DIY Plumbers: spare some advice for a plumbing n00b?

[Sibling Lambicus the Toluous]

Two questions for the handypeople!

1. I'm planning on replacing my kitchen faucet.  I've never done this before.  The instructions that came with the new one look fairly straightforward, but does anyone know of any "gotchas" that I should look out for?

2.  The builders of my house didn't bother to put shutoffs in for the kitchen faucet.  Is it difficult to put shutoffs like this in without soldering pipe (I've never soldered pipe before, so a non-solder alternative is best for me), or is it not worth the bother?

Any guidance would be helpful.

[Sibling Chatty]

Since Chatty knows nothing about plumbing, this is Dan answering.

No real gotchas on the faucet replacement, just use Teflon tape and check for leaks.

As for the lack of shut offs, what material for the pipes (i.e. copper, iron, PVC or CPVC)?

[Griffin NoName]

If Bustlin Brian gives ye any 'ints, Oi begs ye ter ignore em !!! 

[The Meromorph]

Soldering (or rather 'sweating') is actually the easiest and simplest way. But if you've never done it before, and don't have the equipment, don't try it in the cramped space you have available.
IMO, it's close to criminal not to have put in shutoff valves for faucets (In many parts of the US it is criminal).
You'll have to shut off the water at the 'mains'. DO put in your own shut-offs.
Talk to your hardware supplier to see what is available to you (Probably compression fittings - They're relatively simple and reliable). You will need a proper 'pipe-cutter', your hardware store should have a 'mini' one, (about $4 in the US) which is exactly what you need. It's the only way to cleanly cut a copper pipe, and it's easy to use (just be patient  )
You'll also need a connector pipe for each faucet supply. Try very hard to get the (slightly more expensive but completely worth it) modern armored pvc flexible connection, they just screw on with your fingers and are about foolproof. (Stainless steel braided connectors are just as good, just more expensive.) Under no circumstances go with the 'real' plumbers standard hard copper connectors; a pro plumber can twiddle his hands without looking and they'll fit perfectly, an amateur plumber will struggle for an hour or more, and may never get it right.
HTH.

[Sibling Lambicus the Toluous]

Whoops - turns out I do have shutoffs - they were just much lower than I figured they'd be, and were therefore hidden by a large pile of grocery bags.

Thanks for the advice, all.

[Sibling Chatty]

YAY!!

Shutoffs are GOOD.

It was NOT fun installing them in this house. Dan installed, I held flashlights and handed things in.

Good luck with the installation.

[beagle]

The copper pipe fittings with built in rings of solder always work fine for me. As long as the pipe end is cleaned with wire wool and you heat it reasonably evenly capillary action does the rest. Bending copper pipe without kinking it I've always found more of a challenge.

The number one gotcha is automatically emptying the contents of the U-trap you've just taken out from under the sink, in the sink.

[Griffin NoName]

A friend of mine is just installing his own kitchen and is using bendy pipes. Are these any good?  Or are they as bad as bendy buses?

[The Meromorph]

Is this the spiral-looking bendy copper? Several plumbers and techs have warned me against that stuff.
If you just mean the flexible couplings from shutoffs to faucets and appliances, they're the best.

[Griffin NoName]

I don't know which I mean !

It was his plumber that told him to use them. I think his plumber did the shutoffs so maybe it is the second.

[Sibling Lambicus the Toluous]

Update:

I put the faucet in over the weekend.  Everything works great.  Thanks, all.

Once I got all the plastic bags out from under the sink, I saw that the shutoff was just for the dishwasher, not the faucet.   I got a couple at the store and put them in no problem.

I did everything with compression fittings, and nothing leaks.  I got a bit nervous when I first started cutting into pipe (since if I mucked up, the house wouldn't have water until I fixed the problem), but there weren't any problems at all.

Now the counter doesn't get sprayed when we wash the dishes!

[Griffin NoName]

Alls well that ends well !

[Black Bart]

Next time I need a plumber I know who to contact.   Are you cheaper than British Gas?

[beagle]

Last time I called British Gas out they were so busy they'd contracted out the service call to a bloke who turned up in a £40,000 Range Rover. If only I'd paid attention during metalwork at school...

[Griffin NoName]

I've always assumed British Gas suffer from the antanaclasisity of the English language.

whatever happened to the LPWB?

[beagle]

Yer what? Google denies all knowledge of that one.

FX:Outraged
She made it up !
/FX:Outraged

[Griffin NoName]

Antanaclasis

Benjamin Franklin knew all about it. I just turned it into a none-noun form.

[beagle]

What ever happened to Qwerty's "Word of the day"? That's one for him to drop in to the conversation at the water cooler. As long as he's carrying his baseball bat.