Having clean water is essential for you and your family’s health and everyday tasks. Many people don’t know what contaminants are present in their drinking water. It could be anything from bacteria, to lead or corrosion from old pipes. Maybe something just makes your drinking water taste a little funky. Installing a water filtration system in your home can go a long way to adding peace of mind to you and your family. You should be confidant you’re drinking the highest quality water possible on a daily basis. Today, I’m going to help you do just that!

Disclosure: This project contains a paid product placement by Survivor Filter who generously supplied the filtration systems you’ll be seeing me install today. Get 15% OFF a Survivor Filter In-Home System at the link above or using the code MRFIXITDIY at checkout. Survivor Filter carries a wide range of water filters whether you’re at home or on the go so you can quickly transform water from contaminated to clean in a matter of minutes. All opinions are my own. 

What’s great about the Survivor Filter options is that they have both larger sized systems for use in higher usage areas like kitchens, and smaller systems for use in less used areas like bathroom sinks. It’s also great that their in-home products are manufactured here in the United States. Each system comes with an easy to follow instruction manual, mounting hardware, and the filters themselves. So today I’ll show you how you can easily install both systems.

Getting Started in the Kitchen

In my house, many of the old pipes are galvanized steel. There are areas of my home where the water pressure is lower than others. In some cases, the water can even be a little brown when it turns on. That’s because galvanized steel corrodes and rusts over time which starts to clog the pipes. I’ve replaced many of the water lines in areas of the home I’ve remodeled. Sadly, the trunk lines and supply lines in the kitchen haven’t been remodeled yet and are still galvanized. 

We’ll start with the larger water filtration system for the kitchen, the Max Filter System. It’s a 2 stage system that removes 95% of fluoride, and 99.9% removal of lead, chlorine, volatile organic compounds, toxic chemicals, and heavy metals. The system also leaves essential minerals in your drinking water.

The first step is to clean out the area under the sink that you’ll be working in. We tend to keep a ton of cleaning stuff under there, so get everything out of the way so you have a place to work.

Next you’ll want to find an area to mount the filter bracket. The system comes with attached water lines so find a location that is within reach of the water lines. If you don’t have a space available, you can purchase a longer set of lines to put it elsewhere. Mount the included bracket to the side of the cabinet or wall with the included screws and a drill or screwdriver.

Connecting the Water Lines

From there, turn the valve off for the cold water line at the valve on the wall or at the nearest supply valve for that sink. If you don’t have a valve anywhere, you can shut off the water main for the house if need be. Next turn on the faucet and let the excess water drain from the line. 

From there, disconnect the outlet hose line from the valve body, but leave the other end connected to the faucet. Connect the inlet line for the filter system in its place with some thread tape and an adjustable wrench. The inlet side has a threaded female nut on it and is on the left side as you’re looking at it. If you have different sized outlet lines on your water valves, you may need to purchase an adapter to fit.  

Next, install the outlet hose to the bottom of your supply line running to the faucet. Use a pair of adjustable wrenches to make sure you get a tight seal. From there, turn the water valve back on and check the system for leaks. Once you’ve verified there are no leaks, you’re good to go and you can run 5000 gallons of water before you need to replace the stage 1 filter which should easily last at least a year in the average home. 

My wife and I have used a Brita for clean drinking water but it gets pretty annoying when someone forgets to refill it or you need more than it holds for cooking. At one point, we even had a reverse osmosis system installed. However, you could constantly hear the water running from it because in order for them to work, they waste 4-7 gallons of water per 1 gallon of consumable water they produce. As someone who is environmentally conscious, that isn’t something I’m interested in. With this new water filtration system, we’ve got on demand filtered cold water without additional waste or complex installation. 

Setting up a Smaller System

Next I’m going to show you the PURE 10k In-Line filtration system. The Pure 10k also removes 99.9% of the same contaminants while leaving essential minerals in your drinking water. This system is great for bathrooms or as an in-line filter for a refrigerator water line or similar. 

Installation is similar to the larger unit. First find a spot to mount the included mounting bracket and install it with the included screws. Next turn off the cold water supply line at the valve, turn on the faucet to drain the remaining water in the line. Then disconnect the outlet line at the valve. From there, connect the inlet line on the filter to the cold water valve and connect the other end to the water line for the faucet using thread tape and adjustable wrenches. Lastly, turn the water valve back on, check for leaks, and you’re good to go. 

This system has the capacity to filter 10,000 gallons of water before replacement so it should last a good long time in a small bathroom like this. 

You’re All Set!

So that’s it for this project! I hope it showed you how you can easily get clean drinking water for you and your family. If you’re not sure what type of water your house has, check out this post. It shows how you can easily do a DIY water test to see what potential contaminants are in your water. Then you can see if installing a water filtration system is right for you.

