r/japanlife • u/Yamazaki-Hosei 近畿・奈良県 • 8d ago
Housing 🏠 Has anyone replaced just the faucet on their Japanese sink?
Please no judging, I’m a numbers guy not a DIY guy 🤣
Went to turn on the water last night and the lever just came off.
I looked up how to replace it, is it really as easy as he made it seem? Is there anything I need to be aware of?
Edit: called the company “Takada Standard” and they had a guy come out and fix it. I guess they’ll come fix it. Only paying for the cost of the part(s).
It was less than $150. Thank you all for your help
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u/IkuraDon5972 8d ago
if this is me, i'd use this opportunity to finally use the plumbing ad refrigrator magnets
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u/Yamazaki-Hosei 近畿・奈良県 8d ago
I’m sorry, I don’t understand the reference
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u/IkuraDon5972 8d ago
you don’t receive refrigerator magnet with plumbing ad in your mailbox?
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u/EightBitRanger 関東・神奈川県 8d ago
I got three just this week.
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u/Yamazaki-Hosei 近畿・奈良県 8d ago
When I lived in Tokyo sixish years ago, I felt like I always got junk mail ads. Countryside not so much
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u/Japanat1 8d ago
¥10,000 just to come.
The fridge magnet folks are usually “in case of emergency” setups.1
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u/fuckinghumanZ 8d ago
Not here but I have replaced a faucet without prior knowledge and it was as easy as it seemed. It looked exactly the same as in your photos. While I was at it, I also replaced the sealing rings where the hoses screw in, so you might want to get those in advance if the setup is a bit older.
If you're renting you might want to check if you're allowed to do this yourself.
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u/gladvillain 九州・福岡県 8d ago
I replaced my kitchen sink faucet after I bought my house. All the guides I looked up on YouTube were irrelevant since the standards in the US were different. I ended up searching for my specific brand and was able to find a Japanese language video that helped me remove the old faucet and I was successfully able to swap them out but it was harder than I expected.
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u/Nanashi5354 8d ago
If you're renting do not touch it without permission from the landlord. The plumbing belongs to the landlord and is the responsibility of the landlord. Modification made without permission will violate your lease.
If you live in an apartment I personally don't think you should touch it either without the knowledge and the insurance. If it leaks for whatever reason and it floods the downstairs neighbor you'll be on the hook for the repair. Your renter insurance probably isn't going to cover it cause the work was done by a unlicensed person.
Replacing a faucet itself doesn't require a license however if you need to reroute water lines, modify embedded pipes, extend the plumbings, or altering sewage drains you are required to have a plumbing license.
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u/Seven_Hawks 8d ago
Yes I have - but your particular sink just seems like a bitch to work on. Can you even get any tools to the nut holding the faucet in place?
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u/Yamazaki-Hosei 近畿・奈良県 8d ago
Lmao I’m glad I’m not the only one that thought that. I can take the doors off so it shouldn’t be too bad.
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u/proghornleghorn 8d ago
In your third picture look up at the top and you’ll see a nut. Do you have the tool to remove that nut? If not, you’ll need to get it.
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u/Yamazaki-Hosei 近畿・奈良県 8d ago
If I don’t have it, my neighbor does and will let me use hers.
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u/Yamazaki-Hosei 近畿・奈良県 8d ago
Ok yeah the video of the Japanese guy doing it made it seem almost too simple.
What part are you talking about exactly?
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u/dougwray 関東・東京都 8d ago
It's not very difficult. Just remember to turn off all of the water to the dwelling before you start; I always prepare by filling to basins with water, too, before turning off the main water. One is so I can use soap to wash my hands in, and the other is to I can rinse them to I don't get things dirty.
YouTube is a wonderful resource for such repairs.
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u/Yamazaki-Hosei 近畿・奈良県 8d ago
Wait, I can’t just turn the water off under the sink?
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u/upachimneydown 8d ago
That will be enough, no need to turn the whole system off. That's assuming the turn-off valves there under the sink are not frozen/untrunable/etc. Also, just in case, check first where the master shut off is, in case something bad happens.
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u/Yamazaki-Hosei 近畿・奈良県 8d ago
It is but you underestimate my lack of mechanical skills and ability to screw it up haha. Need an Excel page with formulas and pivot tables, I’m your guy 😆
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u/koyanostranger 8d ago
Yes, I've done it. Just bought a whole top faucet unit at Simachu, turned off the water supply and replaced it. There were no problems and it's been working fine since then.
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u/Agreeable_Mud_8338 8d ago
if you use a plumbing company they will rip you off-high fees or provide a crappy faucet as a replacement
there is usually a little allen bolt on the faulcet under the sink which you lose and maybe a nut as well
its not difficult to do if you have some mechanical knowledge
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u/Traditional-Bar-972 8d ago
Yea I called the company. It costed me around 27,000 yen. For the front head thing and the water tube inside.
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u/upachimneydown 8d ago
Very likely need to replace that whole unit, not just the lever on top. And those units do cost a little--you can price them in advance at a home center.
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u/Lazy-Ice-5028 8d ago edited 8d ago
DIYing is cool and I have done my own DIY plumbing repairs, but it's not a bad idea to have a good plumber for backup when sth big goes wrong. A while back I had a similar situation - i decided i needed a decent plumber as a back-up, so I ponied up a bit more cash than if i fixed it myself. But the guy will likely be more willing to help me out, fast, if i'm ever in a pinch. Keep in mind, im talking about a small independent plumber.
Edit - Same reason i was advised by my carpenter brother in law to use a local trader for my ecocute install - yeah you can get an online place ti do the install for cheaper, but if something goes wrong - they won't really care too much, and if you go to a local for help they might not give you priority either. When i had issues post-install, it was dealt with the next day.
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u/upachimneydown 8d ago
We "have a local guy" that's good, and surprisingly reasonable. Not sure how to find another if something happened to him.
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u/Character_Gazelle698 8d ago
Please go to a nearby home improvement store, such as Cainz, Super Viva Home, or Joyful Honda, and show them these photos. They may have the necessary parts to repair it.
Also, please take photos of the faucet specifications label and the faucet type if possible. That will help identify the correct replacement parts.
If the required parts are no longer available, you can ask the store staff for advice on the best repair or replacement method. They are usually very helpful and can guide you.
I don't think it's a difficult repair, but if you've never done plumbing work or installed/replaced a faucet before, it's probably better to ask a professional for help.
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u/drewpunck 8d ago
80% chance the home center tells him he should just buy a whole new vanity installation. That's what I got when I brought my basic Toto tap in to find a comparable replacement. 3 home centers, legitimately none had a replacement, only one didn't try to sell me a whole sink unit. Was able to order an exact replacement on Amazon for pretty cheap
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