Faucet installation cost

Installing a faucet costs $150 to $500 including a mid-range fixture, typically around $280. Labour alone is $120 to $300, and it is one of the few plumbing jobs where the cost is genuinely dominated by how awkward the space under the sink is.

What it costs

Most plumbers have a minimum call, so a faucet swap on its own often costs the minimum whatever the labour actually takes. If you have two to do, do them in one visit.

The two things that turn 45 minutes into three hours

The shut-off valves. Old multi-turn valves seize, and the moment one is asked to close after twenty years it either refuses or starts weeping. A plumber who finds this has to shut the house main and replace them, and that is the right call. Budget $80 to $200 for the pair and be pleased rather than annoyed: valves that work are what let you handle the next leak yourself.

The nuts under the sink. The mounting nuts sit six inches up, behind the basin, in the dark, and after fifteen years of humidity they are corroded onto the studs. This is what a basin wrench is for and it is still the worst part of the job.

Choosing one

Count the holes. A sink is drilled for one, three or four fixtures. A single-hole faucet fits a three-hole sink with a deck plate; a widespread set does not fit a single-hole sink at all.

Check the reach and height against your sink, particularly for a tall gooseneck over a shallow basin, which splashes.

Valve cartridge. Ceramic disc cartridges outlast rubber compression washers by years. Nearly everything decent uses them now; nearly everything at the bottom of the price range does not.

Finish. Chrome is the most durable and the cheapest. Brushed nickel hides fingerprints. Matte black looks excellent and shows every water spot in hard water. Living finishes are meant to change and people are frequently surprised when they do.

Parts availability matters more than the brand. A well-known manufacturer with a lifetime warranty will post you a cartridge in ten years; a house-brand faucet from a discount range will not.

Repair or replace

Repair when the faucet is a known brand under about ten years old and the fault is a drip or a stiff handle. A cartridge is $15 to $60 and a plumber's call, and the fixture is otherwise fine.

Replace when the body is corroded, the finish is failing, the sprayer hose has split on an integrated unit, or nobody makes the cartridge any more. At that point the repair costs half a new faucet and buys an old one.

Frequently asked questions

Can I fit a faucet myself?

It is a reasonable DIY job with one caveat: test the shut-off valves first. Turn each one fully off and open the tap. If the water stops completely and the valve does not weep, proceed. If either fails, you are now doing a bigger job than you planned, at the point where the old faucet is already off.

Why does my new faucet have low pressure?

Almost always the aerator, which catches debris shaken loose during the work. Unscrew it, rinse the screen, refit. If that is not it, check that the shut-off valves are fully open, and on a pull-down that the hose is not kinked around the supply lines.

Are touchless faucets worth it?

They are pleasant in a kitchen with raw chicken on your hands, and they need power, either a transformer or batteries that will need changing. The sensors are reliable now; the batteries are the maintenance nobody mentions.

Should I replace the supply lines too?

Yes, always, and braided stainless rather than plastic. They cost $15 each and a failed supply line under a sink is one of the most common household floods there is.

My faucet drips only when the handle is in a certain position.

The cartridge. On most brands it is a part you can get free under warranty, and the job is 20 minutes if the shut-offs work.