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Recently I replaced a faucet in the kitchen, but there is not enough room to fasten two nuts. These are not the nuts on the end of the supply lines; they thread onto studs to hold the faucet down. They're too close to the supply lines to be able to grab.

I tried with a wrench and a rib joint pliers, unsuccessfully.

How can I fasten nuts without calling a plumber? Is there a specific tool to achieve this or something else?

UPDATE: I added some pictures to explain my case better.

Pic #1: These are the nuts. At the moment, they have been tightened just by hand:

nuts1



Pic #2: As I said before, there is really not so much room to tighten due to sinks and pipes. As for pipes, they are almost attached to the nuts, hence a basin wrench is not the best option, in my opinion:

nuts2



Pic #3: This is a detail from the faucet assembly instructions that shows a better perspective.

instr

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7 Answers 7

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What you're after is a tool called a basin wrench:

Basin Wrench

It can reach up behind the sink and tighten those nuts.

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  • Basin wrench was the prefect answer. Thin profile sockets on LONG extensions are also handy as they keep the nut captive.
    – BrownRedHawk
    Mar 13, 2015 at 19:35
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    I edited my post with pictures to explain better. Maybe a basin wrench doesn't fit really well.
    – gRizzlyGR
    Mar 14, 2015 at 11:59
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    With the pictures provided, I'm going with Michael Karas's answer below.
    – TX Turner
    Mar 16, 2015 at 13:57
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I had an idea that worked for me. I made spacers from steel brake line, and used a socket to tighten the nuts in a more convenient place for me.before and after

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A basin wrench is NOT the correct tool to try to tighten the faucet mount nuts that you show in your pictures. Due to the nature of the valve construction another type of tool is called for to tighten these. The tool will look like a hex socket end but is able to slide up over the long mounting stud to engage the nut.

Tools of this nature are often made of plastic and included in the faucet kit. Included tools of course are manufacturer specific. Here is a picture of a generic version of this tool which can be purchased from Home Depot.

enter image description here

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    In such a tight space, even this tool is going to have trouble getting in there. I actually have one of these, and it's quite wide (2-3"). It's also not adjustable, and only fits a couple nut sizes (7/8", & 1").
    – Tester101
    Apr 1, 2015 at 12:55
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After some time looking for a proper solution, the only one I come up with is using a tubular wrench, and sawing the threaded supports that were too long. Maybe not the smartest workaround, but surely this faucet lacks a good design for assembling it.

These are some tubular wrenches similar to the one I used: enter image description here

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  • The faucet's design depends on installation occurring when the sink hasn't been installed in a countertop. (Definitely a poor design choice.)
    – TX Turner
    Jun 16, 2015 at 17:41
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To add to the tools that can be used in this situation is the crowfoot. Use it with an extension and a ratchet. (flank drive style pictured)

enter image description here

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I suggest before installing the taps cut the studs down to a more usable length, then just use a normal socket on them.

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I have a solution The problem is the lock nut to hold the faucet in place.If this nut can be small enough to just pass through the hole in the sink then it can be on the faucet ring of pipe .A flexible rubber washer can be used between the nut and the underneath of the sink.This will allow the tightening of the nut to prevent leakage of the water first then the assembly pass from the top and the nut together with the flexible washer can be hand tightened to prevent the faucet from spinning.Since the faucet takes very little pressure to open and close or turning force ....this will work or the lock nut can be smaller to accomodate passing from the top of the sink then a rubber washer that is made with a slit can be placed before the nut and again hand tightened

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    Hello, and welcome to Stack Exchange. Please don't add multiple similar answers to the same question. If you feel you have a good answer, then edit your one answer to be the best it can be.
    – Daniel Griscom
    Aug 6, 2016 at 13:06

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