One Room Challenge | How to Remove an Outdated Faucet and Sink Drain

It's week 3 of the One Room Challenge and ya'll know what that means!!! It's faucet reveal day! I purchased this gorgeous Glacier Bay faucet from Home Depot and I am just so excited to share with you guys how I was able to remove our old faucet and replace it with this beauty without the need for a plumber. And let me preface this by saying I have absolutely 0 plumbing experience. Like seriously none. So if I can do this, you guys can too! I am going to walk you through step by step how to remove your old facet and drain pipe all while providing tips and pointers I learned along the way to save you time.

Old faucet

Glacier Bay Faucet

So let's start off by reviewing supplies needed to complete this project:

adjustable wrench 

old towels 

bucket or bowl 

WD-40 

Piping for old faucet

Alright ready? So first I'm going to need you to go under your sink and locate the hot and cold water lines and shutoff valves. Close these valves tight! To make sure your valves are fully closed go ahead and test it by attempting to turn your faucet on, as long as no water is coming out you're good to go! If you're finding the shutoffs are not completely stopping the water flow (I had this issue) then head downstairs. Directly below your bathroom you should be able to find the basement shutoff, this will be either a black or blue knob. Shut that off and then test your water again by attempting to turn the faucet on. Hopefully at this point you no longer have any dripping or water flow. Unfortunately, due to a faulty shutoff valve I continued to have some dripping from one of our water lines so I placed a few old towels and a bucket underneath the sink to catch any spare water.

Now you will need to begin loosening the nuts holding the water line tightly against the sink. Once you have removed these you will then want to disconnect the faucet portion of the water lines from the main water lines. Next you will unscrew the U shaped pipe, make sure your bowl or bucket is strategically placed underneath, there will likely be some water left in here. Once you unscrew the U shaped pipe set it aside as you will need it again to install your new faucet.

Nut holding faucet water line in place

U shaped pipe

Next, you need to disconnect the L shaped lever that controls your drain cover. Unscrew the bolt that connects the lever to the main pipe. Hang in there guys you're, almost there! All that is left to do is to remove the large nut that is keeping the drain secured to the sink. This was the most difficult part for us due to many years of corrosion. It took quite a bit of force and effort! In hindsight, having some WD-40 on hand would have probably helped quite a bit. But once you've removed that, your old sink and drain pipe are completely disconnected, yay! Simply remove the old faucet and drain pipe by pulling up. Tada!

Now it's time to clean up a little and install your new faucet! Your faucet installation will vary depending on the brand and model of faucet you select. However, I can assure you that installation is much easier than removal. Just be sure to follow your manufacturers instructions for installation. Something I want to point out is that on this particular faucet I purchased, there was a lever for the drain cover that would allow me to open and close the drain. I chose to forgo installing this lever for two reasons. One, I wasn't thrilled with the way it looked and two I have never once had the need to close my drain cover. Should I need to close it, for whatever reason, I can just go below the sink and manually close it. This is totally personal preference and not a necessary step. 

Okay wow seriously just a little paint, $4 epoxy spray paint countertops and a new faucet have already completely transformed this space. As intimidating as this faucet replacement project may seem it really is not too difficult. It just requires some patience and willingness to jump outside of your comfort zone. Trust me, you'll be so happy that you did. If you're not already, make sure to come on over and follow me on Instagram @elloreeinspired for some additional ORC fun. See you next week friends! Xoxo