Mini Bathroom Facelift {#MoenDIYer}

This post brought to you by Moen, Incorporated. All opinions are 100% mine.

I was super excited when the Moen Boardwalk Centerset bathroom faucet in Chrome showed up at my doorstep! It is a GORGEOUS faucet that totally jives with the style of my home and bathrooms. Daniel (the hubby) and I love chrome fixtures that have an art deco, hotel, upscale feel, and the Moen Boardwalk faucet fits the bill.

We are pretty fearless when it comes to DIY projects, but we also know our limits. I can safely say that any  DIYer can replace their bathroom faucet with confidence. It took us about 1.5 hours because we've never done this particular project before. The instructions that Moen provides with the faucet are clear, easy to follow, and on point, but I'll run down the steps here in "Monica" terms. :)

Here are some basic supplies you'll need:

• Moen Boardwalk Centerset Faucet
• Wrench
• Pliers
• Plumber's Putty
• Pumice Stone
• Wipes/paper towels
• Flashlight
• Large towel
• Utility Knife
• 1.5 hours of time

1. First things first…turn off the water! Seriously. That’s very important. After that is turned off, clear out the bathroom vanity so you have room to work. We laid a big beach towel in there to make it a little softer of a work area plus catch any water that is in the pipes that will come out once you start disassembling stuff. Turn your faucet on to let any water/pressure out of the water supply lines. A flashlight is also handy since it can get kind of dark and hard to see.

2. Disconnect the water supply lines—we reused ours since they were in good shape, but if you want to replace them, just discard your old ones. This is also a good time to disconnect the old drain since the Moen Boardwalk comes with a fancy schmancy pop up drain. If this seems complicated, I swear it’s not. Once you’re under the sink it all kind of makes sense. Most of the pieces that require removing/tightening/attaching are nuts/bolts, so the wrench will be your tool of choice. My hubby also used pliers to get into hard-to-reach places.

3. Remove the nuts/escutcheons holding the topmount sink in place with your wrench, and pop off your old faucet. Groan in disgust at all the ickyness under the old drain/faucet. Ick!

4. Using a utility knife and/or a pumice stone (available in the cleaning aisle at most local supercenters), scrub away all that nasty build up. You want to have a smooth, dry, clean surface for your new faucet and drain assembly. We scrubbed, then wiped with a paper towel. Easy peasy.

5. Now it’s time to install the new faucet! Yay! It is chrome, so be careful with any tools around it. No need to scratch it before you even install it! The faucet easily is put in place with some mounting hardware that you screw on/attach from under the sink with your wrench.

6. This was probably the most challenging part for us—the new drain. It took us a few tries to get it right, but you can do it. I swear. You’re going to use a good amount of plumber’s putty under the “waste seat” or as I call it…shiny drain thingy. You put that into the sink, connect it back to the other pipes so everything drains properly. There’s washers and drain nuts, but the Moen instruction guide illustrates it all perfectly for you in terms of order.

7. Now you install the lift rod, or the center thingy in the shine drain thingy in Monica terms. It’s basically what allows you to fill up your sink with water or keep the water moving on down the drain. This part also took us a few tries to get it right—it was a bit of trial and error. There’s a piece at the bottom of the lift rod that connects to the “pulley” mechanism on the faucet that you pull up to get the lift rod down. There’s a rod and nut/screw that helps you get all of this into place, and depending on how it all goes you may have to adjust a bit to get it work effortlessly. This step was the most difficult, but from here on out it’s smooth sailing.

8. Now it’s time to reconnect the supply lines, and turn the water back on. You can flush any debris/junk from the lines by removing the aerator from the faucet (the part where water comes out) and it will come out that way. Finally, you can stand back and admire your shiny new faucet.

It is gorgeous. So beautiful. We are going to update the bathtub fixtures soon in the guest bath, so we’ll definitely get the coordinating shower/tub fixtures and accessories. The faucet and coordinating pieces can all be found at Lowe’s.

Doesn’t the Moen Boardwalk faucet look simply amazing with the vanity I stained an espresso color? I love the juxtaposition of the dark and chrome. Swoon.

If you'd like to see more of Moen's beautiful products, head on over and Like Moen on Facebook. I am a fan of theirs on Facebook, and now I've come across a double-rod Moen shower bar that I kind of have to have.

Like Moen says... Buy it for looks, buy it for life. I am positive this faucet will last us a long time! Thanks Moen. :)