Our kitchen sink has been dripping for weeks and the handle was completely loose, so I bought a new stainless steel faucet online and figured it would be an easy swap. Just unscrew the old pipes, drop the new fixture into the hole, and tighten it up. What a complete joke. I spent three hours laying on my back inside a dark cabinet getting covered in rust flakes and muddy water.
The space under the sink is incredibly cramped. I had to empty out all the dish soap bottles and trash bins just to wedge my shoulders into the cabinet, and my head was literally jammed against the garbage disposal unit the entire time. The old mounting nut was so rusted onto the brass threads that my regular wrench couldn’t even grip it. Every time I pulled hard, the wrench slipped and I smashed my knuckles directly into the sharp metal pipes.
When I finally broke the old bolt loose and pulled the pipe out, a bunch of gross, stagnant water leaked out of the supply line and soaked the sleeve of my shirt. Then, trying to get the new flexible hoses to reach the hot and cold valves was another total nightmare because the new lines were about two inches shorter than the old ones. I had to scramble out from under the counter, drive all the way to the hardware store covered in gray grime, and hunt down some pipe extensions just to finish the job.
It is hooked up now and the leak stopped, but the faucet sits slightly crooked because the metal sink basin is warped underneath. I don’t even care at this point. The kitchen floor is covered in wet towels, my neck is completely stiff from laying on that hard wood cabinet floor, and I’m just leaving the tools in the sink because I am completely done with it.