Home Repairs - EXTREME Live Swamping Edition

rass · Post by **rass** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 8:01 am

Kitchen faucet.

I had to replace the cartridge back in the Spring(?). It was so difficult to get the old one out, between rust and hard water residue, that everything didn't go back together quite right. Very loose. I'm also willing to admit culpability in that.

Anyway, it finally started to give way for real yesterday, so it figure it's time to replace the entire faucet. I get under the sink and coupling nut for the spray hose line (right in the middle below) is just flat out rusted to the faucet stem and perhaps the sink basin, too.

I tried WD40-ing it, but the basin is in the way and I really can't get to it with a wrench. I don't have a basin wrench. So, should I try getting one, even though it may not help, or instead remove the entire basin, free the nut, replace the faucet, and then reinstall the basin?

I took the day off to handle this. I'll let you know how it goes, raw and uncut. Running subplot will be that I need to turn off the water in the house, and I had bran flakes for breakfast and still need to have my coffee.

Step 1: walk the dog

Be right back. I may run to Lowes if the consensus is hat I just give that a try....

Brontoburglar · Post by **Brontoburglar** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 8:06 am

I just bought a framed print of your sink from Photobucket

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 8:10 am

I did this at the last place and needed a basin wrench. Its a very shitty and unfun job and I don't think you'll be able to properly tighten the faucet solo.

rass · Post by **rass** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 8:19 am

mister d wrote:I did this at the last place and needed a basin wrench. Its a very shitty and unfun job and I don't think you'll be able to properly tighten the faucet solo.

I was able to get the hot and cold lines off (and back on). Though, I guess I never turned the water lines back on for the sink, did I... I'll give a shot.

New plan: make coffee, take it to Lowes, buy basin wrench, hopefully clear my morning shit when I get back before the water goes off.

Pruitt · Post by **Pruitt** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 8:23 am

Good luck.

I could use some advice - hanging a heavy mirror on drywall. Any advice/experiences to share?

Post by **Sabo** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 8:26 am

Pruitt wrote:Good luck.

I could use some advice - hanging a heavy mirror on drywall. Any advice/experiences to share?

Buy toggle bolts and use them instead of drywall anchors.

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/video/0 ... 05,00.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

rass · Post by **rass** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 9:05 am

$25 poorer, I'm back. I had the checkout lady at Lowes with the worst drawn on eyebrows ever:

I've seen her before, she apparently gets up every morning and decides yeah, I'm scribbling these on again! And she's young! I don't get it. Tattoos?

About to crawl under the sink. How do plumbers work into their 50s and beyond? I'm struggling with a bit of a cold, but laying on the floor and propping yourself up in odd positions to exert yourself is like hard.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 9:10 am

Shit like this is why there are professionals rather than everyone learning how to do it for those 2-3 times in their life it'll come up.

rass · Post by **rass** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 9:13 am

As mentioned last week in the general Home Repairs thread, I'm secure enough to realize that.

This just (A) seems like it shouldn't be too bad and (B) seems like such a small job that finding someone reputable to come and take our money to do it for us might not be easy.

rass · Post by **rass** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 9:19 am

Water is going off...

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 9:20 am

Don't get rust in your eye.

rass · Post by **rass** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 9:30 am

Holy shit it worked!!!

And goggles, yeah.

BSF21 · Post by **BSF21** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 9:30 am

rass wrote:Water is going off...

Open up another faucet in the house to make sure as much of the water is out of the system as possible.

rass · Post by **rass** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 9:33 am

BSF21 wrote:
rass wrote:Water is going off...
Open up another faucet in the house to make sure as much of the water is out of the system as possible.

Yeah, I forgot to do that yesterday.

And to be honest, I almost forgot to turn the water off at all this morning, because I posted that from the toilet and walked by the valve, upstairs to the sink before I realized what I had (not) done.

rass · Post by **rass** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 9:37 am

rass · Post by **rass** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 9:37 am

Gonna tie that shit to my hood.

rass · Post by **rass** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 9:53 am

OK, speedbump.

