Author Topic: Fixed the sink - AKA plumbing hates me  (Read 1419 times)

Sibley

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Fixed the sink - AKA plumbing hates me
« on: April 14, 2018, 03:10:47 PM »
Preface: I HATE HATE HATE plumbing. And I suck at it too. Also, I'm 5'4", 110 pounds of weakling female who was never taught plumbing. Keep this in mind.

My bathroom sink faucet stopped supplying water. Probably corrosion, that's what killed the other faucets in the house. So I bought a new one (1st trip to store).

I managed to replace the faucet fine. Had to take the drain all apart to replace the stopper, but my plumbing tool that I do not have a name for was too small. My neighbor who is very kind and has all the tools and lets me borrow them wasn't home, so I went to my friend's house 10 minutes away to borrow a bigger one. That one worked and proceeded to remove and put in the new stopper.

The stopper obviously wasn't water tight so I had to get the plumber's putty (2nd trip to store). When I tried to reassemble, I discovered that the bendy piece connecting the u shaped piece to the actual sink drain stopper piece was cracked. The u shaped piece was full of gunk, and it had a crack at the top too. So I had to replace it as well (3rd trip to store).

Put everything together, and the bendy piece was clearly not sitting right. It was leaking just a tiny bit. And the u shaped piece was hitting the bottom of the cabinet. Clearly not right.

I'm assuming I got the wrong sizes or something, so wait until the plumbing supply store is open. They have actual plumbers who help you, and they are not mean when you're a plumbing idiot (obviously, bendy piece is not the accurate name). The nice plumber turned store person looked at the picture and told me that I had the u shaped piece backwards. And didn't even laugh. (4th trip to store)

So I came home and took it all apart and turned the u shaped piece around the other way. Put it all back together and run the water. It's not leaking anymore! It's looks kinda wonky and I'm sure that anyone who actually knows what they're doing would tell me it looks horrible, but ITS NOT LEAKING and YOU CAN FIX IT YOURSELF are appropriate phrases that will be screamed at them after this whole mess.

I fixed the sink. That is now the 4th, and last, sink in the house. I am done with sinks. I am not going to even attempt to replace the toilets. I will hire a plumber for that.

meghan88

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Re: Fixed the sink - AKA plumbing hates me
« Reply #1 on: April 14, 2018, 06:52:37 PM »
Aww, but you prevailed and you did it, so, KUDOS!!  Replacing faucets is not easy and takes some gymnastic abilities, IMO.  Not sure how the professionals get it done, especially the larger ones, but I'm in awe of their abilities.  Teflon tape is a nice thing to have on hand.

Toilets are not actually that hard to replace, and there are a lot of hacks for the wax seals.

One key issue with toilets is that you need to make sure that the new toilet doesn't require that you (i) carve into the wall behind it, or (ii) move the plumbing underneath it, in order for the tank and the rest of it to fit, once you've procrastinated long enough that you can't return it to the place you bought it.  (Ask me how I know ...)

Sibley

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Re: Fixed the sink - AKA plumbing hates me
« Reply #2 on: April 15, 2018, 05:11:28 PM »
LOL. No, I'm not doing the toilets because I don't think I'm strong enough to lift them. And I'm fairly sure that the plumbing would need some rework due to age if nothing else!

ducky19

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Re: Fixed the sink - AKA plumbing hates me
« Reply #3 on: April 16, 2018, 06:38:25 AM »
Great job!!! I too hate plumbing - I found that out when we bought a foreclosure to convert to a rental property last year. There were at least a half a dozen places where the PVC had cracked due to the pipes freezing that I had to replace. Just when I thought I had them all fixed, another would crop up. Such a pain! I agree with meghan88 on replacing toilets - MUCH easier than working on faucets. It's literally two bolts and pulling it, then replacing the wax ring. I used one of the plastic/foam rings, less icky than the wax. All you would really need is someone to help you lift it - surely you have a friend who could help - that's truly the toughest part. Circling back though, kudos on a job well done!

Steve Ainslie

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Re: Fixed the sink - AKA plumbing hates me
« Reply #4 on: April 19, 2018, 05:10:52 AM »
Your plumbing saga with multiple trips to the store cracks me up. That's how many of my diy home repairs go. Congrats on tackling it.

I've owned several older houses that needed plumbing repairs. If you get a plumber in to do the toilet, my advice is to load him up with other work at the same time. It's cheaper to pay for one trip.

 I always have the plumber replace or install shutoff valves in the kitchen and bathroom when I first move in someplace. That way, I can tackle the smaller jobs and shutoff the water if I mess it up.