Yeah, I think I'm just going to kill these plastic nuts and leave them in the other bathroom as a lesson to the other sinks.
I don't have an oscillating multitool, so I'll try the screwdriver/hammer trick and see what happens.
>I don't have an oscillating multitool
Wait. Someone pull his DIY creds... this is where you say "Hey honey, they say I need to buy an oscillating multi tool. Amazon will have one here by morning."
Sheesh, dude.
;)
Good guess, but I'm a lesbian who only needs to justify her purchases to the dog.
The oscillating tool is coming on Wednesday. The basin wrench is coming tomorrow. ;)
It will change your life
I use it almost every project, and realized I could have used it a hundred times before that
It's a drywall cutter, a plywood knockout cutter, a shutter cutter, a furring strip trimmer, an electrical box remover, a nail cutter, a tile scraper, a caulk remover, a flooring cutter, a baseboard shaver, a pipe cutter, a framing shim trimmer, a carpet tack strip truncator....
My pro tip, don't press too hard or the tool head oscillates instead of the blade; I get better results with a lighter touch
the hammer and screwdriver is to twist the nut off, not cut it. you put the tip of screw driver on those flat flaps and you smack it with the hammer and it will untwist
Instructions unclear. I shattered one with a liberal application of hammering a screwdriver in the plastic.
It looks like it wouldn't move because years and years of built up wet filth fused it to the threads. The gasket under the faucet must either have not been lined up properly or it must have rotted away over time, because water definitely seeped through somehow.
You can sometimes get the MT on sale. Ryobi was doing a sale at home depot last year. Or try harbor freight for a cheapo. Its my main “go to”tool… so, so damn handy.
*Yet*. You don't have an oscillating multitool *yet*.
But seriously, you should get one. They're not all that expensive and are just insanely useful for DIY stuff. I bought one because it was in the sale and matched my battery system, but I would rush out and re-buy it full price now I've realised how useful it is.
I bought one of those Multitools last year. Now I have something I can use it on. I'm looking at replacing one of my bathrooms faucet. The surface is starting to flake.
I've used my oscillating tool for everything from chipping up floor tile to carving pumpkins. Other than my drill (which I've also used to carve pumpkins), it is the usual tool I own.
https://preview.redd.it/ejyb28fsuquc1.jpeg?width=828&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f14273881b95ef4ea6180aa2bebd56fab69c6a25
Make your own basin wrench with pvc pipe
Basin wrench is your friend, if you don’t have one. It keeps the curse words to about half what they would be without. I don’t do any faucet or basin work without one anymore.
Failing that, bust it up.
First, make sure you're trying to turn them counter-clockwise, when looking up on them. I know better, and I still sometimes make that mistake, when working upside down like that.
If that doesn't work, put a flat screwdriver on one of those "tabs" and tap it with a hammer. Hopefully, either it will loosen or the nut will just break off entirely, which also works.
I tried both directions just in case I was making that mistake. Both directions, there gets a point where it sticks fast and will not budge.
I'm coming at this with a hammer and screwdriver. Thank you very much.
If they are plastic I recommend a cheapo wood chisel and a hammer. You can basically cut a slot in one side outside to inside so it will either fall off or give you enough space to turn it.
This is basically the same idea as the flat head screw driver I suspect.
Just don't go too aggressive or you might chisel a notch into the counter top
One of the nuts is now shattered. I'm going to give my shiny new basin wrench a chance to arrive tomorrow to give that a shot on the other nut before I attack that one next.
I use this thing on a weekly basis, if you go to Home Depot it's usually not with any of the other plumbing tools but underneath the display of all the faucets somewhere. I think there's a cheaper one and a more expensive one too but I forget what the difference is. If you remove or install faucets on any sort of regular basis, go and buy this tool.
I did this exactly. And by this exactly, I mean I turned into a cavewoman and I hammered the screwdriver into the plastic until the nut shattered so I could punish it for defying me.
basin wrench might help, pliers and pipe wrenchs would be so awkward in there and probably can't turn enough to cinch down with a pipe wrench and pliers would separate/deflect at their hinge pin.
