It does look tight.. I would raise it up.

not ideal , but it should work.

weigh the time / cost of going into that exterior wall to replumb with the cabinetry in place vs. the 1-3" you might like to have.

Thank you both. My contractor held it in place about where it would go and my hands were able to turn the faucet off (so to speak) but they touched where the countertop would be, just barely. In normal circumstances it wouldn't hinder anything but still...what if someone has extra big hands or...should the very ends of my fingers even graze the top of the countertop?

I'm guessing not... Another expense?! :(

The height dimension being discussed here is not the same as when you asked previously.

Last week you posted a photo with a simulation of the heights to discuss.
The faucet was at a height about level with the electrical outlets.
Today's photo is another simulation, showing a different height.
It is X inches lower than the outlets.

Here is the post from June 30th discussing your simulated situation on that day:
http://www.thathomesite.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg060533348295.html
It included a link, which is below:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/49559819@N00/4748001159/in/set-72157624195005445/

Here is a link that might be useful: Faucet, held high, last week

It looks to me like the faucet is in the same position in both posts. At first, I thought where the faucet is sitting was the proposed position, but then I saw the pipe stubs above it and figured that's were the faucet is going. I know that it's a little extra money, but if your hands graze the counter, I would pay something to raise it. Think about the number of times a day you would be reminded that the faucet was a little low....

Thanks davidro1. I probably wasn't clear enough, sorry. My husband wasn't around to take the same sort of apples-to-apples photo, so this time the faucet's just resting on the underlayment. So now the underlayment's about an inch higher than it was before, as the sink was also raised up an inch, and then there will be another inch more after the actual countertop gets put on top. In the first pic last week, my husband held the faucet up approximately to the hight of those stubs so it was easier to get a feeling of how things will be (although you still had to imagine a couple of more inches).

What I asked you to imagine last week, height-wise, hasn't changed really, insofar as the end-result (height of the finished countertop) will still be the standard 36". Only difference this week is that the sink's been raised an inch and the underlayment's been raised to match it. I.e. last week we were still planning on a thicker countertop; this week, the plan is that the countertop will be thinner while the sink's been raised an inch higher. My apologies if I'm being overly-thorough or redundant...I'm sleepy!

Vickimp - yes to the same position in both posts (or that it will be, if I make no changes there). You're right. Waaaaa... I'm REALLY BAD at this! I keep having him do little changes (e.g. raising the sink and underlayment an inch). I'm such a novice! I'm finally getting really burned out from not having a kitchen (or not having a sink, faucet or countertop, to be specific)...I want this to be over with. I know a lot of people on this forum probably feel the same way (about their own kitchens, and yes - about mine! Hahaha)!

Can you flip the handles 180 degrees so that they point up when on rather than down?

I think the location of pipes (in wall) is OK and doesn't need to be raised.

If you take a photo head-on, and post it, then people can see handle length and height available. I think it will pass.

In both photos so far we have a side view.

I was thinking the same thing weedmeister suggested, or close. I was thinking straight up could be off, then 45 degrees to the side would be all the way on. It seems you'd have enough room then. But I admit it changes the look of the faucet.

Try flipping the handles straight up to see if you like the look, and have your DH hold the faucet up to the pipes to see how it feels. (Put a cutting board or something on the underlayment to similate the height of the finished counter.)

If you don't like the look of the handles straight up, you could make that the full on position, so that most of the time the handles will be off to the sides in the off position.

Finally, it's hard to tell from the picture, but in the early one with your DH holding the faucet, it looks like the handles would hang out over the sink anyway, rather than the counter. That might change once the faucet is installed, but if you can simulate exactly where the faucet will go and the finished height of the counter, you'll get a better idea of how it feels.

If you just can't stand it, now is the time to make the change before the walls are finished!

Theresse, what if you switched out the lever handles with the metal wheels that are available with that faucet? I realize it would change the look of the faucet and might not be as practical to use (no turning on the water with your wrists when your hands are all gunky), but it might help with the clearance issue.

Here's the answer I gave you on another forum a week ago:

Re: Please help! Is sink too low & wall faucet too high?!

