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in DIY/Home Decorating· House & Home

How to Install a Vanity and a Faucet Yourself!

This is a sponsored post about how to install a vanity and a faucet yourself.Brought to you by The Home Depot®, click here to learn more. I recently attended a Do It Herself Workshop at The Home Depot in Manchester, CT.  The workshop I attended was all about how to install a vanity and a faucet yourself….and it was AWESOME.  I’m kind of handy myself, or so I thought. I mean, I’ve assisted my husband in gutting our old house and doing many projects here, but apparently, that does not make a DIY success.  I have one or two things to learn.  Or eleven hundred.  Usually in our house, when it’s a Brett-by-herself-project, it puts my husband on high alert and he ends up coming to help.  (Or maybe it’s part of my diabolical plan to have him do it for me. Either way, right?)

When I first heard I’d be attending the workshop on how to install a vanity and a faucet, some feelings of panic set in.  I kept thinking, for real?  And then you want ME to install a faucet that someone’s actually going to USE?  I was laughing on the surface and inside coaching myself through the anxiety.

how-to-install-faucet-jay

But then I got to the store, and was connected with the wonderful Jay, and after I decided how funny he found me, he quickly assured me that yes, I could absolutely handle the install of a vanity and a faucet on my own.  Which, of course, made me all smiley and stuff, and we were instant friends.  For life.

We were lucky to find a vanity set out on the floor- super convenient, right?  I had no idea that installing a vanity was actually as easy as I’d imagined.  There’s really just a few steps.  And what follows?  This is MY general “take” on how to install both a vanity and a faucet.  The general idea is accurate, from what I’ve seen and learned at The Do It Herself Workshop and watching my husband, father, and father in law over the years.

1. Set vanity against wall

2. Set level on top of vanity

3. Shim bottom of vanity (we use scraps of wood in our house, you can actually purchase shims at The Home Depot if you are more normal than we are).

4. Find where your wall studs are

5. Screw vanity into wall studs.  Be sure your screws are long enough that they really grab into the studs. Don’t screw into sheetrock alone because it won’t hold.  Safety first, my friends!

6. Attach counter (if it’s a one piece with the sink attached, install the faucet first!!  It’ll be a lot easier!)  You’ll need a bead of a good bathroom caulk around the top of the vanity, then set the counter into place.  Then, don’t touch it for 24 hours.  For real.  Just walk away.  This is REALLY hard with kids in the house if you have just one bathroom but do your best). The silicone needs to set and cure- once it does, the counter won’t go anywhere.

VOILA.  Vanity installed.

Now, for faucets, well, they take a little more time and many more steps.  But…I can honestly tell you they make it kind of easy.

The counter/sink we were installing with the vanity was all one piece, so that made life easier. I’m a fan of one piece tops because it means less places for water to find it’s way into and under, you know?

To install a faucet:

PRE-Install

P1. Take faucet and all related materials out of the packaging.

P2. Read instructions. Or rather, re-read.  I totally recommend looking at the instructions at the store so you can plan ahead and buying things you may not have at home to save yourself another trip back to The Home Depot).

P3. Gather your tools and materials needed (you’re going to need some Plumber’s Putty and some hose pieces, possibly a connector- it should all be outlined in your instructions).

how-to-install-faucet-collage

1. Set faucet in place over the holes in sink

2. Secure faucet onto sink

3. Attach hoses for water supply (Be sure to get these tight enough!)

4. Install drain and pop up stopper  (This is where that plumber’s putty will come in handy)

5. Attach drain pipe

6. Attach drain trap (it’s the white pipe in the photo- see the dip in it?)

7. Connect water hoses to the wall

8. Set the pop up (thingy) to the right height and secure

9. (This isn’t in the photo, but Jay emphasized it and I think he’s totally spot on) Once you are all hooked up to the water and stuff, and your sink/counter are secured, run the water.  Not for 30 seconds, not for 3 minutes, but for about 30 minutes.  Open both sides of the faucet and run it at full strength for a while.  (This is usually when we’re trying to pick up the work area and get things back to some semblance of normalcy). You want to do this to really make sure that there are no LEAKS in your beautiful installation job.  (It’s totally ok if there are, just tighten things up and you should be fine. It happens to the best of them. I promise.  But if you don’t check, you can have a slow leak, which could go undetected for a while and end up ruining the vanity, the floor, wall, etc.  Take that 30 minutes and be safe not sorry).

Now, earlier today my crazy, crazy neighbors (bless their hearts) let me come over and install the faucet on their new vanity.  Yes, that’s right, they trusted me.  Mostly.  D supervised my progress but I think I wowed him.  I’m sure of it.  It was totally do-able!! By me!!  You can see all the photos here- sorry if they were dark, K was taking photos with my iPhone. I wasn’t able to 100% finish the job, only because they are having some issues unrelated to the vanity/sink but in the bathroom and will need to be doing a lot more work before they can permanently install. But I DID IT!! Thank you, Jay! And to D and K, for having (on the surface anyway!!) faith in me!!

pfister-faucet-install-do-it-herself-workshop-home-depot

 Now, don’t you feel all excited and motivated and wanting to go see what YOU can learn at the next Do It Herself Workshop?  The next one is August 15th- Chore Charts and Mail Storage Ideas Inspired by Pinterest.  I would be there in person learning it but I have to work so I can’t attend. I’m hoping that someone will attend and then share their knowledge with me- I’d love to make a chore chart that looks pretty that we can hang on the wall- and I’m ALWAYS wanting storage ideas!!! 