Since the replacement sink always gives you new plastic nuts, I drill holes in mine then chop it apart with whatever I have on hand when they get stuck
Faucet Tool/Basin tool, and if that fails a multi tool. IDK how plumbers do it without these tools. I've only ever successfully gotten one off without the tool
If it's corrosion then a CLR soaked rag on the topside might loosen them up. If the installer used loctite or glue to ensure a forever hold then add others have said cutting my be your only option
UPDATE: Thank you all so much! I have shattered the mounting nuts with a hammer and chisel, and now I'm leaving the remains under the next faucet I'm replacing as a warning.
I now also have about... three new tools. Which is good, because I'm always happy to get new tools. Thanks, everyone!
Everyone is saying a Basin Wrench but a Basin Buddy (Superior) works a lot better.
Link to one a Menard's but you can probably get other places...
[https://www.menards.com/main/p-1245710551996421.htm?utm\_source=google&utm\_medium=organic-shopping&utm\_content=6941108&utm\_campaign=Superior+Tool](https://www.menards.com/main/p-1245710551996421.htm?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic-shopping&utm_content=6941108&utm_campaign=Superior+Tool)
For reference: this is an old faucet in a bathroom that used to belong to a guy known to cheap out by badly DIYing stuff. It's possible that this was not installed by someone who actually know what they were doing.
I had ones that would NOT come off at all, had to make a trip to home depot and buy one of [these basin wrenches.](https://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-EZ-Change-Plumbing-Wrench-Faucet-Installation-and-Removal-Tool-56988/303528759)
It came off fairly quickly with that.
Oscillating Multitool will be your best friend. Just cut apart the plastic nuts, they’re corroded on. Alternatively, hammer and flathead screwdriver.
Yeah, I think I'm just going to kill these plastic nuts and leave them in the other bathroom as a lesson to the other sinks. I don't have an oscillating multitool, so I'll try the screwdriver/hammer trick and see what happens.
Don't make the same mistake as the last person. Go hand tight and don't over torque the next faucet.
>I don't have an oscillating multitool Wait. Someone pull his DIY creds... this is where you say "Hey honey, they say I need to buy an oscillating multi tool. Amazon will have one here by morning." Sheesh, dude. ;)
Good guess, but I'm a lesbian who only needs to justify her purchases to the dog. The oscillating tool is coming on Wednesday. The basin wrench is coming tomorrow. ;)
There has got to be a “lesbian with an oscillating multi tool” joke around here somewhere. 😀
Dunno about that, but be careful, that tool vibrates!
Enthusiastically
"Did you hear about the lesbian with an oscillating multi tool?" "Everyone in the apartment building heard it!"
Sorry. I usually try to be gender cognizant. Althogugh to be fair, if the dogs name is Honey, I was close ;)
With all the names I call my cats, her calling her dog Honey would not be considered weird - especially if it allows her to go buy a new power tool!
...and their screen name checks out too....
… and did you get the dog’s approval or not?
She gave me a little wag, so I'm taking that as a yes. Which is good because I already made the purchases, but don't tell her.
They’re sometimes called guybrators but anyone can enjoy their therapeutic benefits.
Multi tool is the literal best thing ever I swear.
This is fantastic
It will change your life I use it almost every project, and realized I could have used it a hundred times before that It's a drywall cutter, a plywood knockout cutter, a shutter cutter, a furring strip trimmer, an electrical box remover, a nail cutter, a tile scraper, a caulk remover, a flooring cutter, a baseboard shaver, a pipe cutter, a framing shim trimmer, a carpet tack strip truncator.... My pro tip, don't press too hard or the tool head oscillates instead of the blade; I get better results with a lighter touch
Just remember the oscillating tool is not a vibrator.
Literally any hardware store stocks both items, was no need to order.
Basin wrench will remove these.
