The following morning, I headed out to get the kitchen faucet. I had a list of items that I needed. The faucet, (obviously), the air gap cover, 2 new hoses to connect to the water supply, a tube of silicone and a work light. I was tired of using my phone as a flashlight.
When I got to work, I took the faucet out of the car. I opened up the box so I could read the instructions prior to installing it tonight. I installed my share of faucets, so I was not too concerned with the process. The removal of the old one was my biggest worry. Since there were few words and mostly pictures and arrows, I would need to look closely at the instructions. I also discovered silicone was not needed. I could return the tube or save it for another project.
When I got home, I waited until supper was done and I got to work. Time to remove the old faucet. I went downstairs to my tool bench. I thought I had purchased a faucet nut removal tool, which I believe I never used. There it was, buried under a bunch of other tools. That tool would be my salvation, my conqueror and hero!
I plugged in my new work light. It was bright! I positioned it under the sink. I slid my old, decrepit body under the sink. I was literally doing a back bridge to get beyond the pipes and garbage disposal. I first tried to reach the faucet retaining nut by hand, but the hoses were in the way. I got out of the cabinet and tried pulling out the hoses and piping from the top, but there was not enough room. What the heck, I was not going to save this faucet, so I got my wire cutters and cut off the hose and the piping and removed the faucet housing from the base. I tried removing the base by turning the base. It turned, but the nut below was turning too.
Back underneath, I tried to reach for the nut, but my arm was too short. I had the “super tool” by my side. I grabbed it and tried a few times to get the wrench placed around the nut. Once I had it, I tried turning the wrench, but there was no room to fit the wrench between the faucet and the cutout of the countertop.
From underneath the sink, I yelled “Efiwym, I need your help!” Eventually, (it seemed like hours), she stopped over. I asked her to put the pliers on the base and try to turn it. And she could! I just told her to keep turning, as I stood underneath in my back bridge and holding the wrench tightly. Once the faucet came off, the nut hit me right in the face. Time to move my body from the cabinet. I cleaned up the sink surface of dirt and old silicone, (I probably did not need it before.)
Before I installed the faucet, I wanted to remove the old soap dispenser. With the old faucet out of the way, I could get at the dispenser. I tried to turn the base of the dispenser from the top. I used pliers and did not care if I ruined the finish. I was not going to reuse it anyways. I did get it loose, but again the nut below would turn as I turned the base.
With the assistance of Efiwym, and me back under the sink, I used my “super tool” to hold the nut in place as she turned the base. This base had a lot of threads, but eventually the nut came off and…say it with me, hit me in the face.
Yea! I was ready to install the dispenser and the faucet.
The dispenser was easy. Efiwym held on to the base as I turned the nut by hand underneath. Hand tightening was all that was needed, and it was snug. I screwed on the soap bottle, and it was done.
Before I put in the faucet, I verified I had the right hoses, and I did. These hoses would be easy to install because all the hoses for the faucet only needed to be hand tightened. I would screw on the connectors for the faucet to the water supply hoses and then attach them to the faucet after it was installed.
I put the faucet base on the sink and passed the hose and piping through the base. I dropped the faucet in the hole and asked Efiwym to hold it in place so I could go underneath to tighten the retaining nut. This faucet came with an installation tool to tighten the nut. My second favorite tool. As Efiwym held the faucet in its place, I put the tool over the nut and turned it until it was tight. It was easier to install the faucet than the soap dispenser. WOW!
I connected the supply hoses to the water supply lines and then attached the faucet hose and hot and cold piping. I turned the water back on and…no leaks. I turned the handle on the faucet and…nothing. I tried a couple more times, and still no water. There must have been air in the pipes. Nope, I needed to pull the handle outward. The up and down movement was for temperature. We now have water. I checked for hot water, and we had hot water. I checked the soap dispenser, and we had soap (after I filled it with soap).
You can imagine how proud I was of myself. Successfully working on a DIY project on a weeknight. I needed to clean up the sink of any debris. I would leave the items from the cabinet out another day, just in case of any leaks.
As I picked up my tools to put them away, I had to appreciate the moment. I had a hard time sleeping the night before as I worried about this project. But not now. It was time to enjoy the Zen moment. The sound of running water and satisfaction of a successful, surprisingly easy DIY project.
