After School Special Project

Our basement half-bath could easily and accurately described as "special". In fact, it is so special it has two toilets: one for humans and one for the kitties. The one for humans rarely gets used, unless someone viciously breaks their leg and is reduced to spending considerable time in the basement. The fixtures, flooring, and other accoutrement are bargain-basement and thus I've decided to exchange them with new ones if I happen to see a good deal on some slightly upgraded ones. Last Friday, just such a deal took place as The Home Depot placed on sale a decent looking bathroom faucet for a mere $20. Seizing upon this opportunity, I decided to replace the faucet after work today.

Old faucet:
Replacing a bathroom faucet is not overly difficult. On a difficulty scale of 1 to 5, I'll give it a 1.5. You'll need an adjustable wrench (or wrenches), some plumber's tape, and some plumber's putty.

• Step 1. Turn off the water underneath the sink. Needless to say, this is vital to any successful plumbing job.
• Step 2. Disconnect the water supply lines under the sink. A pair of pliers or a wrench will do the job here. It may be a bit tricky to get to the faucet connections and will likely require you to lay on your back and get in the "plumber's pose".
• Step 3. Once you've removed the supply lines, unscrew the fasteners which are holding the faucet in place under the sink. These are in the same place where you disconnected the supply lines from the faucet assembly.
• Step 4. Disconnect the stopper rod (the thing on the back of the faucet that when lifted, lowers the stopper in the sink). Once this is done, you'll be able to lift the faucet off the sink. If plumbers putty or caulk was used with the original faucet, go ahead and clean it off the sink now.
• Step 5. If your new faucet does not match the color of the old, you'll want to replace the drain stem so it will match the new faucet. Time to disconnect the waste pipes. Be sure to find a pot or bucket you never again want to use for clean water. Place this under the trap (the u-turn shaped part of the pipe); when you disconnect all the piping, you'll find water "trapped" here that you probably don't want going anywhere else in your bathroom. Once you have all the piping removed including the drain stem (but not the last piece going into the wall), you're golden.
• Step 6. Putting the new faucet in is a breeze. Just reverse the steps you used when taking the old one out. Your new faucet should come with a plastic plate which goes on top of the sink and underneath the faucet; using this takes the place of using plumber's putty or silicone caulk.
  
• Step 7. Attach the supply lines. If flexible lines were not used in the original installation, I recommend buying some and using them this time. Make note of the size of the connections, as they come in two sizes, 1/2" and 3/8". Mine were 1/2" to the faucet and 3/8" to the main supply. One helpful tip, when putting plumber's tape (a.k.a. teflon tape) on the threads you'll be attaching the supply lines to (both ends), it is easier to put it on the faucet threads before you attach it to the sink. Hand tighten the supply lines and then use a wrench to tighten it until it's firmly connected; you don't have to tighten them as much as you can.
• Step 8. Install the new drain stem, remembering the way the plumbing looked before you disassembled it. Place a ring of plumber's putty or silicone caulk around the underside of the piece that connects to the drain stem from inside the sink; you want to make sure you have a water tight seal here. Make sure the little hole in the back of the drain stem is facing the back, so you can attach the stopper rod.
• Step 9. Install the stopper rod. This is not difficult and if you've gotten this far, I think you can handle it without an in-depth set of instructions.
• Step 10. Turn the main water supply back on and check for leaks under the sink. No leaks? Good. Now turn the faucet on and get back under the sink and check for leaks. I recommend sitting here for at least a good 15-20 seconds just to make sure. Once you're sure you have no leaks, you're done.