Postby Sombreuil_Mongrel on Wed Jun 30, 2010 6:47 pm
Some people "upmount" apron sinks so the rim sits somewhat above the countertop cutout. The CT fabricator would hate it b/c the cut has to be 100% perfect. I wouldn't like it because I couldn't sweep stuff right into the sink; but if it means breaking your back day in and day out?
My apron sink is at 34.5" and the soapstone's 1 1/4" thick. I'm used to it by now, they are all deeper than the regular sinks we are accustomed to. Some folks use a sink grid to effectively raise the height a little.
Now about the faucet; the "test nipples" are removed and then it sits back about 3" more than in the picture, right? If that is the case then it's just fine, any lower and the handles are in conflict with the countertop. \\end quote

See what I wrote in the final sentence? "any lower and the handles are in conflict..."
I told you so!
That felt good.
Unless you let sleeping dogs lie, you may open up a whole box of Pandoras.
You are singlehandedly going to give your plumber his most profitable quarter in 2 years.
Casey

Theresse,

Don't be embarrassed! Of course we inexperienced folks often can't know how all these details will play out until we actually see and feel them. If it makes you feel better, here is my faucet screw up: the original (decades old) plumbing location in the wall seemed too low to me. So I asked for it to be raised. It was raised. Then I decided it was raised too much (and that the cabinets were too high). So then the plumbing had to be lowered (though still higher than the original position). There! See? Worse than you! (In fact, I have a vague memory that it was actually moved a THIRD time, but my brain is foggy on why that happened...)

I can't quite tell from the photos, but the handles look awfully low. If you can't change the orientation of the handles, I would raise it. You also want to be able to wipe under the faucet easily without banging your hands. A few hundred bucks isn't much in the grand scheme of things, right? And you use the faucet about a bazillion times a day.

[What method did you decide to use to raise the sink? I was wondering what you would decide.]

:-)

francy

Key words "hornbeam ivy steam valve wall" to get Model 1012 Wall Mount Bridge Mixer 10" Pull Off Spray, you can see the handles are small. They fit the space.

The only form of Pandora's box opened here is the neverending chatter based on seeing the two images.

Ok...

Davidro1 - Sorry dude for the neverending chatter. And I gave you all crappy and confusing pics to look at, so apologies again! When I get the chance, I"ll give you a much better pic, e.g. of some books set to actual counter height, right under the levers, while levers are pointed in the down position, and while faucet is being held flush against the wall and while pic is taken from the front. Of course you're sick of the issue either way (!) but I'll post it anyway just for a little clarity.

I agree that it could "pass." The issue I have is that when one's hand turns the levers in the down position, the edge of the pink grazes the countertop. No big deal, unless one has big hands, I'm guessing. But the second factor is that regardless of the fact that most hands can turn the faucet off without a problem (perhaps Rachmaninoff's hands would have gotten pinched - haha), by the time the countertop goes in, the faucet will just visually appear on the unnecessarily low side, I'm guessing. While I could be wrong, the two factors combined lead me to believe that for all the money I spent on this faucet and the kitchen in general, I should just get it right and not be left slightly annoyed by it.

Weedmeister and chicagoans - thank you both for that suggestion. I'd considered it myself, but then realized I like the form and function to be more traditional (horizontal is off, pointed down is on). Indeed, once the faucet's installed, it will sit back over the back part of the countertop, not over the sink. It may be that a little bit of it's over the sink but not much if any.

Tresgirls - that's a great suggestion! I really like the look of the levers and the fact that you could turn off the water using the back of your hand if they were covered in something icky like raw hamburger meat (yuck!) so I have to rule that one out. I do love those wheels too though...uber cool IMO.

Casey, um, thank you?! Having a hard time understanding what you're saying sarcasm aside (or humor aside?). You know that the counter you see in both pics is just underlayment right? When you wrote that any lower and the handles would be in conflict w/ the countertop, I agree in either case, though the faucet/nipples were never going to be lower. If you meant that were I to raise the actual countertop itself higher than the standard 36", then yes I would definitely agree with you now more than ever. Regardless, the conflict seems to be there regardless of the levers not actually hitting the countertop itself, because of how one's pinky still grazes the counter (though granted average-sized hands won't get pinched) and also because it looks awkwardly low I think (or will especially after the actual countertop's installed). I hope that made sense...it's all a bit confusing at this point, for which I suppose I am to blame. Wow - such proper English on my part! :-o

Francy - thanks for making me feel better! ;) I actually lol'd! I wish I could have a sort of time-lapsed video of you edited down to just the clips in which you change your mind each time and explain to your contractors what you want - that would be a hoot! And to cut to their faces as you told them...that would be funny too! I agree w/ everything you said, from handles looking low to needing to wipe under the faucet to the grand scheme of things. Also I wanted to tell you that yes I had the sink raised an inch and then the underlayment raised to match, but my solution was to have the countertop (not yet installed) be only 1" high so that made it all even out in the end (will make it 36" high total and therefor won't have countertop appliance-fitting issues under the upper cabs). I feel much better about it and that silly little inch really makes a difference when leaning over, it seems!

The other reason the handles look so low is that the faucet is so extremely high.

Thanks everyone!!