Thursday, April 2, 2015

I Have a New Bathroom Sink!


     I have posted about my limited handyman skills before. Some comments have been made in a kindly fashion that I should just hire a tradesman who is trained for the job. I'm a slow learner. The next thing that comes along I dive into and have another challenging adventure.

    The bathroom sink has looked ugly for some time. Underneath there was a tremendous amount of rust. However, it wasn't leaking so why change it.? 

    Well, in mid January it began leaking. I cleaned out the vanity and placed a tray to catch any drips. I could still use the sink. I wanted a sink exactly like the one I had so that I would not have to saw a new hole in the vanity. I also didn't want to get a new vanity.

    It was difficult to find a new sink. I don't know how many salesmen wanted to sell me an oval sink when I had to have a round sink. Finally, we found a sink but it had to be ordered and it would take 6 weeks. Okay, I can handle that.

    After seven weeks the sink arrived and I looked things over and carefully planned how this procedure would take place. Now I do know that all kinds of surprises can pop up after you get started. 

     First , take out the old sink. I turned the water off at the shut off valves. First I decided to take off the metal ring that went around the old sink. Well, wouldn't you know it, after a half an hour and a big mess that little ring didn't come out first. 


    So back to the first plan...take off the faucet. So I'm working upside down a way up behind the sink where I can't see and  I discover I turned the nut the wrong way and wrecked the faucet. So now I have to shop for a faucet. Shopping for  faucet wasn't as bad as shopping for the sink. While I shopped for a faucet, I removed the rest of the sink. The faucet I wrecked was 26 years old.

So back to the project.  I checked that the new sink and drain would line up.


    Now I also decided to change the trap. A whiz guy in plumbing wouldn't sell me just a trap and wanted to sell me more trouble. I finally found a trap and the proper fittings. I attached the new drain to the sink. There was a seal to put around the edge of the sink. My trusty assistant thought it would be better if part of the seal was taken off first. Big mistake. The part she took off was to keep the ring in place as I installed it. Six hours later I finally got the seal in place. There was some loud talking and a few bad words exchanged.



    Now the pipe from a faucet never lines up with the water intake tube. It has to be manhandled. I'm reluctant to put too much force on something so it took some time to get the faucet connected to the water. 

    Finally, everything was done. Turn the water back on. Hey, there are no leaks! That was a big surprise!


    So after two months, lots of sweating, some yelling and swearing, I have a shiny new bathroom sink.

     I think I'll wear out before I have to replace this new sink!

    

40 comments:

  1. Looks to me like you really did a professional job. Well done.

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    1. Well, if it works it's got to be done properly.

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  2. It looks great! See you are a handy man after all! :)

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    1. Thanks. Handyman is a complete misuse of the word.

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  3. Looks good. A job well done.

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    1. Thanks. As a plumber said to me it's a simple concept. It's all about moving water.

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  4. Looks good to me! You're quite project manager :)

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    1. Thanks. It's really out of my league but I hate tradespeople so much I do things myself.

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  5. Art has been there, done that many times. Luckily he's got lots of friends and family to give good advice (most of the time). Congratulations! I'm so proud for you. It looks like a work of art. Yae!

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    1. Thanks. Yes , a good crew of advisors goes a long way.

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  6. My compliments for your excellent work. It looks great. My husband knows everything by head and from the books, but he is not a handyman, so fortunately we hire a handyman for things like this now.

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    1. Thanks. I find that the trades leave me with a mess and usually wreck something else.

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  7. Nice job, Red. I am impressed. And you saved yourself a bunch of money, even if you did spend more time at it than HE would have. :-)

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    1. Thanks. Trades guys leave you with a nasty clean up.

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  8. Good job! I would love to have one of those new farmhouse sinks, but my whole kitchen would have to be remodeled. Not happening! Have a wonderful Easter holiday!

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    1. I need some things in my kitchen too but it would need new cabinets. I really need a new oven but you can't buy anything that fits the hole.

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  9. Hi Red, Nice work there! Definitely looks like a professional did it. Hey, when you mentioned your assistant were you talking about the Micro Manager? :-) My M M makes recommendations like that too. Well, now that you've got that taken care of, what's next? Have a fine weekend Red.

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    1. Thanks. where would we be without the MMs? I hate to think what might be next.

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  10. oh, you're a much more daring soul than i. i'd have called someone. in a heartbeat. paid dearly with money instead of toil and swear words. :)

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    1. The trades guys don't make it easy for you either. they leave a mess and break some other stuff for you.

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  11. Sweating, yelling and swearing...the three most important elements to getting the job done :)

    All joking aside, it looks great. You certainly did a fine job.

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    1. Thanks. I'm sure i'm not the only one who uses these three common elements.

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  12. With the knowledge of hindsight on your side, would you do it again or hire a contractor?


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    1. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I'm just a stubborn old coot!

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  13. Looks good Red. I used to do all my own plumbing years ago but I am about to change my kitchen sink (which I plumbed in when I installed the new kitchen 20 years ago) and I've already decided to get a professional to do it. Life's too short and I need the time to do other things!

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    1. The physical ability catches up to us sooner or later.

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  14. Glad that it worked out for you. Job well done and something I would never tackle.

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    1. Thankyou. Yes, this isn't for everybody and sometimes not for me.

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  15. A job well done. I used to do remodel when I taught but do little today. I think it is all the swearing.LOL

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    1. Thanks. There comes a time when it's wise to retire.

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  16. I am impressed Red and have taken note, bookmarking this post. We have a couple of sinks we need replacing also.

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  17. A terrible job, working under the sink, but well done on the finished result.

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  18. My husband has always been a handyman Red and he does quite well but even he encounters steps he has to rethink. I think the main thing is that you were persistent and patient at working things out and can be proud of a job well done. It looks very nice.

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  19. I admire you for tackling such a job, Most people would have just paid a plumber. The new sink looks great! Oh, and I love that line in your last post about knowing you are getting old when your kids are wearing bifocals. : )

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  20. WOW, the finished product looks really nice. Excellent job. Yep, words can fly and tempers raise when doing jobs like that. And it seems to me, that most of the people you would hire for a job like this leave quite a mess. Happy Easter to you n Micro, eh.

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  21. It looks good! I would have to hire someone to do that- I'm not very handy.

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  22. The finished product looks great, and, most importantly does not leak! What's a few bad words if they lead to success?

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  23. How wonderful! I would be so proud if I had done this!

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  24. Red you did an excellent job even through all your choice of words. Do you think it helped Red?

    For you it did. Ha-ha.

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