I bought a three hole faucet assuming I could reuse/connect my existing spray hose. That does not appear to be the case. Need to go make a swap. Had to go to go to the huge Home Depot on the other side of town for the faucet because the selection at the nearer by Lowes sucked.

Be back in a bit. This might kill my hopes of salvaging a 1/2 day at work.

BSF21 · Post by **BSF21** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 10:10 am

rass wrote:OK, speedbump.

I bought a three hole faucet assuming I could reuse/connect my existing spray hose. That does not appear to be the case. Need to go make a swap. Had to go to go to the huge Home Depot on the other side of town for the faucet because the selection at the nearer by Lowes sucked.

Be back in a bit. This might kill my hopes of salvaging a 1/2 day at work.

My favorite joke that my buddy and I go back and forth with during DIY projects is every reciept from HD/Lowes should say at the bottom "Thank you for shopping with us! We will see your dumbass again in 45 minutes!"

I've maybe had 1 project ever where only one trip was needed.

Pruitt · Post by **Pruitt** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 10:11 am

Sabo wrote:
Pruitt wrote:Good luck.

I could use some advice - hanging a heavy mirror on drywall. Any advice/experiences to share?
Buy toggle bolts and use them instead of drywall anchors.

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/video/0 ... 05,00.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Excellent.

Much obliged.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 10:19 am

BSF21 wrote:I've maybe had 1 project ever where only one trip was needed.

Like 2 stupid little moving projects (one was planting a 6 foot tree) and packing led to a half dozen trips. It was infuriating.

travzilla · Post by **travzilla** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 10:32 am

The best is when you don't have truck, and you've measured and are sure the thing you're buying can fit in the car trunk with the backseats down, and then it doesn't and your stuck standing there in the parking lot with a prehung door hanging 6 feet out of your trunk.

BSF21 · Post by **BSF21** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 10:32 am

mister d wrote:
BSF21 wrote:I've maybe had 1 project ever where only one trip was needed.
Like 2 stupid little moving projects (one was planting a 6 foot tree) and packing led to a half dozen trips. It was infuriating.

My most recent one was to replace the guts of my guest bath's toilet. Got everything preped and ready, water off and drained and realized the water off valve was bad, but no problem, we hadn't even gone to the HD yet.

Got to HD, buy "universal toilet gut kit" and new valve. Come home. Valve wrong, but disassemble valve and make it work, need new connector, +1 trip, get back, "universal" toilet kit not universal to toilet from 1970something. Decide to replace entire upper, as it will be cheaper and easier than trying to retrofit. +1 trip for that. Get back, finally get everything together. 25 minute project takes 3 hours.

BSF21 · Post by **BSF21** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 10:34 am

travzilla wrote:The best is when you don't have truck, and you've measured and are sure the thing you're buying can fit in the car trunk with the backseats down, and then it doesn't and your stuck standing there in the parking lot with a prehung door hanging 6 feet out of your trunk.

What kind of car are you driving that you thought any prehung door would fit in there? That's a good time to walk back inside and rent that truck they have for 20$ an hour and take the door home and the truck back right quick. woof.

travzilla · Post by **travzilla** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 10:41 am

BSF21 wrote:
travzilla wrote:The best is when you don't have truck, and you've measured and are sure the thing you're buying can fit in the car trunk with the backseats down, and then it doesn't and your stuck standing there in the parking lot with a prehung door hanging 6 feet out of your trunk.
What kind of car are you driving that you thought any prehung door would fit in there? That's a good time to walk back inside and rent that truck they have for 20$ an hour and take the door home and the truck back right quick. woof.

Kia Forte. Actually just had to take the cardboard packaging off the side, and it slid in enough to only hang out the back about a foot, which was fine for the 10 minute drive.
Installing it on the other hand... I think i shimmed that thing in every combination of sides and could never get it square. It's comical how angry I get when things don't work the way I want perfectly on the first try.

