We have a little 15" "Bar Sink" in one part if the kitchen. Like the main kitchen sink, it's a late 1970's cast-iron porcelain sink. Well.....it had a drippy faucet, and the original owners of the house never repaired it. The result was that the sink got severely corroded, and looked "Nasty" per my wife.
It doesn't show very well in the picture, but there's a huge green and rust stain from the water dripping over many years.
So I thought I'd surprise the wife with a new sink.
Which means pulling the old one out, which requires you to turn off the water. AND clean out the cabinet under the sink!
Hmm.....where are the valves, or as plumbers call them, the "Stops"?
A little searching, and cleaning out another cabinet, reveals they've hidden them in the bottom back of the leftmost cabinet!
So, with the water shut off, all the hose and drain connections were undone, and the old sink pulled out. This sink had NO mounting hardware holding it in. I was adjusting the cabinet doors once, and reached up for a handhold so I could stand up. I grabbed the sink, and imagine my surprise when it slid several inches!
So with the sink removed, and 30+ years of dirt cleaned up from where it sat, I measured out and marked where the countertop would have to be cut so the new sink would fit.
It took several additional light cuts to get the clearance I needed for the sink to fit, but I'd rather make repeated light cuts than go all berserker and wind up with a hole TOO big. BTDT!
And after some fettling, the new sink slipped right in. I installed new hoses, as even though I probably could have reused the existing lines, it's a LOT easier to change them now when everything is easy to get at.
I used the supplied special mounting hardware to securely fasten the sink to the countertop, and it's in there SOLID.
And of course, what homeowner plumbing job would be complete without an additional unplanned trip to Home Depot?
I see such a trip happening tomorrow morning............
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You did it with only one trip to Home Depot? You're definitely a home improvement expert. My house is new and everything should be perfect, but it's clearly not. There are small contractor wars going on all the time here.
ReplyDeleteI bought the sink and hoses in one trip. It didn't occur to me that the drain pipe would be too short!
DeleteGood work and a smart move changing to flex hoses.
ReplyDeleteI have changed over to buying flex hoses that are long enough to put a "S" bend, or a loop in them when installed.
The price isn't much different, and the extra length makes them much easier to install.
If the job only involves one unplanned trip to either the orange or blue big store, I think I'm well ahead!
The fittings on the faucet in the old sink were the same "1/2" FIP" as the new sink, so I could have swapped the old lines on, but since I was "in there", I replaced the rigid lines with new flex.
DeleteHome Depot? I use Lowes. The restrooms are in the front of the store. Important at my age and delicate condition.
ReplyDeleteI like Lowe's, and preferred them over HD back in SoCal. I'll still go there, but HD is much closer, and I plan my arrival there so I have enough time to walk to the men's room in the back as soon as I get there.....
DeleteAgree with LL, sigh... I NEVER get away with one trip... NEVER!
ReplyDeleteI rarely get away with one trip, and this time is no different!
DeleteGood work! I try and avoid Home Depot/Lowes but I know, sometimes it has to be done.
ReplyDeleteAnd I don't know the local specialty stores for this stuff, although Ace has always been pretty good.
DeleteDid you remember after turning the water back on to close the valves a quarter turn. Old plumbers trick I learned working part time at a filling station. Years from now when you want to close the valves it gives you a little back and forth movement of the valve. Makes it easier to break loose.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip! The valves always seem to be stuck on all the jobs like this I've done, and these were no exception. I had to use a pair of Channel-Loks to break them loose to close them.
DeleteOne thing I've noticed on these "valves" is that they seem to drip a bit from where the stem comes out of the body unless they're either fully open or fully closed. If these are dry, I'll close them a tad and see if they stay dry.
Gregg, the older style stem valves often are two seat versions, designed to seal at either end of the travel, with a packing seal to control leakage while turning it. The clue is they don't weep water when you turn them to a full stop.
DeleteI suggest using 1/4 turn ball valves instead of the original style stem type.
The advantage is you can close them even if it has rust in the lines. Well, almost always. All water valves should be exercised occasionally. I recently encountered a ball valve house supply that was frozen. House built in '04, never closed.
The alternative is to try closing the city supply valve, and hope you can find the position that actually shuts it. Between the house valve, and the city valve, one of them should close, if you are lucky.
We have a city shutoff valve on the 'street' side of the meter, and then a 'homeowners' shutoff on the house side of the meter.
DeleteI haven't had to use them in this house, but needed the main shutoff at our little place back in Long Beach more times than I care to remember!
And I'd wonder about the seats and packing in the shutoffs that commonly get used. Seems they ALWAYS drip if you don't run them all the way to the on or off position.
I agree...if you have to replace the stops, get good quality ball valves!
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ReplyDeleteOne of these makes working on sinks much easier,
ReplyDeleteRidgid 57003 EZ Change Faucet Tool
Thanks for the tool tip jon! Can't have too many tools...
DeleteYep, I've had one like that for years!
DeleteI need to replace the fluid master in the downstairs toilet. Should be an easy fix, not, water has to be shut off at the street as there is no shut off at the toilet. If I could get my hands on the guy that remodeled this place before I bought it...
ReplyDeleteOUCH!
DeleteInstalling a fixture without shut-offs is really STOOPID!