Brought to you by The Home Depot®, click here to learn more.

About Brett

I'm a 40 something lifestyle blogger living in Connecticut with my husband and our 3 kids, plus our two rescue pups. We love to hike, travel, play games, watch movies, and just be outside together! Having 3 active kids makes for a hectic schedule and I try to share content, recipes and other things that can help to make today's busy family life simpler, easier, or just plain more fun!

I started working full time at a local middle school in fall 2021 and some of my students are insistent that I am mean.

Comments

  2. Sue Hull says

    That looks easy. Everytime I hear someone saying they’re going to install or fix something in the bathroom I think of the Golden Girls when they tried to fix the toilet.LOL!! My dad is the contractor in the family so I would never attempt to do this. I live in an apt so I don’t have to worry about any of this stuff. Great post though 🙂 Very helpful

  3. Robert Shank says

    I’m a home remodeler and find home depot gives great information, most of the time, for home owners.

  4. Jennifer Clay says

    I really enjoy the Home Depot free workshops! You can always learn some great do it yourself techniques which is always good for me since I tend to do everything myself.

  6. Faye Mc says

    I wish I’d read this post earlier; we had to deal with a new faucet and it makes more sense to see it as you picture it than what the manufacturer had on their insert. Ha! 🙂

  7. laurie nykaza says

    Great to see how it’s done can save us a lot of money next time it breaks down and we have to head out to buy the parts to replace it

  9. Ron Morrow says

    I like how you have pictures for each step. Makes a big difference than just reading a usual tutorial online.

  10. Hilary A says

    I agree I love Home Depot overall, and their workshops are great. The first one I went to was how to build a birdhouse, and my 8 year old…who is now 28 built one and was quite proud of himself.

  12. Sarah L says

    Hmmm. I need a new sink and thought I’d have to get it installed. You make me think I can do it myself.

  15. Velvet Hubler says

    I love that they have these workshops. For me I am a visual learner and this makes projects so much easier

  17. Denise Taylor-Dennis says

    It doesn’t look too difficult. You are pretty brave to try it on your own. I have not attempted anything like this myself. Then again I am not the most mechanically inclined person.

  21. Susan P. says

    Good job! I installed the bathroom faucet in my sink upstairs by myself and it is just following one step at a time and having the right tools. I needed a basin wrench to get to the old nuts holding the old faucet in but had the other tools. A pipe wrench is usually necessary as well.

  25. Angela Kinder says

    That is awesome! Who says women can’t install it themselves? By the way, Jay is a cutie!

    I think you should be a professional sink installer! LOL

  28. Susan Smith says

    Way to go, I doubt I could install a faucet unless someone was there telling me step by step instructions. Doing DIY projects sure save money.

  29. Richard Hicks says

    You did a super job! I replaced our very old vanity and sink about 2 years ago and it was a challenge but finally got it done. Think of all the money you saved doing it yourself!

  32. Tina M says

    AWESOME! I think more women do nto do things like this because it might be complicated. Thanks for showing that yes they can!

  35. Adriane says

    Wow – I’m impressed! I’d love to take some of their workshops, but this might be too much for me since I have to mostly do the work alone.

  36. Jess says

    I’m really impressed with your faucet skills! And I like the idea of women’s home improvement workshops. I saw there’s a tile one in September, maybe I’ll give it a try.

  41. Christina says

    Thats awesome! I love Home Depot workshops. I always feel motivated and like I can do things like this when I see someone else do them. Our washer broke, hubby bought the part but was working and on call for the next few days so didn’t get to it. I watched a 2 minute youtube video… figured I could do that. Yeah, I apparently got confused on the water on/off controls – hot was off (thankfully) but cold was still on. DOH! I slightly flooded the laundry room… but in the end I fixed the washer (and it only took me 3 hours with clean up lol) and its working great now lol. I need to start going to bed when hubby is on call, obviously.

  44. Arelis Cintron says

    Wow that is awesome! I worked at home depot for about a year in the plumbing department. I learned so much and I help my dad with the house stuff. I might have to check out the next Do It Herself session! Thanks for sharing!

  45. Tammy S says

    From The video & instructions looks easy too assemble the faucet in . I like toog et more handy since we bought our own place now. Thanks for this review

  46. Malia says

    You make it sound so easy! My husband always does this sort of thing being that he’s a carpenter..but I bet I could do it too!

  50. April Yedinak says

    That is so great! I always feel so good when I can do my own home repairs/remodeling. I really like that sink and faucet combo, too.

  51. Mary Beth Elderton says

    Wow!!! We will soon be doing the same thing. From the looks of it, your vanity is a similar size to the one we need, so I think that Hubz and I can pull it off. Love your style!

