Faucet Installation and Replacement in Calgary
Faucet installation in Calgary usually means taking an old kitchen, bathroom or laundry faucet off and putting a new one in its place. How smoothly that goes depends less on the new faucet than on what it's going onto: the holes in the sink or counter, the shutoffs underneath and the lines that feed them.
If the faucet you have drips or the handle has gone stiff, it may only need a new cartridge or seal, and that's handled under faucet repairs. The tap on the outside wall has its own page: outdoor faucet repair. If water is running under a sink and won't shut off, call for emergency plumbing now. This page covers putting a new faucet in, whether the old one is past fixing, the room is being updated, or you just want something different.
The quote costs nothing. For a faucet replacement, we look at the sink and what's underneath it, give you a price, and nothing is started until you've agreed to it.
We dispatch from both Calgary and Airdrie. Call 587-834-3668 for a quote. For homes in Airdrie, Airdrie plumbing lists the other work we do there.
Old faucet worn out, or a new one still in the box? Call 587-834-3668 and we'll tell you honestly when we can get there.
Call 587-834-3668“The only honest plumber out of a dozen i called - everyone else wanted to rip us off with a 100 assessment charge to change a kitchen faucet - FlameTech was honest and fair - a refreshing experience - thank u”
corey mitchell
Calgary · 10 months ago
New Faucet, or a Repair?
A faucet that misbehaves doesn't always need replacing, and water under the sink isn't always the faucet's fault. Where the trouble shows up tells you which job it is.
Drips at the spout or the handle
Most single-handle faucets open and close through a cartridge, and when it wears the faucet drips or the handle gets stiff. If parts for that model are still available, a new cartridge or set of seals is usually the cheaper route. That's covered under plumbing repairs.
When a new faucet is the better call
A body that's cracked or corroded, a faucet nobody makes parts for any more, or one you're simply tired of are all good reasons to replace it. So is a renovation where the sink or counter is changing anyway.
Water at the valves or the lines
If the wet spot is at the shutoffs or along the supply lines rather than the faucet, a new faucet won't stop it. When there's no obvious source, leak detection is the place to begin.
Weak flow
Poor flow at a single faucet points to that faucet, its aerator or the line that feeds it. When the whole house has gone weak at once, a new faucet won't change anything, and the low water pressure page is where to start.
Check the Sink Before You Choose a Faucet
Unless the sink or counter is being replaced too, the new faucet has to work with the holes already drilled. Moen's buying guides are a clear reference for what to look at.
Find every hole first
Some holes hide under the old faucet's base. Moen's How to Choose a Kitchen Faucet notes: "You may need to go underneath the sink or remove the old faucet to see exactly how many holes your current sink has." A sink with one hole limits you to a single-handle faucet made for one hole. Three or four holes leave more choice.
The base plate
Moen's same guide says: "Some faucets come with an escutcheon (base) plate however they are not all required to be installed with the faucet." On a sink with more holes than the faucet uses, a plate like this is usually what covers the spare ones. Moen's advice is that "it is always best to check the specification sheet on whether or not it can be installed without the escutcheon plate."
Hole spacing on bathroom sinks
On a three-hole bathroom sink, the distance between the outer holes decides which faucets fit. Moen's How to Choose a Lavatory Faucet explains: "If your sink has three holes in it and measures 4 inches from the center of the hot handle to the center of the cold handle, you can use any centerset faucet." If the spacing measures 8 to 16 inches, the guide says "you currently have a widespread faucet." A widespread faucet won't go onto a sink drilled for the 4-inch layout, so measure before you shop.
Holes for a spray, soap or filter
Some kitchen sinks have an extra hole for a side spray, a soap dispenser or the small drinking-water faucet that comes with a reverse osmosis system. If the old faucet had a side spray and the new one doesn't, that spare hole still needs covering or filling, so count it when you choose.
Kitchen, Bathroom and Laundry Faucets
The work is much the same in each room, but each has something particular to watch for.
Kitchen
A pull-down or pull-out faucet has a hose that drops below the sink when you pull the sprayhead out and slides back when you let go. That hose needs a clear path through the cabinet, which can be tight when the space also holds a garburator, a dishwasher connection or a water filter. If a disposal is going in at the same time, see garburator installation.