I want to say a quick thank you to Survivor Filter for sending over the filters you saw me install. I absolutely encourage you guys to check out their full line of water filtration systems. Not only do they have these systems for your home, but they also have outdoor and on-the-go systems. They are perfect for backpacking, camping, fishing, hunting, or any outdoor activity that has you on the move. Their in-home products are manufactured here in the United States and made to be environmentally friendly. 

If you liked this project, here are some other water related projects I’ve done. Check them out!

Upgrade a Modern Water Spigot

How to Install a Sprinkler System

How to Install a Bidet

Thanks so much for stopping by and I’ll see you next time!  

This particular faucet is a Moen Oxby widespread faucet which means the sink has 3 holes and the outer holes are more than 4” apart. The install principles will be the same with most widespread faucets. It can take a little patience, but the end product will be worth it. 

#1: Remove the Old Faucet

Once you have the proper style faucet for your sink, step #1 is to remove the old faucet (if you are replacing it with a new one). This is a newly remodeled bathroom so I don’t have an old one to remove in this case. Make sure you remove any old caulk or sealants as well as any old gaskets that may be present so you have a nice clean sink to work with. 

#2: Install the Spout and Handles

Next, install the faucet spout and stem assembly by applying some thread tape to the stem and threading it onto the spout assembly. Apply a small bead of plumbers putty around the base of the spout assembly and Insert the spout assembly into the center hole of the sink. Mount it in place with the included hardware kit and tighten it in place using the included valve socket wrench. 

Next, thread the mounting nut and mounting washer to the valve assemblies and apply a small bead of plumbers putty around the base of the upper washer. Insert the valves assemblies from the underside of the sink and secure them in place with a washer and retaining clip. Make sure the blue colored cold valve goes in the right hole and the red colored hot valve goes in the left hole. Tighten the mounting nuts from underside to tighten the valve in place.

From there, install the faucet handles by threading them onto the valve assemblies and tightening them by hand. 

Slide the lift rod into place in the hole in the backside of the faucet. Next you can start on installing the drain assembly.

#3: Starting the Drain Assembly

Unscrew the top of the drain assembly called a waste seat and apply a bead of plumbers putty around the underside before inserting it into the drain hole in the sink. Apply some thread tape onto the drain assembly and then thread it into the waste seat from the underside and tighten it down. Make sure the threaded hole that protrudes out on drain pipe is facing the back and tighten the drain nut to secure it and the gasket in place making it water tight. You should have some squeeze out of plumbers putty in the sink itself which you can simply wipe away. 

From there you can move onto attaching the lift rod and the sink plug. Add some thread tape to the hole on the backside of the drain assembly, slide the locking nut over the ball rod, and insert it into the hole. Tighten the nut as much as possible by hand. Attach the lift strap to the lift rod and the ball rod and secure it in place with the locking clamp and tighten the screw on the lift rod. You can adjust how the lift rod operates by sliding it up and down the holes on the strapping. Make sure it works for you and then move on to installing the water lines. 

#4: Finishing the Drain Assembly and Water Lines

Attach the diverter hose by snapping the ends over the valve bodies, and the faucet stem assembly. You’ll know they’re seated properly when you hear a click. 

Assemble the P trap assembly by sliding the washer and slip nut over the end of the joint elbow, and wrap the thread in thread tape. Connect the trap, and elbow by tightening the nut by hand. Add the down pipe to the drain assembly by sliding the slip nut and washer over the drain assembly, and slide the trap assembly into the drain pipe in the wall. Once you have everything aligned, tighten the slip nuts at each joint by hand before snugging them up with a pair of channel lock pliers. 

Install your water lines from the valves and connect them to the new valves on the faucet. And lastly, turn the water on at the valves, check to see that the faucet is working properly, and check the drain assembly for any leaks. If you have a small leak, try tightening the nuts further with your pliers. And that’s it, you are done with this project. 

I hope you guys enjoyed this project and I hope you learned something. Plumbing projects can take a little bit to get used to and obviously each faucet is a little different but once you get the hang of the basics, installing a new faucet is definitely something most homeowners can tackle on their own. 

As always I encourage you to leave me a comment down below and let me know what you thought of the project and what type of project you’d like to see me tackle next. If you liked this project, check out my tutorial on unclogging a bathroom sink. Thank you for stopping by, and I’ll see you next time!

In this project tutorial, I’m going to show you how I built my custom DIY concrete sink for my master bathroom, which saved me hundreds of dollars as opposed to having one custom made for me.

