Attached is the bottom view of my kitchen countertop, where the faucet is installed.

I can see little bits of wood falling on the floor every morning, and when I touch the area on the countertop board from beneath, around the faucet, some bits of wood would fall as well, although the area has always been dry. I have been monitoring it every morning, and only two times in the past two months had I seen very little bits of water drips on the floor below the faucet, so I am not seeing any leaks.

My plumber says that the whole countertop needs to be replaced because the wood has deteriorated due to water leaks from the faucet (although there's no sign of leaks now), but since he doesn't do countertop he will just replace my faucet for now.

My questions are:
1) Is there any way to reinforce the area around the faucet on the countertop board without replacing the whole board?
2) If the faucet leaks, wouldn't it leak everyday instead of once in a while (2 times in the past 2 months)?
3) Since the area around the faucet is already old and wooden bits are falling when I touch it, wouldn't replacing the faucet make things worse (would the screwing cause the area of the countertop board to fall apart)?

Many thanks for your help!

First please reduce the size of you picture. It makes reading you post difficult .
Next show picture of sink and faucet. Faucet should be mounted to sink not counter top.

Sorry can't figure out how to reduce the already posted picture.

Attached is a picture of my sink and faucet. Yes the faucet is mounted to my sink, and the sink is mounted on the countertop. Sorry about the confusion.

Thanks.

Arg, just realized that the new picture is big as well (although I did reduce the size), but I wasn't able to view it before I hit submit, and now I can't edit the picture. Apologies.

Before you do any thing you need to fix the leak, the faucet is mounted on top of the sink, you have to remove the faucet clean the bottom of the sink and the top clean every thing install the faucet use a gasket or plumber putty, good luck.

John

I of course can not be certain by looking at a picture, but I would say that the water that is deteriorating the counter top is leaking down between the faucet and the sink. I can see that the gasket between the faucet and the sink is not properly installed.
I can say with certainly that the sink was not properly installed. The hole for the sink should have been cut large enough such that the faucet could be mounted to the sink with out passing through the counter top material.

My suggestion would be to remove the faucet. That is a relatively simple task. Turn off the water. Disconnect the supply lines from the faucet. That will be the most difficult part, but easy if you have a set of tub faucet wrenches. Remove the plastic nuts holding the faucet in place. Remove the faucet. Chip away all the deteriorated particle board material around the holes that the faucet now passes through. Enlarge the holes enough so that the plastic mounting nuts will pass through them.

Reinstall the faucet.
Now here comes the hard part. The gasket that seals between the faucet and the sink is probably distorted.. If you know the brand and model number of the faucet you may be able to purchase a new gasket. Otherwise you may be able to find some kind soft plastic or rubber material to make a new one. When reinstalling the faucet, put bead of plumber's putty around each hole in the sink, to act as a dam should water get between the faucet and the sink.

When remounting faucet, screw the plastic mounting nuts up against the sink as they should have been the first time.
Deterioration of the counter top material (the particle board) should stop once the leak has stopped.

In the meantime, keep the back of the sink where the faucet is mounted, dry.

Hello Jilj,

I am with Harold follow his instructions you will need a new gasket if you remove the faucet and take to home depot or Lowe's they will help to find the gasket or will show the gasket material, if you tell us brand and the model number we be able to tell you who to call for the gasket, also please open the link below will show how to remove and install a faucet, good luck.

John

How to Replace a Kitchen Faucet | PlanItDIY

Thanks a lot everyone. I think I will replace both the faucet and the gasket, in case the faucet is faulty as well. I suppose the sales rep at Home Depot could point me to the right gasket if I purchase a new faucet.

One thing I don't understand is, if there is a leak, shouldn't it be leaking all the times? The area around the gasket is dry, and I've only seen very little water drips on the floor below the sink twice over the past 2 months (I have been checking every day). Thanks again.

It is my opinion that the water that caused the damage to the counter top was water that accumulates on the back of the sink apron during normal use. Because the gasket between faucet escutcheon and the sink top was not properly installed that water was able to run under the faucet. From there it ran down through the mounting holes in the sink apron and deteriorated the counter top material.
The problem now is not the deteriorated counter top material. All of that material should have been cut away when the sink was originally installed. What you need now is a gasket to seal between the faucet escutcheon.
If you replace the faucet it will of course come with a new gasket.

The water damaged material around the holes should be removed so that the mounting nuts can be tighten up against the underside of the sink apron. As you indicated in your first post, that material is damaged and is falling away.

Certainly it is your choice as to whether you try to find a new gasket or you replace the faucet. I see that you have what I think, is some kind of spray attached faucet aerator. A popular choice in kitchen faucets today is the ones with a pull out spout/sprayer.

