Under Pressure

The Faucet Story and the Feisty Friend

This post was going to start out much differently until I met David yesterday. Friends Erin and Karl introduced us at the marina where I am now working on weekends. On Sundays, there's football watching and beer, fried cheese curds, hamburgers and good times.

Somehow I told David (married by the way - let's not get excited) about my blog. He read the first entry immediately. Then he laid into me - "do it yourself," he said. "This sounds like you want this J to come back and help" - something like that anyway. Nooooo, I argued, you have to keep reading - this blog is a journey and I HAVE been doing it. "The first thing you need to do is put that kitchen sink in," he continued. If I could I would, I said. I don't know how to build things so I can't finish my kitchen totally on my own. And I can't afford to pay anyone to do it right now.  And it's a unique design. While agreeing the kitchen and concept are very cool - he still found my reasoning pitiful excuses for not having kitchen counters or a sink installed for more than a year. 

David continued the argument - in a very friendly and funny way with my friends interjecting as well - coming up with at least one name of a person who could help me but who I also should be fixed up with. Oh my.

So anyway... now I have to write the faucet story, and it's dedicated to this hilarious, opinionated, David, to show him I can and have been doing it myself. And maybe I WILL learn how to use the miter saw in my kitchen. Ok - I WILL learn how to use it. :) 

Bathroom Faucet

I took on the refrigerator water line successfully so I felt empowered enough a few days later to tackle a bathroom faucet replacement. I figured it wasn't my only faucet in the house so if it took a few days or I had to call in reinforcements - friends who have done this - I could. 

I was armed with a book I bought for $1 at a local consignment shop, YouTube, and advice from my friend Dougie: "don't forget upside down righty tighty, lefty loosey" - I would learn what he meant the hard way.

Ok YouTube, lead the way.

First, the old faucet had to come out. This took hours rather than the 5 minutes it should have because I was upside down under the sink turning the wrong way - upside down righty tighty, lefty loosy - you have to think about the faucet parts being installed before the sink went in - as if you were standing over the sink looking down, not underneath looking up. Lesson learned - though not all the bolts were like this - tricky tricky.

Faucet out, I had to get the pop-up drain out -- you know, the thing that keeps water in when you want to fill the sink. I didn't know it's name before this. Well, it's attached to several parts and a drain pipe that needs removing from underneath and above. I used more wrenches than I know the names of to try to hold one piece and turn the other, to loosen. Nothing was working.

Gross

Getting started

Old pipe wrench

I text friends Chris and Brad. I YouTubed. I had a beer. I broke a sweat. I got my yoga mat to lay on because the tile floor was now hurting from all this upside down work. Finally I decided with all this research that I was going to have to cut the pipe off. I drove to Chris's and borrowed his Sawzall - I have used one once for fun and under supervision. Chris thought I could do it. Brad told me to be careful not to cut the sink. J (yes I told him what I was doing) freaked out and said not to do it.

I got a bit nervous about the power saw - tried a few more times with the wrenches and then found a hacksaw among J's grandfather's tools and got to it. 

Old faucet out, on to the new one.

Drain pipe, water lines. I started working on this around 8:30 p.m. and then ran out of thread seal tape, which you need to well, seal the threads around the new connections. I went to the 3 grocery stores on the island and called 2 of the drug stores - none to be found and both Ace hardware stores had long since closed for the night. 

Frustrated about not being able to finish the project that night, I decided I had to complete something so I installed a new cloth shower curtain and liner to replace the plastic one in my bathroom. I can see the hot air balloons when I'm taking a shower - very happy and uplifting. 

Oui Oui

As soon as I finished work the next afternoon, I went to my parents' house, where Dad via Facebook told me he had some thread seal tape in the garage.

Back home and back to the faucet, I connected the water lines and moved them about to make sense and some room. Then I installed the pop-up assembly - that's what let's you pull or push the lever in the back and faucet to keep water in or let it out. Kind of difficult to do in the tiny space under the sink - and I kept referring to YouTube and the diagram that came with the faucet. But I finally got it - I think it still needs to be adjusted but it works!

Moment of truth: turn the water back on. The first time I turned it on, major leakage below. I just had to tighten the bolts and then voila! 

I ran outside with my arms in the air as if I had just won Olympic gold. I looked around for someone to tell and my neighbor Jeff finally pulled up in his car. I blurted out -  I just replaced a bathroom faucet! 

What's next? Miter saw? Kitchen?
Maybe, David, just maybe.