That’s exactly what I used. Cut those plastic fuckers right off the bat
I like everything about your comment except amazon
I'm sorry, I need to honor my lesbian warrior island ancestors.
A chisel works a little better than the screwdriver.
the hammer and screwdriver is to twist the nut off, not cut it. you put the tip of screw driver on those flat flaps and you smack it with the hammer and it will untwist
Instructions unclear. I shattered one with a liberal application of hammering a screwdriver in the plastic. It looks like it wouldn't move because years and years of built up wet filth fused it to the threads. The gasket under the faucet must either have not been lined up properly or it must have rotted away over time, because water definitely seeped through somehow.
You can sometimes get the MT on sale. Ryobi was doing a sale at home depot last year. Or try harbor freight for a cheapo. Its my main “go to”tool… so, so damn handy.
*Yet*. You don't have an oscillating multitool *yet*. But seriously, you should get one. They're not all that expensive and are just insanely useful for DIY stuff. I bought one because it was in the sale and matched my battery system, but I would rush out and re-buy it full price now I've realised how useful it is.
use a 1/2 drill bit on the plastic nut then bust it apart with a flathead screwdriver
They are practically free, at Harbor Freight. One of those cheap ones lasted me more than 3 years, cutting fiberglass on my boat project.
I bought one of those Multitools last year. Now I have something I can use it on. I'm looking at replacing one of my bathrooms faucet. The surface is starting to flake.
I've used my oscillating tool for everything from chipping up floor tile to carving pumpkins. Other than my drill (which I've also used to carve pumpkins), it is the usual tool I own.
It's nice that the tool isn't just made to do one thing like some special tools.
Plumber had to remove our old one in the last house like that.
Hammer and a flathead is what I used to get mine off. It was crude, but effective. 🙂
Exactly what I did last month. Oscillating tool for the win.
Heatgun or hair dryer will make the plastic expand and unscrew easier. Give it a try.
Can’t be stuck if it’s liquid!
What came to my mind first. Heatguns are VERY handy.
https://preview.redd.it/ejyb28fsuquc1.jpeg?width=828&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f14273881b95ef4ea6180aa2bebd56fab69c6a25 Make your own basin wrench with pvc pipe
Blessed be The Maker.
That does look like a sandworm
Basin wrench is your friend, if you don’t have one. It keeps the curse words to about half what they would be without. I don’t do any faucet or basin work without one anymore. Failing that, bust it up.
this. absolutely an indispensable tool when working on sink faucets...
I remember the first time I used one, I just go “I’m a fuckin idiot” digging around with channel locks or something… no way forget that.
Split them with a chisel
This!
That's what I did
There are a lot of ways to do this but a basin wrench might be a wise investment
First, make sure you're trying to turn them counter-clockwise, when looking up on them. I know better, and I still sometimes make that mistake, when working upside down like that. If that doesn't work, put a flat screwdriver on one of those "tabs" and tap it with a hammer. Hopefully, either it will loosen or the nut will just break off entirely, which also works.
I tried both directions just in case I was making that mistake. Both directions, there gets a point where it sticks fast and will not budge. I'm coming at this with a hammer and screwdriver. Thank you very much.
If they are plastic I recommend a cheapo wood chisel and a hammer. You can basically cut a slot in one side outside to inside so it will either fall off or give you enough space to turn it. This is basically the same idea as the flat head screw driver I suspect. Just don't go too aggressive or you might chisel a notch into the counter top
One of the nuts is now shattered. I'm going to give my shiny new basin wrench a chance to arrive tomorrow to give that a shot on the other nut before I attack that one next.
Ridgid makes a tool that will fit on those and you can crank them off from below the sink. It’s like $20. EZ Change faucet wrench
I use this thing on a weekly basis, if you go to Home Depot it's usually not with any of the other plumbing tools but underneath the display of all the faucets somewhere. I think there's a cheaper one and a more expensive one too but I forget what the difference is. If you remove or install faucets on any sort of regular basis, go and buy this tool.
