KnitKnacks

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December 07, 2005

Out with the old...

..in with the new...eventually.

Monday I bought a new faucet for the upstairs bathroom since the one that had been there for the last 30 years decided to seize in place. Fortunately, the cold water was in the off position.

Monday afternoon, I started to remove the old faucet. Think real carefully which way to turn the shut off valve when you have supply lines off and there is ever so slightly still a drip. At least keep your face out of the way when you turn it the wrong way.

Then I Googled how to remove an old faucet...things were already going pretty badly. I think it figured it had a right to stay after 30 years and it just was not going to go peacefully. If I had had some clue how it went on, I think it would have been easier to persist in trying to take it off the way I thought it should.

Tuesday morning I returned to hardware store and bought Basin wrench tool and even thought to buy new water supply lines since the things I took out were not all that great. I was armed and ready now. It was slow going, frustrating with some parts being very stubborn and not very obvious how they got installed in the first place. I would work on it, leave it for a while, go back up and try another approach, drag more of an arsenal of tools and destruction equipment upstairs. Wondered how much a whole new sink was going to cost plus plumber if I broke said sink.

Wednesday Morning found me once again attemtping to remove parts of old faucet. I had the handles off but that pesky spout and drain plug pull thing were still in place and those seemed to be blocking the rest of the thing from coming out. Brute force works on some things when you really know you aren't going to use them again AND it helps figure out how to remove them. Voila!

So, it took 2 and a half days of frustration and nashing of teeth to take out the old faucet and 1 hour to install the new faucet..and that included another trip to the hardware store to get the correct water supply lines. *I* don't know how I missed the fact there were two different size couplers on each end the first time. Why does any project, no matter what it is, always involve three trips to the hardware store?

The new faucet works properly, there are no leaks as yet. The wastebasket remains in place under it all Just in case; we all know how I feel about water where it doesn't belong.

Ok, I could stop right now and bask in my glory but I know it's still not quite perfect up there. The drain pull isn't connected. The new one won't fit the remains of the old one and right now there is no way I'm going to mess with those drain pipes under the sink. If I thought the faucet fixtures were in rough shape, you should see the drain pipe...I won't be touching that baby anytime soon. Now if you come to visit and you want the water to stay in the sink..well just reach under there and pull the little metal stick down yourself.

You really don't need the water to stay in the sink anyway, do you? Right, I didn't think so. Be happy you have hot and cold water again.

...and THAT is where I have been and what I have been doing this week. Maybe tomorrow I'll find something else exciting to do like replace that pesky flapper in the toilet. I bought one of those flappers while I was at the hardware store..always thinking ahead, I am!

Nighty night all.

Posted by frani at December 7, 2005 05:54 PM

Comments

Hehehe, you create such a great visual.

And yes, we know how much you like wet where it doesn't belong. snort!

Posted by: Cori at December 8, 2005 09:46 PM

HEHEHEHE
I THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING TO SAY THAT YOU BROKE THE SINK.....TOM WOULD HAVE COME UP TO HELP YOU.

OH GOOD HOT AND COLD RUNNING WARER IN THE GUEST BATH.....WOO HOO!!!! :-)

Posted by: Risa at December 9, 2005 09:06 AM

Impressed I am. I would still be standing in front of the sink, pieces of faucet in my hands, looking and feeling completely lost :)

Posted by: bunnybeth at December 17, 2005 02:55 PM

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