Turning sink faucet shutoff valves on or off can be difficult, since the valves are often hard to reach in the back of a kitchen cabinet or bathroom vanity. This homemade extension handle – made from 1¼” diameter, schedule 40, PVC pipe – will make your plumbing jobs a little easier.

To make the shutoff valve extension handle:

  • Notch PVC Pipe: Cut two 1” wide by 1/2” deep notches in the end of the PVC pipe with a jigsaw, so the pipe fits over the handles of the shutoff valves.
  • Cut PVC Pipe: Cut the PVC pipe to length, so you can store it in the sink cabinet for easy access.

Watch the video above to find out more.

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Joe Truini: Whether or not you’re planning on doing your own plumbing projects, every homeowner should know where the shutoff valves are under the sink. In this case, we have a kitchen sink which is pretty typical, it’s full of clutter, and the valves are buried in the back. Now in this case, they’re really inaccessible because the garbage disposer is blocking one valve and the trap is blocking the other one.

But all you need to do to make it easier to turn the valves on and off, is make a tool out of the length of a PVC pipe. This is one-and-a-quarter-inch diameter, schedule 40, PVC pipe, and at one end I cut a notch using a jigsaw. It’s about one inch wide, and it’s just the right size to fit over the valve handle. You can slip it over the valve handle and now from right outside the cabinet, you can very easily shut the valve off or open it up. And if you cut the pipe to the right length you can even store it right inside the cabinet, so, it’s always there when you need it.


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avatar for Joe Truini

Joe Truini

Radio Show Co-Host

Joe Truini is a contractor, author, and the host of “Simple Solutions” on Today’s Homeowner TV and the weekly Today’s Homeowner radio show. He has worked on both large commercial projects and residential remodeling, and has written for national publications such as This Old House and Popular Mechanics. He has also written eight books, including three best-selling shed-building books. Joe lives in Connecticut with his family and enjoys hiking, traveling, and baseball in his spare time.

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