Q: Hi Ed, I plan to change out the faucet on our guest bathroom sink. I’m confident about doing the job, but need help finding the faucet style to fit my sink. Can you go through some basic bathroom faucet styles for an oval drop-in sink? Ron, Nebraska
A: Since you'll be working on a guest bathroom, to make things a little easier, you can plan to do this faucet replacement in stages.
So, first you can simply plan to remove the old faucet, clean up the sink and check the faucet hole setup on your lav sink. Most drop-in bathroom sinks have pre-made holes to fit one of the three basic bathroom faucet types.
For a quick rundown, if the sink has one hole, naturally a “single-hole” style faucet should do the trick. Next, if the sink has three close holes in a straight line with four inches between the center of the outside holes, a deck-mount four inch “centerset” faucet should fit. Finally, if you have three faucet holes with an eight-inch spread (measurement may slightly vary) between the center of the outside holes, a “wide-spread” faucet is usually the flexible choice.
Final tip: Taking the old faucet with you to the supply house can not only pinpoint the type, but can also insure that your new bathroom faucet install can be “finished up” with the perfect faucet finish!
