Start the Faucet's Seating Nut From Above the Counter, Not Under the Sink

The Problem

Swapping a kitchen faucet means the worst working position in the house: on your back in the sink cabinet, arms overhead, trying to start a mounting nut you can barely see onto a threaded shank. Most of the misery is that first engagement — getting the nut up there and started blind.

The Technique

The mounting hardware on many kitchen faucets is a half-moon shaped seating nut — and that half-moon shape is narrow enough to pass through the faucet hole in the counter. So you never have to start it from underneath:

1. Put the seating nut on the faucet assembly at the bench, where you can see what you're doing.
2. Lower the whole assembly — faucet and nut together — down through the deck hole. The half-moon profile clears the hole that a round nut couldn't.
3. From below, all that's left is bringing the nut up against the underside of the counter and tightening it. The threads are already engaged, so the under-cabinet work is a final snugging instead of a blind wrestling match.

Watch the video for the exact sequence — the trick is quick, and seeing the nut pass through the hole makes it click.