Mounting faucet to porcelain sink-Use putty/caulk/silicone?

Hey all, I have a question about my bathroom faucet. This is a relatively new sink/faucet and I had my contractor install it about 2 months ago. He used some plumber's putty between the bottom of the faucet (which is a clear rubber) and the top of the sink (which is porcelain). Now I don't know if plumber's putty is supposed to act as an adhesive or not, but I noticed that the faucet isn't really *attached* to the sink at all anymore and now when you turn on the faucet it rocks back and forth and even lifts up about an inch or so off the sink. The faucet's pipes obviously are attached to the plumbing under the sink. Do I just add some more plumber's putty? From what I've read that stuff isn't really used as an adhesive. I've been reading up on it a little bit and some people suggested "mounting" the faucet with silicon.....but I was wondering if/how well that would adhere the rubber faucet base to the porcelain sink. Or is caulk the way to go? Any advice is appreciated. Thanks, Lisa

Reply to
Lisa Ashley Rafter
Loading thread data ...

you call them back and tell them to come back and mount the faucet the correct way. if i were you i'd be talking to the owner of the contractor company for his worker's incompetence. you don't glue it down with either putty or silicone. they come with a rubber gasket to provide the seal to the sink. there should have been a nut or 3 that screws under the faucet to the underneath of the sink to mount the faucet correctly.

Reply to
charlie

messagenews: snipped-for-privacy@22g2000hsm.googlegroups.com...

Hi Charlie, Thanks for your quick reply. There is in fact a rubber gasket (that's the clear rubber part I mentined) that contacts the sink. Getting my contractor to come back really isn't an option (there were a few things that he left undone that I ended up having to do myself) so I wanted to fix this myself. As far as nuts that secure the faucet to the underside of the sink, I wasn' t left with any spare parts so I guess they didn't exist or he disposed of them without attaching him. I didn't notice this thing moving until the plumber's putty wore off. Is there anything I can glue the rubber gasket to the sink with? Lisa

Reply to
Lisa Ashley Rafter

The simple answer to your quest is "No". The faucet has to be fasten on the bottom using a nut that screws on the threads of the part of the faucet that extends below the sink top. Perhaps the nut is on, but not tightened. It's possible that it was hand tightened only (it should be wrench tightened) and just got loose which allowed the faucet to move (it probably wasn't the plumbers' putty that was holding it). Check with you hand to see if its there and if you can hand tighten it. Then go out and get a basic wrench (under $5) make it more permanent. Just a little bit beyond hand tightening should do it.

PS: Other will instruct you how you should deal with your delinquent contractor.

Reply to
Marilyn & Bob

Sounds like the nut on the bottom has come loose somehow. The putty just seals the faucet base plate.

Reply to
Meat Plow

That is "basin", not "basic" wrench. This funny wrench that can reach into difficult places like this just for tightening this nut. Usually sold in the plumbing dept. of stores.

Overall, M & B is/are correct. The faucet is held on by a nut (maybe with washers), not with any sort of glue.

Reply to
M Q

Check out this Replacing a Bathroom Faucet Step-by-step at This Old House Online:

formatting link
Even if you bring on a contractor, it's still good to know from a reputable source what is expected to be done in a repair like this. You can also take a look at the tools ans shopping lists to see what your contractor should be using.

Hope this helps, Tabitha

Reply to
tabitha.sukhai

no. you don't use glue. you use the nuts on the bottom. you'll need a basin wrench to tighten them (home depot plumbing dept). if there aren't any there to tighten, you can call the maker of the faucet and they'll probably mail you some for free if you explain what was done.

Reply to
charlie

messagenews: snipped-for-privacy@r34g2000hsd.googlegroups.com...

You don't use putty,silcon,glue the nuts are all you need the days of seals here are over unless the sink top is deformed and won't seall properly

Reply to
jim

replying to tabitha.sukhai, Iggy wrote: I know I'm quite late here, but from my personal experience...start over. If the drain's a Pop-up with a pull-rod up top and a pivot-rod under the sink, then the drain flange in the sink screws down (typically) into the tailpiece beneath and is a separate piece. Stainless Steel Pop-up drain flanges are hard to come by (tailpieces impossible), but by any means get one and never have to play with the drain flange again.

In any case though, get rid of any Rubber Washer (under the flange "in" the sink) and Plumber's Putty. Only use 100% silicone (not silicon, that's hard brittle computer wafer stuff) to yes glue-down the drain flange. Both Rubber Washers and Plumber's Putty dry-out, crack and leak in as little as 10-years, Silicone doesn't. Silicone dries-out, but doesn't lose its seal, grip nor turn back to a powder. Again, anything you can get in stainless steel is well worth it, even if you need to basically make your own drain. I buy separate stainless steel flanges, locking nuts and pivot-rods...suppliers always change whenever I run out.

Reply to
Iggy

Only about 10 years. She's ready for a new faucet by now.

but from my personal experience...start over. If

If you read the post, she's asking about the faucet mounted to the sink, not about the drain. And there should be no putty, nothing under it but the rubber type gasket that she describes. It's probably moving because it has putty put in there and it;s not tightened down enough.

Another mistake. Plumber's putty is exactly what you want there. It's thick, pliable and fills the gap, giving the drain piece something to bed down into. It also comes out easily as opposed to silicone. BTW, you see silicon in caulking tubes instead of silicone much?

Both Rubber

You see ones with washers much? I have drains that are 30 years old, still perfect, no leaks, with plumber's putty.

Wrong again. It doesn't dry out, it cures.

but doesn't lose its seal, grip nor turn

Wow, you do that much?

I buy separate

Nice job giving the wrong answer to a question she didn't ask from

10 years ago.
Reply to
trader_4

One lesson I learned the hard way, plumber's putty should never be used when it will be in contact with plastic. For example, plastic drain tail piece are becoming quite common and, the traditional putty will interact with and degrade that material.

