*******

The kitchen faucet sprayer is such a useful item, I can’t imagine life without one.  When I was a kid they were always over on the far side of the sink. Nowadays they are integrated into the handle of the faucet. This creates a very clean look around the sink.

But have you ever went to pull on the faucet sprayer only to be stopped at a few inches? 

Brizo Pullout Faucet at Kitchen Window

After pulling everything out from under the sink, you realize it is wound around the water shut off valve. Painful!  Just the other day, I encountered this same problem with the installation of a new pullout faucet.

So I asked my contractor, 1) What can be done?  2) How can this be avoided?

*******

He said, here are your options:

1) Grab some Cardboard and some Duct Tape

Short of moving the shut off valve, he asked for a piece of cardboard and some duct tape.

Kitchen Faucet Pullout Fixed with Cardboard

He very simply folded the piece of cardboard, taped it to the back of the cabinet above the cold water shut off and voila – the new faucet worked with all its promised magic.  Problem solved.

2) Better Under Sink Plumbing Layout

“Let the plumber know before he installs the water lines to place them up and out of the way.”

Plumbing Under Bathroom Vanity

This is a bathroom sink pictured. See the water shut offs placed higher. For a kitchen, they could also be farther apart from the drain so everything isn’t right under where the activity is going to happen.

*******

* Let your Contractor in on the Big Picture

But my contractor’s underlying point stuck in my mind: Let the trades in on the big picture.

For most of us, we tend to work in our own world.  We know what we know and think about what impacts us and move on.  When it comes to home building or remodeling each trade does their part, often the way they’ve done it for years.  As technology emerges and products change, this requires change from us too, but we often don’t know it if we don’t understand, first, the big picture.

This is the quick fix for the tangled pull out sprayer, but the real solution applies to most of our home projects.  If we inform the tradespeople and contractors on what the parts and pieces are that we (as homeowners) wish to use, they (the pros) can work to alleviate potential problems.

*******

Thanks out to the world famous Decor FixIt Girl, Lisa M. Smith for this surprise contribution today.  Beautiful faucet, good fix & nice thoughts.  More from the Decor Girl at http://decorgirl.net. 

For more Plumbing Fixes, see the article right here – Plumbing Tricks & Tips. ~jb