How to Install a New Kitchen Tap Without Calling a Plumber — Guide

Swapping out a kitchen tap looks like a job for a professional, but the truth is that most modern taps are designed with DIY installation in mind. With a few basic tools and an hour of your time, you can fit a new tap yourself and save the cost of a call-out fee. This guide walks you through the process step by step, with practical tips to avoid the common mistakes that turn a simple job into a flooded kitchen.

What You Will Need

Before you start, gather everything you need so you are not hunting for tools mid-job with the water supply disconnected. Most households already own the essentials:

  • An adjustable spanner or basin wrench (the basin wrench is the real hero here, as it reaches the awkward nuts behind the sink)
  • A bucket and some old towels
  • Plumber's tape (PTFE tape)
  • A torch or headlamp for working under the sink
  • A bowl trap or plank to lie on if your cupboard space is tight
  • The new tap, complete with its flexible hoses and fittings

Check that your new tap comes with flexible connection hoses attached. Most do, but if yours does not, buy hoses separately before you begin — they come in different lengths and thread sizes.

Turn Off the Water and Prepare the Area

Locate the isolation valves under the sink and turn them clockwise until they stop. If your sink does not have isolation valves, you will need to shut off the main supply and drain the pipes by running the tap until the flow stops. Either way, open the old tap briefly to release any residual pressure and confirm the water is genuinely off.

Place a bucket underneath the connections and lay towels around the cupboard floor. Even with the supply off, a surprising amount of water sits in the pipes and hoses, and it always seems to find your sleeve.

Removing the Old Tap

This is usually the fiddliest part. Under the sink, disconnect the flexible hoses or copper tails from the supply pipes, letting any leftover water drain into your bucket. Then remove the nut (or nuts) holding the tap body to the sink.

Here is where a basin wrench earns its keep: the fixing nut is often recessed behind the basin and impossible to reach with a normal spanner. If the nut is corroded, apply penetrating oil, wait a few minutes, and try again rather than forcing it. Once the fixings are loose, lift the old tap out from above and pull the hoses down through the hole. Clean the area around the tap hole thoroughly — old limescale and sealant residue will stop your new tap from seating properly.

A Quick Word on Tap Holes

Most sinks have a single hole, but some older kitchens have two or three. If your new tap has fewer connections than your sink has holes, you can cover the spare holes with blanking plates, available at any DIY store. Check this before installation day, not after.

Fitting the New Tap

Feed the new tap's hoses down through the mounting hole from above, then position the tap body. If your tap includes a rubber or foam gasket, sit it between the tap base and the sink surface; if not, a ring of plumber's putty or the supplied sealant does the same job. From below, slide on the fixing washer and nut and tighten by hand before finishing with the spanner — snug, not brutal, or you risk cracking the sink or deforming the tap base.

Now connect the hoses to the supply pipes. Hot to hot, cold to cold — the connections are usually marked, but if in doubt, hot is normally on the left. Wrap a little PTFE tape around threaded metal connections to ensure a watertight seal, and hand-tighten first before giving each a quarter turn with the spanner.

Testing and Final Checks

Before you celebrate, turn the isolation valves back on slowly and watch every connection for a minute or two. Dry connections can still weep slowly, so dry everything thoroughly with a towel, then check again after ten minutes and once more the next day. Run the tap to flush out any debris, check that the flow is strong and smooth, and inspect the aerator in the spout — fitting debris often lodges there, causing spluttering.

If the flow is weak or the tap drips when closed, recheck the connections before assuming the tap is faulty. In nearly all cases, a slightly loose nut is the culprit.

When to Stop and Call a Professional

DIY has limits. If you discover corroded copper pipework that will not disconnect cleanly, no isolation valves and no accessible main stopcock, or signs of a leak behind tiling or cabinetry that predates your project, stop and bring in a plumber. There is no shame in it — knowing when a job is beyond your comfort zone is part of doing it well.

For everything else, though, installing a kitchen tap is one of the most satisfying first plumbing jobs you can tackle. Take your time, keep the bucket handy, and enjoy the feeling of turning that gleaming new tap on for the first time — knowing you did it yourself.

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