I Have Sunk
I've never heard of this happening in a house less than a century old, but my kitchen faucet sprang a leak, last week. Not in the usual fashion, wherein it begins to drip due to a worn washer or eroded packing. No, I went through that a couple years ago. No, this was something new. It sprang a leak halfway up the spout. Apparently the battery acid that passes for drinking water around here ate through the metal. Like I said, I've never heard of it happening in less than a century, before.

So, I bought a new faucet. A Delta, same as the old one, because nothing else is likely to be better. I went with a "cheap" one, for $70. Saturday, I started trying to replace the old one. Couldn't budge the nut holding it on. 20+ years of corrosion: in one case, it ate through the metal; in the other case, it welded the two pieces, nut and bolt, together. It welded them so firmly that the bolt broke loose from the faucet before the nut broke loose from the bolt. But, not in a good way. Not in a way that would allow me to remove it. Just so it would allow the bolt to turn WITH the nut.

This, of course, is AFTER I've spent close to an hour being folded, spindled, and mutilated under the sink. Lying on the edge of the cabinet is NOT fun. I felt like I'd been hit by a car. So, eventually I called a handyman, who didn't want the job. He didn't like being folded, spindled, and mutilated, either. But, he gave me a couple of suggestions. The idea of holding the bolt with vise grips while turning the nut didn't pan out. The vise grips kept slipping. I guess I needed bigger ones.

So, I ended up removing the whole damn sink. Not a fun job, either. Still couldn't get the damn faucet off. MAYBE, if I'd had an angle grinder with a cutting wheel, I might have been able to cut through the nut, but the "washer" underneath it was actually a big, thick, cone-shaped shield. So, I ended up having to replace the sink. Another $110.

Since I was doing all that, I decided to do something about the fact that the pipe coming out of the wall were completely unconnected to anything solid. Of course, that's because A) it was poorly built, to begin with, and B) it was 20+ years old. That wasn't expensive in dollars, but I had to figure out a solution, solder up a bunch of pieces, drill out some undersize holes, cut and patch the wallboard... oy!

And, while I was doing that, it leaked enough water to REALLY destroy the MDF bottom shelf of the cabinet, so that had to be replaced, too. That was cheap, at $12, but took another couple hours, between removing the old one, fixing the supports, and fitting the new one in place.

Then I couldn't get the garbase disposer off the old sink, either, so I had to replace that, too. It still worked, though not very well. But, I didn't really care, because I rarely use it. But, it's necessary, because the dishwasher has to feed into it. So, I had to buy a new one of those, too. And the damn things don't even come with the electrical cords you need to hook them up. $120 and you can't even hook it up, because there are no wires. They're extra. Luckily, THAT I was able to salvage and reuse. But, I couldn't get the sink basket off the other bowl, either, so there went another $20.

So, 14 hours after I started working on it, Sunday morning, I still didn't have a sink, but I was definitely feeling sunk. I finally got it finished up about an hour ago. It works. I was able to wash dishes. First time I've been happy to do that chore in ages. Then I ran the dishwasher, which had all of my plates and silverware, except for one spoon, in it. I hope it didn't leak. I haven't been down to look, yet. I really don't want to look. If I never see the bottom of a sink again, as long as I live, that will be fine with me.

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Thanks!
I'm always appreciative of any comments, favorites, or features, naturally. I've long since given up trying to keep up with thanking everyone individually for each , because I do need to sleep pretty much every day, but I am grateful. And, I HAVE noticed all the new names showing up in the notifications of faves. So, a special thank you to you folks.

I do still try to reply to all comments on my work, and all your comments, positive or negative, are welcome. And, now that I can see the messages on my homepage on my regular message page, you may even get a reply to those.

And, if you dropped by to say thank you,

You're Welcome!

If you said something nice about me,

Thanks!

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