Kitchen Faucet Selection

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Selecting a Kitchen Faucet

Where to start when selecting a kitchen faucet for your kitchen remodel?

We always recommend stepping back and looking at the big picture first and eliminating the faucets we will not consider.

Wall-mount or Deck-mount Faucets

Wall-mount kitchen faucets are not nearly as common as deck-mounted faucets, but they do have a couple of big advantages:

• They avoid having to drill holes in the countertop behind the sink or needing holes in the sink in the first place.
• They make the sink area much easier to keep clean and reduce the opportunity for bacteria, mold, and limescale to accumulate.

If the kitchen you are remodeling or renovating is already plumbed for a wall-mounted faucet, it makes sense to replace it. Otherwise, you have to run new plumbing under the sink to a deck-mounted faucet.

But, that said, your design choices in wall-mounted faucets are limited. 

Also, the conventional deck-mounted arrangement more easily includes the soap or lotion dispenser. This is an important accessory.

Here is a side-by-side illustration of wall-mount and deck-mount arrangements.

Wall-mount Kitchen Faucets on Amazon

Deck-mount Kitchen Faucets on Amazon

Faucet Criteria

Easy-to-Use

We suggest going for touchless or single-handle kitchen faucets only.

This site emphasizes Universal Design and aging-in-place. Universal Design is just a fancy term for designing for everyone.

• Related post: Kitchen Layout
• Related post: Kitchens for the Elderly
• Related post: Kitchen Sinks
• Related post: Kitchen Design Trends

This means avoiding knob or twist-operated faucets. Older hands cannot grip and turn them well. Besides, why should it just be the elderly who enjoy new technology?

So, for the kitchen sink, we only recommend easy-to-use touchless, touch-to-use, or easy lever faucets. A touchless or hands-free faucet uses motion sensor technology to turn the water on and off. More on that later.

If a hands-free faucet is not possible, mount a single lever handle faucet to the side of the sink. Having it to the side rather than the back is a way of making a faucet easier to reach.

Choose Your Faucet Before You Select Your Sink

Since you are remodeling or renovating a kitchen, you will likely get a new sink as well as a new faucet. It’s best to choose the faucet you like before you select the sink. Here’s why.

Some faucet arrangements need multiple holes in the top of the sink. Others only need one. And then you must also consider a hole for the soap or lotion dispenser.

So choose the faucet first and then select a sink with the appropriate number of holes.

Faucet Spout Height and Reach

The faucet needs to be tall enough to accommodate the largest of the items you may need to wash, rinse or fill when placed in the sink. But make sure it is not too tall to fit under any overhanging shelf or cabinetry.

Spout reach is the horizontal distance from the center of the spout base to the fall of the water stream. The ideal distance is such that the water from the faucet will hit a sink drain when it is turned on.

Faucet Handle Clearance

Make sure that there is adequate space behind the sink to operate the faucet controls without hitting the backsplash.

Do High-Arc Faucets Splash?

Yes, they do. High-arc faucets make a splashy design statement but they also cause water to splash quite heavily in the sink. So if you choose a high arc faucet make sure the kitchen sink is deep enough to handle the splashing.

Pro tip: A stainless steel grid in the bottom of the sink can mitigate the splashing.

Durability

Get a faucet with ceramic valves for the best long-term reliability and a drip-free experience.

Sprayer

The sprayer is an important feature of the modern kitchen faucet. A pulldown sprayer integrated within the faucet itself appears to be more reliable than the side-mounted sprayer as regards leak-free longevity.

Finishes

There are many options but the typical kitchen faucet finish is metallic. The metals used or emulated include chrome, nickel, stainless steel, pewter, platinum, brass, bronze, and copper.

The metallic options come with gleaming or muted finishes in polished, brushed, or satin. Manufacturers typically use the brushed and satin descriptors interchangeably.

Chrome, stainless, and nickel finishes are typically less expensive than bronze or brass. Chrome is the most durable of the faucet finishes. And be aware that the standard oiled and rubbed bronze finish is very likely an epoxy coating rather than actual metal.

Non-metallic finish options are enamel or epoxy in colors that include white, biscuit, and black.

Always select your kitchen faucet finish to match nearby cabinet hardware or vice versa.