Bathroom
Many bathroom faucets come with their own drain assembly, the pop-up stopper and the pipe beneath it, so the drain is often changed along with the faucet. If the vanity is being replaced or the sink is moving, that's bathroom plumbing. The valve behind a tub or shower is a different job again, covered under shower plumbing.
Laundry tub
A laundry tub faucet often ends up with a hose on the spout for filling buckets or rinsing things out. Among the indoor cross connections named on the City's cross-connection FAQ is a "Laundry sink connected with hose(s)." Whatever faucet you choose, don't leave the end of that hose lying in water in the tub.
Under the Sink: Shutoffs and Supply Lines
This is the part nobody sees until the old faucet comes off, and it often decides how long the job takes.
Old shutoff valves
Most sinks have a small valve on each supply line, and many are never touched between one faucet and the next. If a valve won't close fully, the water has to be shut off further back, sometimes at the main, before the faucet can come off. One that drips after it's been turned is worth replacing while the faucet is out, and it's priced on its own.
How the new faucet connects
Faucets don't all connect the same way. Some arrive with flexible supply lines already attached and others need separate ones. The spec sheet for your model shows which, and that's what we work from.
Grey plastic pipe
Look at what runs up from the floor or wall to each shutoff. Grey plastic there is likely Poly-B, a material common in Calgary homes from the eighties and nineties. Changing the faucet won't touch it. To find out what replacing it involves, see Poly-B replacement.
Hard water and scale
Calgary's water is hard, and over time its minerals build up in aerators and cartridges. That's one reason older faucets stiffen or lose flow. A new faucet starts clean but sees the same water, so if scale is a problem across the house, a water softener deals with it where the water comes in.
Permits and Condos
A straight swap is simple on paper. Moving things around, or living in a condo, adds a step or two.
Changing a faucet for a faucet
On the City's trades permits page, "Replace existing faucets and fixtures" sits among the jobs that don't need a plumbing permit. Taking out an old faucet and fitting a new one in the same spot falls under that.
Moving or adding a faucet
The City requires a permit once "A plumbing system is constructed, extended or altered." Moving a sink, adding a second one or running new lines to a different spot can cross into that. The same page advises: "If you're unsure if you need a permit, call the Planning Services Centre at 403-268-5311."
Condo suites
If a shutoff under your sink won't close, the water may have to be turned off at a point the building controls, which usually means arranging it through management. Your bylaws may also set rules for renovations inside units. Check both before the work is booked.
Is a new faucet the right fix?
If the faucet isn't the real problem, or you're planning more than a swap, one of these pages goes further.
Plumbing Repairs
Worn cartridges, drips and other faucet fixes that don't need a new one.
See serviceBathroom Plumbing
Vanities, sinks and the rest of the bathroom.
See serviceOutdoor Faucet Repair
Hose bibs and frost-free taps on the outside wall.
See serviceGarburator Installation
A disposal under the same kitchen sink.
See serviceReverse Osmosis
Filtered drinking water with its own small faucet at the sink.
See serviceLeak Detection
A wet cabinet floor and no clear sign of where it's from.
See serviceLow Water Pressure
When the whole house has lost flow, not just one faucet.
See servicePoly-B Replacement
Grey plastic water lines in older Calgary homes.
See serviceAirdrie Plumbers
The rest of our plumbing work in Airdrie.
See serviceSimple, honest, on your schedule.
Where the new faucet fits the holes already in the sink and both valves close properly, the visit is usually short. A different hole layout, or a shutoff that has to be replaced first, makes it longer.
Call and describe the faucet
Tell us which room it's in, what the sink or counter is made of and how many holes it has. If you've already chosen the new faucet, give us the model number so we can read its spec sheet before we come.
Holes, valves and lines, then a price
We check the holes in the sink or counter, the shutoffs below and the supply lines between them. Then you get a quote, and nothing is touched until you've agreed to it.
Water off, old faucet out
The water to the faucet is closed at the shutoffs under the sink, and the old faucet is disconnected and lifted off. With it gone, the sink deck is cleaned and looked over before the new one goes on.
New faucet in and tested
The new faucet is fitted following the manufacturer's instructions for that model. Then we run hot and cold through it and look over each connection under the sink for drips before we leave.
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Where we cover Calgary.
We dispatch from Calgary and Airdrie. Find your neighbourhood for area-specific notes on common builds, hard-water patterns, and the systems we see most.
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