BSF21 · Post by **BSF21** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 10:46 am

travzilla wrote:
BSF21 wrote:
travzilla wrote:The best is when you don't have truck, and you've measured and are sure the thing you're buying can fit in the car trunk with the backseats down, and then it doesn't and your stuck standing there in the parking lot with a prehung door hanging 6 feet out of your trunk.
What kind of car are you driving that you thought any prehung door would fit in there? That's a good time to walk back inside and rent that truck they have for 20$ an hour and take the door home and the truck back right quick. woof.
Kia Forte. Actually just had to take the cardboard packaging off the side, and it slid in enough to only hang out the back about a foot, which was fine for the 10 minute drive.
Installing it on the other hand... I think i shimmed that thing in every combination of sides and could never get it square. It's comical how angry I get when things don't work the way I want perfectly on the first try.

I put a new front door in last year. Talk with my pops and he told me to pay someone to do it. My best friend is an engineer and DIY nut told he was positive we could do it.

We could do it.

Over the course of about 13 hours over 2 days. And it's still not technically finished, as I haven't painted the trim on it yet and the caulk job looks terrible. Never again.

rass · Post by **rass** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 10:51 am

Back, net $35 poorer.

I runwalked into the store because there were two other people carrying shit with them that appeared to be return candidates. Ended up next in line. On my way out, the return line was four deep at each register. Today has been full of small victories.

If my quick glance to the left was accurate, there is a pretty bad accident on 78 W (express lanes?) through Union. Lots of emergency vehicles.

mister d - a perhaps too large BBQ sign is currently being hung over the storefront formally known as the WF Corner Table.

rass · Post by **rass** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 11:29 am

Oops.....

BSF21 · Post by **BSF21** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 11:31 am

rass wrote:Oops.....

Directions unclear. Dick stuck in faucet.

duff · Post by **duff** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 11:36 am

I will never replace a kitchen faucet and/or sink again in my life. In the last house I did it three times. The first was right after moving in. No problem. Worked like a champ for seven years. Started getting a bit wobbly, but nothing major. Then we redid the counter tops and got a new basin. Got a new faucet to go along with the new basin. No problem installing the basin (besides having a hell of a time tightening it down). The faucet on the other hand was awful to install. Tightened that bitch down like no tomorrow, but for the life of me could not get that damn thing to not wobble. Well at least it wasn't leaking. Four months later, my oldest turned it on and then handle broke. So I am going to say it was faulty the entire time. Last one I put in was working when we sold this summer. I vowed to myself never again.

rass · Post by **rass** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 11:52 am

BSF21 wrote:
rass wrote:Oops.....
Directions unclear. Dick stuck in faucet.

Almost. Left a piece (diverter for spray hose) in the box. Things got wet.

All done, I think...

bapo! · Post by **bapo!** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 11:53 am

I was planning to watch a documentary about Bronies today, but this looks more compelling. I was promised 'raw and uncut,' so hopefully there will be topless rass pics later. Fingers crossed for sweaty.

rass · Post by **rass** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 11:53 am

duff wrote:I will never replace a kitchen faucet and/or sink again in my life. In the last house I did it three times. The first was right after moving in. No problem. Worked like a champ for seven years. Started getting a bit wobbly, but nothing major. Then we redid the counter tops and got a new basin. Got a new faucet to go along with the new basin. No problem installing the basin (besides having a hell of a time tightening it down). The faucet on the other hand was awful to install. Tightened that bitch down like no tomorrow, but for the life of me could not get that damn thing to not wobble. Well at least it wasn't leaking. Four months later, my oldest turned it on and then handle broke. So I am going to say it was faulty the entire time. Last one I put in was working when we sold this summer. I vowed to myself never again.

After the cartridge replacement but before this repair, I fought a losing battle to have the kids wash their hands anywhere but the kitchen for the love of god please.

