This weekend had many items on the To-Do list, but none were dreaded more than the plumbing job I had to do in the kitchen. Ordinarily, I love working on home improvement projects, but that love is usually reserved for building furniture or other construction jobs, electrical work, and even painting. But plumbing is one job I’d sooner do without. This time around, my “mission” into the plumbing zone, and there was no question as to whether I should choose to accept it, was to replace our kitchen faucet with a brand new if not rather expensive one.

On paper, the removal and installation process is pretty straightforward – simply disconnect the water inlet pipes (after turning off the water of course) and unscrew the lock nut affixing the faucet body to the wash basin. Sounds easy enough. However, a key factor being overlooked in this equation is how much space you have under the sink to access these parts. In the case of our kitchen sink, not only did I have to contend with two drain pipes coming out from our double-basin sink, but there were additional pipes for the drain from the dishwasher, as well as electrical wiring for the garbage disposal found under one of the sinks. Let’s also add to this equation the fact that the pipes and lock nut in question are not only behind all these other pipes, but they’re also behind the wash basins. Yep, this was shaping up to be another grand adventure into The Magical World of Plumbing. Click here to continue reading »”Mission Almost Impossible – Installing Our New Kitchen Faucet”