Reliable Brands of Kitchen Faucets

Who makes the best kitchen faucets? You can’t go wrong with a well-known brand. The following are all reliable:

• Delta kitchen faucets (probably the best overall),
• Moen kitchen faucets (higher-end)
• Kohler kitchen faucets (great designs)
• Kraus kitchen faucets (commercial style)
• Pfister kitchen faucets (very wide selection),
• American Standard kitchen faucets (generally good all around)
• Hansgrohe kitchen faucets (eco-friendly technology)

But do not overlook less well-known brands, provided their review ratings are good. There are some excellent, highly rated lesser known faucet brands on Amazon

Touchless or Hands-free Faucets

Touchless or hands-free faucets have been around for quite a while in commercial restrooms everywhere. And they are now available for domestic kitchens and bathrooms.

How Do Touchless Faucets Work?

These faucets are motion activated and contain a sensor at their base. Many can be programmed to produce a certain rate of water flow and a predetermined temperature.

When you pass your hand directly in front of the faucet, the water flows. And when the unit senses your hand is no longer there, it shuts the water off.

Some of these faucets come with regular lever handles as well.

Why a Touchless Faucet?

• They are convenient. This is obvious. In both a kitchen and bathroom setting, if you have something else in your hands, you don’t have to put it down to turn on the water.
• They are hygienic. Since you don’t have to use your hands to turn on the faucet, you are reducing the risk of leaving germs on the hardware and having them spread by other people. This translates into safer food prep.
• No more accidentally leaving the water on and wasting it or causing a flood.
• Easy on the hands. No more having to grip and turn knobs. This is very beneficial in an aging-in-place scenario.

Touchless Kitchen Faucets on Amazon

Pot Filler Faucets

The pot filler faucet can be wall or deck-mounted.

The pot filler faucet is an often overlooked convenience and safety feature. It avoids the need to fill heavy pots in the kitchen sink and then heave them over to the cooktop. It is a great kitchen convenience for the very active cook and many people swear by them.

The pot filler faucet is deck mounted or plumbed into the wall behind the cooktop. It has an extendable spout that you can pull over the pot and then fold back against the wall when not in use.

Obviously, this feature needs to be planned in advance and provided for at the rough plumbing stage of the remodeling project.

It may be that existing plumbing in the kitchen makes a deck-mounted pot filler less expensive than a wall-mounted pot filler.

However, the plumbing and the pot filler together amount to a fairly large expense, so be sure you really want one of these before putting it in.

And remember, while the pot filler is great for filling a pasta pot in place on the stove, you still have to lug a hot pot from the stove over to the sink to empty it.

Pot Filler Faucets on Amazon

Prep or Bar Sink Faucet

The prep or bar sink faucet is a secondary kitchen faucet that is much smaller than the main faucet but should match its finish.  A prep sink faucet should have its own pull-down sprayer to facilitate the washing of meat or produce.

As with the main kitchen faucet, an integrated spray head is, in our opinion, better than the separate side spray for leak-free longevity.

Prep and Bar Sink Faucets on Amazon

Soap and Lotion Dispensers

Part of your planning should include provision for a soap and/or hand lotion dispenser. It should coordinate with the style and finish of your kitchen faucet.

Soap and lotion dispensers permanently installed through one of the holes at the kitchen sink are a great convenience. Because you do not have to go searching around for soap or lotion when you need them.

They are always right there. Whereas, if they just sit free on the counter they are likely to grow legs and will not be to hand when you need them.

Of course, a lotion dispenser is not necessarily a “must have” but most would agree that a soap dispenser is at least “nice to have.”

What kind of soap dispenser should you get? It’s best to go with a known brand. Most faucet manufacturers make them and even sell them as part of a faucet package. Make sure it is metal (not plastic) and has a solid pump action.

Soap Dispensers on Amazon

How Much Do Kitchen Faucets Cost?

The cost of a kitchen faucet comprises its material cost plus its installation cost

Material Cost

A low-end, cheap kitchen faucet might cost only $35 or so. A decent mid-range faucet will run you $150 to $400. A really high-end faucet can cost $2,000 or more.

Installation Cost

In a full-on remodel project, the installation cost of the kitchen faucet would be included in the “finish plumbing” part of your contractor’s overall remodel bid.

If the installation is a one-off event and involves the removal of an existing faucet, then you can expect to pay anything from $175 to $400 or more depending on difficulty. For example, the difficulty of removing an old rusted faucet could cost $200 just by itself.

Important Kitchen Safety Reminder

Don’t forget an anti-scald device on the water heater to prevent burns to fragile skin from any hot water outlet in the home.