Your installer should be able to remove the damaged material and enlarge the holes with hole saw. A hole saw is an attachment you put in a drill and make a large hole.

Faucets do not all mount the same way. If you chose a single lever faucet with a pull out spout/spray it will probably mount using the center hole only. That hole is currently unused but the material around it is also damaged and unstable. It should be drilled out such that the mounting nut or ring can be properly tightened up against the bottom of the sink apron.

To put it more succinctly, have plumber install new faucet but tell him to drill out any holes he uses such that the faucet is mounted to the sink apron only and not through the counter top.

Drilling out the holes is not difficult but is not something you would normally have to do when replacing a kitchen faucet. So get his price first. Don't wait until he has finished and you have to pay his price no matter what he charges.
I would probably charge $30-40 more than normal installation.

You should not have to do any counter top repair or replacement.

No, you would not have seen much water in the cabinet below. Most of it would have been absorbed by the particle board material that the counter top is made of. If the faucet itself were leaking the damage would have been a lot worse.

Hello jljl,

Please tell us the Brand and the name of your faucet you may get a new one for free if it is a Moen or Delta I will tell you how, Thanks.


John

Thanks so much hkstroud. I will make sure I ask the plumber to do that.

John, yes it's a moen faucet, but I can't figure out how to find its model number. I searched on the Moen website and apparently it's an old model so I couldn't find one that looks like mine. If they don't carry it anymore I don't think they can replace it. Thanks.

Call Moen and describe the faucet. They can probably figure out the model close enough to provide you with a new gasket. Also ask for "O" rings for the spout. That is the only place the faucet could leak, just in case I am wrong about where the water is coming from.
Know a reasonably competent handy man? This is not a high tech job.

I know this an old faucet but still they will to send you a different faucet if you get hold of Moen Tech support you can send him a picture of your faucet and tell him that the base is warped and this is why it is leaking if your faucet doesn't exist they will still send you a replacement, I just talked to them last month on behalf of my friend with an old faucet they sent him a new one, the only thing they will ask you that are you the original owner of the house and when this faucet was installed very simple, good luck.

John

JljI, l would take this repair job one step further, and remove the sink from the counter top. With the sink out of the way, it will be much easier to correctly cut the counter top; the top is usually cut 1/2" smaller then the outside rim of the sink. The seal between the sink rim and countertop is important; it is not unusual for water to splash on the counter behind the faucet, and occasionly finding its way under the sink rim. The uninstalled sink rim can be cleaned, the faucet can be installed ( I use saw horses for an on site work bench ), and, you should check, and clean the countertop before laying a bead of caulk or putty on the edge of the cutout prior to re - installing the sink............

And, when I install a faucet, I lay a ring of putty around the mounting holes, or sometimes, I'll even fill the entire cavity of the escutcheon with putty. There are instances where the base gasket supplied with the faucet does not couple correctly with the sink top, and, the putty will provide extra insurance against a leak...

Thanks again for the suggestions everyone. Really appreciate it!

I just got another plumber to look at it. He says that he will remove the sink, chip away the deteriorated particle board material, put some materials on, and install a new faucet for me, but he won't enlarge the holes (to allow the plastic mounting nuts pass through them). He just says that he doesn't do that.

So, is there a (big) possibility that I will get leaks again in the future if he doesn't enlarge the holes, after the new faucet is installed (since a new faucet would come with a new gasket I suppose)? A couple of friends have tried this plumber and recommend him so I don't feel comfortable getting someone I don't know to do the repair.

I just checked the Moen website and realized that they need the receipt (http://www.moen.ca/consumer-support/warranty). The faucet was already installed when I moved it so I don't have the receipt. I will still give them a call to see what they say. Maybe they will still honor my request :)

Thanks again!

The reason for drilling out the holes in the counter top is just to remove the damage material. Just cut out the damaged material, no reason to replace.

The reason the damage occurred is because the gasket under the faucet escutcheon was not properly installed and water on the sink apron leaked down to the counter top.

Moen does not require a receipt. All you have to do is say that you are the original purchaser.

Thanks again hkstroud for your help!

My question is resolved (Can't figure out how to mark it as resolved... it doesn't let me mark answers as helpful either). Cheers.

Hello jljl,

Let me tell you some thing Moen will not ask for the receipt just call the number and talk to the tech support and tell them that you are the original owner of the house and the faucet was installed when you move in to the house I am very sure they will help you just give them a call you are not losing any thing, I have very good experience with them they are the best, good luck.

John

Thanks John. I will call them tomorrow. You are right, the worst they can say is no, nothing to lose :)