Post by **Sabo** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 11:56 am

duff wrote:I will never replace a kitchen faucet and/or sink again in my life. In the last house I did it three times. The first was right after moving in. No problem. Worked like a champ for seven years. Started getting a bit wobbly, but nothing major. Then we redid the counter tops and got a new basin. Got a new faucet to go along with the new basin. No problem installing the basin (besides having a hell of a time tightening it down). The faucet on the other hand was awful to install. Tightened that bitch down like no tomorrow, but for the life of me could not get that damn thing to not wobble. Well at least it wasn't leaking. Four months later, my oldest turned it on and then handle broke. So I am going to say it was faulty the entire time. Last one I put in was working when we sold this summer. I vowed to myself never again.

That's why Mrs. Sabo and I hired someone to do our kitchen remodel, which starts next week. We're gutting everything (including knocking down part of a wall) and replacing everything with new stuff. It won't be cheap but we're planning on staying in this house for the rest of our lives, so we wanted to get things done the way we wanted them. I can't wait for this process to be finished.

Pro tip: If you're going to remodel any part of your house and your spouse/partner is a graphic designer, let them make all color decisions because everything you recommend will have some sort of fatal flaw. Trust me on this.

duff · Post by **duff** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 12:00 pm

Sabo wrote:
duff wrote:I will never replace a kitchen faucet and/or sink again in my life. In the last house I did it three times. The first was right after moving in. No problem. Worked like a champ for seven years. Started getting a bit wobbly, but nothing major. Then we redid the counter tops and got a new basin. Got a new faucet to go along with the new basin. No problem installing the basin (besides having a hell of a time tightening it down). The faucet on the other hand was awful to install. Tightened that bitch down like no tomorrow, but for the life of me could not get that damn thing to not wobble. Well at least it wasn't leaking. Four months later, my oldest turned it on and then handle broke. So I am going to say it was faulty the entire time. Last one I put in was working when we sold this summer. I vowed to myself never again.
That's why Mrs. Sabo and I hired someone to do our kitchen remodel, which starts next week. We're gutting everything (including knocking down part of a wall) and replacing everything with new stuff. It won't be cheap but we're planning on staying in this house for the rest of our lives, so we wanted to get things done the way we wanted them. I can't wait for this process to be finished.

Pro tip: If you're going to remodel any part of your house and your spouse/partner is a graphic designer, let them make all color decisions because everything you recommend will have some sort of fatal flaw. Trust me on this.

That is why the new house has a newly remodeled kitchen and master bath. We couldn't have picked it out better ourselves.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 12:10 pm

rass wrote:mister d - a perhaps too large BBQ sign is currently being hung over the storefront formally known as the WF Corner Table.

Its been open for a few weeks now. Inexplicable decision.

rass · Post by **rass** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 12:22 pm

mister d wrote:
rass wrote:mister d - a perhaps too large BBQ sign is currently being hung over the storefront formally known as the WF Corner Table.
Its been open for a few weeks now. Inexplicable decision.

Yeah, I was in the store once but didn't try it. You?

And given the size of the new sign, the change is semi-permanent.

rass · Post by **rass** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 12:23 pm

My wife likes the faucet, so I guess I'm good.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 12:36 pm

rass wrote:Yeah, I was in the store once but didn't try it. You?

Just beer. I have not ordered once when I would have before because I didn't want (1) BBQ or (2) supermarket BBQ.

Steve of phpBB · Post by **Steve of phpBB** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 1:02 pm

Sabo wrote:That's why Mrs. Sabo and I hired someone to do our kitchen remodel, which starts next week. We're gutting everything (including knocking down part of a wall) and replacing everything with new stuff. It won't be cheap but we're planning on staying in this house for the rest of our lives, so we wanted to get things done the way we wanted them. I can't wait for this process to be finished.

Pro tip: If you're going to remodel any part of your house and your spouse/partner is a graphic designer, let them make all color decisions because everything you recommend will have some sort of fatal flaw. Trust me on this.

This looks like a bad combination.

Post by **Sabo** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 1:10 pm

Nah, it's good. The only thing we still have decide on is a light fixture over the eating area in the kitchen. We'll either get a small ceiling fan or a regular light. Other than it it's just a matter of getting everything going.

But there were certain times during this process where I wish I was getting a root canal instead.