That new faucet you picked out probably won't fit
You've been to the store, or you've been scrolling online, and you've found a faucet that looks right for your kitchen or bathroom. It's the right finish, the right style, maybe on sale. But before that box comes home, there's a decent chance it won't line up with the holes already in your sink or countertop. This trips up more people in Republic than you'd think, partly because of how many different eras of housing we've got here. A ranch house off Highway ZZ built in the sixties has different plumbing bones than a newer build out toward the Republic High School area, and the faucet that fits one will not necessarily fit the other.
Count your holes before you count your money
The single most common mistake is not counting the holes in the sink deck. Most kitchen sinks have three or four holes: one for the faucet body, one for a soap dispenser, one for a sprayer, sometimes one for an air gap or nothing at all. If your current faucet is a single-handle unit covering three holes with a decorative plate, and you buy a widespread faucet expecting three separate holes spread eight inches apart, you're stuck. Get down at eye level with the sink deck, or better yet, look from underneath with a flashlight, and count every hole, plugged or not.
Bathroom sinks are usually simpler, three holes spaced four inches apart on center, but older homes around here sometimes have single-hole or oddball spacing, especially if the house has had a sink swapped out once already by a previous owner who wasn't fussy about matching.
More on this from Measuring A Sink Before Buying A Replacement Faucet.
Measure center to center, not edge to edge
The spread measurement that matters is center of one outer hole to center of the other outer hole, not the distance between the inside edges or outside edges. This is where people guess wrong. A tape measure held loosely across the top of the faucet you're removing will give you a number that's close but not exact enough. Pull the old faucet if you can, or at least get a clear look at the base plate, and measure hole center to hole center directly on the sink deck itself.
Also check the mounting deck thickness. Older cast iron and enamel sinks common in homes built before the seventies around Republic tend to have a thicker lip than the stainless or composite sinks in newer construction. A faucet's mounting hardware is often sized for a standard three-quarter inch to one-and-a-half inch deck, and if your sink or countertop is unusually thick, the bolts supplied with the new faucet might not reach.
What our water and seasons do to old connections
Republic sits in a part of Missouri with harder water than a lot of people realize, and over years that mineral buildup works into the supply lines and shutoff valves under the sink. When you go to swap a faucet, those old valves and flexible supply lines are often the real obstacle, not the faucet itself. If the shutoffs haven't been touched in a decade or more, there's a real chance they won't fully close, or they'll weep once you try to turn them again. Winter makes this worse. A hard freeze snap, which we get most years even if it doesn't last long, can leave valves and fittings brittle in a way you won't notice until you put a wrench on them.
Check your shutoff valves before you buy anything. Turn them by hand. If they're stiff, corroded, or you can't remember the last time anyone touched them, budget for replacing those too, because a new faucet installed on failing valves is a leak waiting to happen.
When to measure yourself and when to call someone
Counting holes, measuring spread, and checking deck thickness are all things you can do yourself with a tape measure and a flashlight, no tools required. Write the numbers down, take a photo of the underside of the sink, and bring both with you when you shop. That alone will save you a return trip.
Where it stops being a simple weekend job is if the shutoff valves need replacing, if the sink has an unusual hole configuration that requires cutting or filling, or if the countertop material makes drilling risky, granite and quartz especially. Farmhouse sinks and undermount setups also complicate faucet swaps because the plumbing access underneath is tighter and the mounting surface is different from a standard drop-in sink. At that point it's worth having someone who does this regularly take a look before you're mid-project with the water off and a countertop you don't want to crack.