Materials & Tools

Depending on the size of the sink you are creating, you’ll likely need some of or all of the following materials. The sink I created is 21″ x 48″. I purchased many of the products I used in this build from Expressions LTD, and while some of the components were quite expensive, it is still a much cheaper alternative to ordering a custom sink.

Materials Required:

• Rough rock rubber edge liner (optional)
• Silicone
• Sink mold
• Mold release wax
• Rubber sink knockouts (You could save yourself some money by using foam instead)
• Denatured alcohol
• 2 pieces of 48″ rebar or wire mesh
• Crete-Lease release agent spray
• Quikrete 5000 or a similar concrete mixture
• Melamine sheets for form

Tools required:

• Concrete vibrator, sander, or sawzall (without blade) to vibrate form
• Fine-grit sandpaper (120/220 grit)
• Turbo cup wheel & Angle Grinder (optional)

Step #1: Building the Lower Form

The sink form I built is 50″ x 21 1/2″ x 2″ deep because I want a half inch overhang around the vanity top sides and front. (my finished vanity base is 48″ – the rough rock liner adds an additional 1/2″ on each side inside the form) The form is screwed together with drywall screws and then I use silicone to seal all the edges and hold the liner in place.

You can use any color silicone you like, I used black because it is easier to see against the white melamine.

In the center, attach the sink mold. Measure and trace the area where you want to attach your sink mold. Then, attach the mold to the melamine with a small bead of silicone sealer at each corner. This will help level the mold initially, then run a bead of silicone along the outside edge.

I’ve coated the mold with 3 coats of mold release wax to prevent the concrete from sticking. I also have 3 rubber sink knockouts that are siliconed in place where the fixture will go. Make sure you know what sink fixture you are going to use first so you will know where to place your knockouts and how many you will need.

Step #2: Building the Upper Form

Next, build the second part of the form on top of this base. I’m building this second part of the form separate from the base to prevent excess debris falling into the pour area. Once the second form is built, it sits on top of the first form. The box is 2″ wider than the sink mold on all sides and sloped in the front to follow the slope of the sink mold.

Clean the entire form with denatured alcohol to get rid of any excess silicone and debris. Then add a thorough coat of a release agent spray to help prevent the concrete from sticking to the edge liner and sink knockouts.

I also have 2 – 48″ pieces of 3/8″ rebar to help reinforce the vanity top. I’m placing one in front and another in back to help support any additional weight. I’ve had many comments and questions over the years saying I didn’t add enough reinforcement; however it’s been over 3 years and the sink has held up great. You can also use wire mesh throughout if you choose.

Step #3: Mixing & Pouring the Concrete

I recommend mixing and pouring the concrete in the same room/area. I made the mistake of mixing it one bucket at a time in the garage and pouring it indoors where I built the form. (Mistake) I ended up having to carry it outside later to sand it anyway.

Start by filling in the lower form with concrete. This part may seem simple, but it will be pretty labor intensive. Once you’ve filled in the lower form, vibrate it to remove any bubbles. Now, add the upper form on top of the mold and fill this area as well. Make sure that there are no small gaps or holes where the concrete might fill in, or it might cause you some headaches. (Happened to me because I had a small gap)

Once you’ve poured in all the concrete (mine took almost 3 bags of Quikrete 5000) cover the wet concrete in plastic and let it sit for 4 days before removing the forms.

Before Moving on, Watch Part 2 of the Build Here:

DIY Concrete Sink Part 2

Step #4: Refining the Sink

After the concrete has cured for about 4 days, you can now begin removing the liners and the mold. Once they are removed, go over it with some fine grit sand paper, which should help expose any remaining bug holes that will need to be filled.

Then hit it with a slurry coat, a very fine cement that helps fill the small holes and gaps created during the drying process. You can use pure portland cement for this or buy a slurry mix. Go over the surface of the sink and ensure that these holes are filled and the surface is smooth.

Use a turbo cup wheel on an angle grinder to grind down and clean up the dried concrete if you need to. Mine was a little uneven on the bottom of the sink itself so I decided to clean it up a little bit. This is a good time to deal with any balance issues or imperfections you might come across on the underside.

Lastly, add several coats of concrete sealer if you choose to. I went with a high gloss sealer from Home Depot. You can also add an acid stain to give your sink a different colored look if you choose to, but if you’re like me, you may choose to keep the raw concrete look.

Step #5: Finished Product!

And that just about does it! Check out the video to see the whole build in process and I also talk about a couple mistakes I made as well, so that you can avoid encountering the same hurdles in your project.

If you liked this project, check out some of these other DIY build projects:

DIY Cheese Cutting Board

DIY Triangle Shelves <$20

If you like this guide or find it helpful, consider subscribing to my YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/user/mrfixit

Thanks for checking out this project!