  52. Mary Beth Elderton says

    Wow!!! We will soon be doing the same thing. From the looks of it, your vanity is a similar size to the one we need, so I think that Hubz and I can pull it off. Love your style!

  53. K. Finn says

    oooh, good job. Whenever I walk into Home Depot, I always think I should start attending their classes. Sure wish new a new vanity or even a new faucet handles were in my current budget, but not yet.

  55. Colleen Drenth says

    You go girl! You made it look and sound so easy! Now I know who to call when I buy a house 😉

  56. ANN*H says

    I think you did a great job of installing these things. Sometimes when you read directions they may seem confusing, so read again or make sure you understand what to do. Thank God that I have a son who can do these for me – tho it may take awhile till he gets time to do it.

  61. Karen Glatt says

    You really did a good job and it looks intimidating to do, but you made it look easy and it sure looks nice! You did a great job! Now you are a Carpenter and Plumber!

  62. Kait @ ChickadeeSays says

    While, I don’t need this info right now (i’m in an apartment!) this post made me laugh remembering my ‘job’ as a little kid running around finding studs with the studfinder!

    xx Kait

  64. Dawn Lopez says

    Oh wow seriously? How awesome is Jay!? That is so cool that they will actually show you how to install a faucet at Home Depot! Thanks for sharing the wealth.. because I am so clueless in this department!

  66. Anne says

    You go, girl! I’m really impressed. You may have a new career for yourself here, but please don’t stop blogging! And I agree with Jay that you are indeed wicked funny. You made a post that could have been a dry how-to into a great story.

  69. Dana says

    this is great! i have plans to do this, but needed a great tutorial! And I love these home depot courses…Looks like I know what I am suggesting for our next girls night out
    🙂

  71. Melanie a/k/a CrazyMom says

    What a great tutorial…and sooo impressed that your helper at Home Depot was able to help, I can never find anyone at my home depot that can help.. LOVE it… I’m ready for a new faucet and will pin this so I can do it myself, too…

  74. Taylor says

    I love DIY projects, but I have to admit I tend to stay away from electrical and plumbing. It sounds like everything went smoothly!

  80. Sarah @ RAD Living says

    This is SO helpful!! My husband and I have been talking about getting a new vanity, but we’re not the “handy” type. This actually looks easy and doable. I’d love to attend one of these events…

  83. j timothy quirk says

    I am saving this post until I need to install a vanity and faucet. It’s a daunting task but this seems do-able now!

  86. Kristyn says

    This was such a GREAT step by step engineer style tutorial!!! Think of how much money people can save just doing this themselves!!!

  92. Matthew's Mom says

    You make it sound so easy! We moved into our new house last year and there are a few updates like this that we want to make. I think that we can save some money by installing on our own.

  97. vickie couturier says

    im impressed,,way to go you! I don’t know if I could do it,im usually the helper,,but hey I guess we all can learn to do things we are not familiar with if we have too

  98. Robin Wilson says

    Wow ~ what a great job! I don’t think I would have had the courage to install my friend’s faucet after just learning! I did install our bathroom faucets (no vanity) but it was such a pain that I don’t know if I would ever do it again without attending a workshop myself!

  99. Sandy VanHoey says

    You did fabulous and not sure I would have been able to do the same. Seems I always mess something up when trying and I’m certain nobody I know would even trust me in doing their’s. Job well done Brett!

  103. Sarah L says

    Good job on installing the vanity & faucets. What I need is a lesson on how to install a toilet. (harder, I imagine) That’s the next thing that needs to be upgraded in my house.

  104. amy williams says

    Thanks for the info we want to put a new sink and counter tops in our kitchen and it would be so nice to save the money by doing it ourselves.

  105. Lindsey C. says

    Wow, thanks for such a detailed guide! Much better than those instruction books that come with the pieces.

  107. Jenny says

    I wish my sink was that nice. I can’t remodel or install something like that ’cause if the complex found out about changes to the apt. we’re in they’d raise our rent 🙁 My bathroom looks like some roadside job, it’s depressing…

  109. Stefani says

    We have put in a new bathtub but needing a new sink badly. After reading your post, I think I might try to attempt to do a DIY project with the hubby.

  110. Allison says

    Who knew installing a vanity and faucet could be so easy? What an easy and relatively inexpensive way to give your bathroom an update!!!!

  111. Roxanne DeBord says

    So nice of him to tell you how to install your new vanity and faucet. It looks beautiful!! My son loves taking their weekend classes for fun projects and Home Depot is our go-to place when we need to repair or replace things in our home. Great post!

  112. Tara Alemany says

    Great job, Brett! I’m pretty handy around the house myself, which always amazed my mother. However, all it comes down to really is just figuring out what the next right step is to take. Once that’s done, figure out the next one. With all the information that’s available online and elsewhere these days, it’s really not that difficult!

  113. Daisyq says

    These tips are perfect timing because I’m trying to talk my hubby into getting a new vanity.

  114. Sabrina Radke says

    Anything home improvement or really DIY terrifies me! I love how approachable, friendly and helpful the Home Depot staff are, you make it look easy too! 🙂

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