And then...

[Phil S.]

Finally got around to installing my new Delta faucet in the kitchen. It was a bit of a thrash getting the old stuff out and the new stuff in, but to be expected. Turned the water on and saw a drop fall from the hot water line. Wiped it off and waited. Sure 'nuf another drop fell. Finally figured out it was the valve on the hot water supply, a hairline crack through the body. Ran to the store for a new valve before they closed for the evening. Got that installed and noticed a bunch of spots suggesting the joints under there weren't as tight as they needed to be. Tightened a bunch of those up, then spotted leakage around the sink strainer. Deferred that until today. Took off the drain pipes and then tried to get the big nut off that holds the strainer. Tried to simply turn it off and ended up just spinning the strainer in the sink. Had daughter hold the strainer with the handles of a pliers inserted in the drain and a wrench between the handles to give her leverage. No go. Next tried heat, but still no joy. Running out of patience so figured strainer was expendable. Some fellow on the 'net with more luck than me suggested using a Dremel cutoff disk. Went through a couple of disks with hardly scratching the surface of the nut. Finally got out my 4" angle grinder and made short work of the nut. Was able to pop it off once it was cut through with the grinder. Back to the big box for more parts. Got the new strainer in and so far it looks like everything is holding water. Told daughter if this keeps up we'll eventually have a new kitchen.

[Bob10]

That's how it happens

The other day I got a call from a friend that they had a problem with a shower, I get there and part of the wall is gone and ask what they were hoping for, they say removal of the shower to repair water damage so I took out all the tiled walls and today went back to remove the terrazzo shower pan. Left after I had it gone sent him to HD to buy a piece of ply to cover the hole and a cover for the drain I cut below grade as they plan on a different configuration of the space when the budget permits.

I expect them to remove a wall or 2 move the toilet and tear out the whole bath to "repair the shower"

[jteneyck]

I can't remember a plumbing job that ever went smoothly. It has to be the job I hate most related to home repair/improvement. But perseverance eventually wins, as your tale proved.

John

[gMike]

jteneyck said:

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I can't remember a plumbing job that ever went smoothly. It has to be the job I hate most related to home repair/improvement. But perseverance eventually wins, as your tale proved.

John

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That, and 3 trips to the hardware store!

[EricU]

FHB used to have a "great moments in homebuilding" feature on the back page. That's where I learned that 3 trips were required to finish any home project. The story went that the author went to the store the second time, and told the owner that he thought he had everything. The guy said, "takes 3 trips, you'll be back." But rather than go back a third time, he went to a different store.

My favorite is when it absolutely has to work and there is nobody around to help and you have to make do with the parts on hand. This usually happens at work with the air supply,which can only go down for a little while or we lose thousands of dollars worth of equipment.

[Phil S.]

EricU said:

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... 3 trips were required to finish any home project.

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I must be good! Gotter dun with only two trips. Not counting the original for the faucet though.

[splinter7612]

gMike said:

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[blockquote]jteneyck said:

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I can't remember a plumbing job that ever went smoothly. It has to be the job I hate most related to home repair/improvement. But perseverance eventually wins, as your tale proved.

John

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That, and 3 trips to the hardware store!

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[/blockquote]

I just did 2 plumbing jobs last week with my bil, took 4 trips, argh.

[fredhargis]

It sounds like my typical plumbing repair as well...all I can do is sympathize.

[ed kerns]

yup. I certainly feel (and have felt) your pain. As a younger lad, I used to run a hardware store, and the '3 trips rule' bears out more often than not. One little tip that I find helpful, is to take a few phone pics of the plumbing before the trip to the store. Especially useful when you need to start counting the number of elbows, street els, couplings etc, that you need.