and to remove the nut holding the faucet in place, located on the underside of the sink’s surface.

Step No. 2: After you’ve removed the old faucet, you’ll see open holes—either one or three—where the faucet used to be. However many holes your sink has, make sure your faucet installation kit comes with the right equipment to cover that number.

For single-hole sinks, you’ll need a spout-based gasket, which is the O-shaped plastic ring pictured below. Feed the hoses attached to your faucet through the gasket so it’s aligned with the bottom of the faucet.

If your sink has three holes, you’ll use a deck plate instead of the gasket.

This is simply a rectangular piece of metal with a hole in the middle and two stoppers on either side. Similar to the process outlined above, you’ll want to feed the hoses through the hole in the middle of the deck plate and then align the plate with the bottom of the faucet.

Step No. 3: Once your gasket or deck plate is attached to the bottom of your faucet, feed the hoses attached to your faucet through the center hole in your sink. Once the faucet assembly is flush with the sink, make sure everything is properly aligned: The spout should be facing forward, and all the holes in your sink should be completely covered.

Step No. 4: If your countertop or sink is less than a half-inch thick, you’ll need to use the support bracket from your installation kit. It should look like the rectangular metal piece pictured below. From the underside of your sink, slide the bracket over the faucet hoses until it’s flush with the sink base. Hold the bracket in place.

If your countertop or sink is more than a half-inch thick, skip to the next step.

Step No. 5: Regardless of countertop thickness, your installation kit will come with a metal circular washer like the one being held up against the support bracket in the picture below. Slide the washer up over the hoses and other hardware.

Step No. 6: Next, hold the hoses out of the way so you can focus on the faucet shank (the gold spiral piece pictured below). Take the nut from your installation kit and slide it up the faucet shank. Use your fingers to tighten the nut as much as possible.

Since the nut is what holds the faucet in place, it needs to be as tight as possible. Faucet installation kits will provide a tool like the gray tube pictured below to help. Place the tool over the nut and faucet shank before turning it to tighten. Sometimes the tool will be too hard to turn by hand, so many plumbers recommend using a flat-head screwdriver to twist it, as shown.

Once the nut is secure, take the small cap from your faucet installation kit and place it over the bottom of the faucet shank. Doing so will prevent the shank’s rough edges from damaging the hoses during use.

Step No. 7: Use your adjustable wrench to connect the faucet hoses to your hot and cold water supply lines (there should be tags on the hoses to delineate the correct hose for each temperature). Make sure the connections are snug, but in this case at least, don’t overly tighten them, as this could cause a leak.

Step No. 8: It’s time to test the faucet! Check to make sure your faucet is in the off position before turning the water supply lines back on. Then, turn on your faucet and let the water run for at least 15 seconds. This will allow you to check for leaks and flush any debris out of the system.

STEP No. 9: Enjoy your new faucet!