How to Install a Kitchen Faucet in 7 Steps

Pull everything out from under the sink. Cleaning supplies, the bucket of mystery sponges, all of it. You need clear access to the back of the cabinet and room to lay on your back. Slide a shallow pan and a couple of old towels into place to catch the water that will drain out of the supply lines. A pillow under your head makes the next hour bearable. Watch at 0:12 for the workspace setup. If there's an outlet under the sink for a disposal or dishwasher, kill its breaker before you start.

Reach behind the drain trap and find the two shutoff valves on the wall - one for hot, one for cold. Turn each clockwise until it stops. Depending on the style, that's anywhere from a quarter turn to several full turns. If the valves are stiff from years of sitting idle, grip them through a rag or use a pair of pliers for leverage. Watch at 0:48. Once both valves are off, walk back up top and lift the faucet handle to drain any pressure left in the line.

Each supply line has a threaded nut where it meets the valve. Slip an adjustable wrench around the nut and turn counterclockwise. Hold the valve body steady with your other hand or a second wrench - if you let the valve spin freely, you can break the connection inside the wall and turn a faucet swap into a drywall job. Watch at 1:40. A small slug of water will dribble out into your pan when the nut backs off. Repeat for the other side.

With both supply lines free, go back above the sink and look at what you're removing. Mounting hardware lives under the deck - usually a large nut threaded onto the faucet shank, sometimes with separate mounting screws. Reach up with a basin wrench (the ratcheting head pivots 90 degrees so you can grip nuts in tight spots) and turn the mounting nut counterclockwise until it backs off. Watch at 4:20. Lift the old faucet straight up and out. If it won't budge, the caulk seal underneath is holding it - work a putty knife around the base.

Scrape and clean the sink deck so the new faucet sits on a flat surface. Drop your new gasket onto the underside of the base (or the escutcheon plate if you're covering three holes with a single-handle unit). Feed the supply lines down through the center hole and seat the faucet on the deck. Crawl back under and slide the mounting washer and nut up the shank. Thread the nut by hand, then tighten the mounting screws evenly with a Phillips driver until the faucet is rock solid against the cabinet underside. Watch at 8:08.

Tear a small strip of Teflon tape and wrap it clockwise around the threads of each shutoff valve - three or four turns is plenty. Watch at 9:53. The cold supply line from your faucet goes to the cold valve (usually on the right). Hot goes to hot. Thread each nut on by hand first to make sure it isn't cross-threaded, then snug it down with an adjustable wrench. Brace the valve body with your free hand again so it doesn't rotate.

Reach back behind the cabinet and open both shutoff valves slowly, counterclockwise. Stand the handle up and let water run through for a full minute on hot, then on cold. Watch at 11:18. While the water flows, grab the flashlight and inspect all four connections: faucet-to-line on hot, faucet-to-line on cold, line-to-valve on hot, line-to-valve on cold. Run a dry finger or paper towel under each joint. Any moisture means tighten a quarter turn and recheck. If a joint keeps weeping, shut the water back off, add another wrap of Teflon tape, and reseat the connection.