Reply to
Stormin' Norman

replying to trader_4, Iggy wrote: Ready for a new faucet in a nothing 10-years? Disposable Society Idiots that accepts crap at every turn as "Value", I guess...like Plumber's Putty (guaranteed future hack-work).

Actually, she's directing and instructing about faucet installation, by a monkey-see-monkey-do "Master" Plumber that frequently does some quite laughable plumbing.

Plumber's Putty is what everyone wants? Sure, if you like replacing rotted out drains, scrubbing off mold and mildew or just enjoy replacing the easily avoidable water damaged cabinet...YAY, Plumber's Putty! (how many decades does it take to stop banging your head against the wall?)

I do see rubber washers quite often. Absolutely, I've seen plenty of Putty Jobs that are even 50-years old, no drips but definitely leaking past the "cured" cracked, loose and powdery Putty and rotting out the drain. Just waiting for the underside rubber washer to finally let loose. I did my drains with Silicone

30-years ago and dropped the locknut and washer to find nothing's loose, stained, rusted or changed from day one. You, can't do that and don't have that.

Yep, I do quite a bit of the hack-work replacements and provide a My Lifetime As A Handyman Warranty for my replacements. No-one's made a claim yet and I've been called back for more projects as much as 20-years later to still find no complaint nor change from when it went it. My stainless Drain Flanges, Basket Strainers, Pivot Rods and Locknuts still all look and act brand new.

Jack of many trades and True Master of most of them. You don't want to know about my drain assemblies, but my clients love, carry on and swear by them...where I get most of my referrals actually.

Reply to
Iggy

Actually, we do want to know. IMO, any drain that does not clog and does not leak is a good one. Is there more?

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

Totally irrelevant, if that's going to leak, it's going to leak and has nothing to do with using plumber's putty.

I did my drains

Well, you must use crappy plumber's putty. I've used it lots of drains over decades, never had a problem, never had a leak, with any of them. And it has the right consistency to bed down for a drain and it's not as messy as silicone. But then, the question asked was about mounting a faucet, which has nothing to do with drains or plumber's putty.

Reply to
trader_4

replying to Ed Pawlowski, Iggy wrote: Well, I tested and went to full glue-up PVC with elbows off the sinks to the back wall and ran the p-trap parallel instead of perpendicular to the wall. You now, finally, see Ikea and a few p-trap manufacturers doing this in very crappy versions. But, at least, 7/8's of the cabinet remains wide open and I've made removable drawer units for a number of kitchen and bath sink cabinets...the cabinet is emptied in seconds by just lifting out 1 or 2 drawer units.

And, guess what I put on each end of the assembly, yes right on the drain's shank and right up to the wall's nipple or elbow. Unions! Yep unions, can't be knocked loose nor off and only need to be hand snug to stay bone dry. But still, every plumber I've run across outright rejects and completely ignores them. Clients have and can easily drop the assembly to retrieve something and pop it back together flawlessly in just a minute...that's when they call to have their other sinks re-done correctly.

If, a plumber comes to snake the drain deeper in the system, they only need to bring their snake. I even had a few clients fire plumbers on the spot who whipped out power saws to hack up the assembly and wouldn't relent nor even try to listen or figure out what they were looking at. 2 times I had plumbers calling me gushing with how foolproof and simple the assembly was to work with and that they'd be trying it out.

Reply to
Iggy

replying to trader_4, Iggy wrote: Yep, you're right and any plumber will back your choice in a heartbeat. I understand, I'm just saying there's something that's much better in every way. Beyond that, I'm currently even testing out Threaded Stainless Steel and Lead Washers for true eternity. That setup is amazing and not nearly as bad an extra expense as I first thought...twice that of PVC (done the right way) and only 25% more than a full brass crap setup. This'll be for my own personal home experiment and clients with long time family homes and estates.

Reply to
Iggy

A standard P trap also has two nuts that can be just as easily loosened as two union nuts. Also, there are P traps that have drain plugs in the bottom, so if removal of objects is an issue, they are available. I'm not seeing the big advantage for glued up P traps and unions.

Yes, I'm sure that's an advantage. The plumber can unload his truck of all his normal tools and leave them in the driveway at home. Or I guess he could just take the snake and hop in the family car.

I even had a few clients fire plumbers on the spot who

Given the low cost of PVC pipe and fittings and the high cost of labor, those plumbers may have been right and saved the customer money. Why examine and figure out 6 different ways of saving $15 worth of stuff, ways that probably add more labor, when the clock is running at $100 an hour?

Reply to
trader_4

Funny, my house is 33 years old 6 sinks, all use normal P trap plumbing, not one has had a problem. The only one I've had to work on was the kitchen sink and that was because we changed the sink to a deep chef type one. They also all use plumber's putty for the drains. Maybe you just have half assed plumbers in your area.

Reply to
trader_4

replying to trader_4, Iggy wrote: Does it make *any* sense to have loose joints or even a plug in the *only* area that always holds water? No! And, therefore exactly why that area almost always rots-out first and even solely. If you don't like it, then don't do it. But, /your way/ is a proven failure and headache in most every building, mine is a proven Godsend.

Yeah, that's what I said and meant...that the plumber should just ride around with his Drain Auger in his bicycle's front basket. Dipshit!

Sorry but, my goal is to save people from continued crap work and to eliminate worthless product industries. Stainless Steel is unbeaten and while Plastic starts out great, it's plastic and the only guarantee of *any and all* plastics is that they dry-out crack and fail irreparably. Hopefully, I can end plastic's use wherever cost is minimal and avoid future damage from wrong and flawed plumbing.

Reply to
Iggy

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.