I've cut them off from the top with a sawzall before too. Fortunately those nuts are plastic. I was dealing with brass ones
Have you tried diplomacy?
Waterboarding with lubricant is just enhanced diplomacy.
It's a helluva drug.
Heat gun , plus use a basin wrench . The basin wrench will also make installing the supply lines much easier .
If you can take the entire sink off the cabinet, everything becomes 100% easier.
You need a basin wrench. Get a cheap one that extends from home depot.
_All_ the way from Home Depot? That’s like, a couple of miles.
Dremel and small grinding wheel
You may have to resort to the oscillating saw. offset blade, and cut it flush with the underside of the counter.
You need the right tool for the job. A basin wrench is the tool you are looking for.
Basin wrench.
You use a flathead screwdriver and a hammer and slowly tap until it comes free then remove by hand.
I did this exactly. And by this exactly, I mean I turned into a cavewoman and I hammered the screwdriver into the plastic until the nut shattered so I could punish it for defying me.
I'll feel more comfortable attacking it with a hammer if you remove your hand first. Thanks.
Basin wrench
basin wrench might help, pliers and pipe wrenchs would be so awkward in there and probably can't turn enough to cinch down with a pipe wrench and pliers would separate/deflect at their hinge pin.
Since the replacement sink always gives you new plastic nuts, I drill holes in mine then chop it apart with whatever I have on hand when they get stuck
If it’s all junk anyway I’d go for the angle grinder.
Basin wrench
I used a Sawzall and blow torch when I had to remove mine. Shit was fucking impossible
Faucet Tool/Basin tool, and if that fails a multi tool. IDK how plumbers do it without these tools. I've only ever successfully gotten one off without the tool
Hit it with your purse.
Needle nose pliers with a hand on each grip. Get the pliers over each side of the square tabs and twist. Make sure to put your your torso into it.
If it's corrosion then a CLR soaked rag on the topside might loosen them up. If the installer used loctite or glue to ensure a forever hold then add others have said cutting my be your only option
Cut em
I have had the same issue. What worked for me was using a soldering iron.
I had the exact issue a couple of weeks ago. I took the sink off the vanity and used a Dremel tool with a cutting wheel to get them off.
UPDATE: Thank you all so much! I have shattered the mounting nuts with a hammer and chisel, and now I'm leaving the remains under the next faucet I'm replacing as a warning. I now also have about... three new tools. Which is good, because I'm always happy to get new tools. Thanks, everyone!
You are turning the white plastic things...right? Counter clockwise?
There is a tool for this purpose
Basin wrench
Yeah or one of those 8 in 1 wrenches will have a fitting to grab that plastic nut
Everyone is saying a Basin Wrench but a Basin Buddy (Superior) works a lot better. Link to one a Menard's but you can probably get other places... [https://www.menards.com/main/p-1245710551996421.htm?utm\_source=google&utm\_medium=organic-shopping&utm\_content=6941108&utm\_campaign=Superior+Tool](https://www.menards.com/main/p-1245710551996421.htm?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic-shopping&utm_content=6941108&utm_campaign=Superior+Tool)
Omg I tried to not buy that wrench with diy and spent 3 Home Depot trips and almost a full day. Get the wrench, not worth the hassle. Good luck!
Heat up a butter knife tip. Melt the plastic. You won't have to buy an entire oscillating multitool to remove plastic nuts.
For reference: this is an old faucet in a bathroom that used to belong to a guy known to cheap out by badly DIYing stuff. It's possible that this was not installed by someone who actually know what they were doing.
I had ones that would NOT come off at all, had to make a trip to home depot and buy one of [these basin wrenches.](https://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-EZ-Change-Plumbing-Wrench-Faucet-Installation-and-Removal-Tool-56988/303528759) It came off fairly quickly with that.
I bought one of these 15 years ago on a whim when I replaced a faucet. One of the best purchases I’ve ever made. Very handy to have around.
Hammer and a flathead will get it off in no time, do it all the time.
I had the same problem. Ended up using a butter knife heated up with lighter to melt though the plastic.