Friday, May 1, 2009

The right tools for the job...



Well, this wasn't the day I had envisioned when I woke up this morning. I expected a light day at work, allowing me to take a half day. I headed off to the Eastern Market in Detroit and explored several shops, taking time for lunch at Supino's Pizzeria -- kudos to them for their fabulous Margherita pizza (I'll be back!). I found whole yellow peas at the Rocky Peanut Co. which are needed for Canadian Pea Soup. I bought a pound each for my mom and me. Next time I'll take my camera.

Once home I thought it was warm enough that I'd sit outside and knit on the porch. Forget that. Kevin decided it was time to address the various plumbing problems with the house and before I could relax and catch up on my magazine stack, he had managed to completely restrict the flow of water to the bathroom sink. I had been looking for a recipe to make for a party at my friend Holly's house tonight, whereby several other knitting friends from Right off the Sheep had been invited. Suddenly it wasn't looking good for me to attend this soire.

Do you ever wonder why you borrow things and not return them? Well I had borrowed my neighbor Mark's giant wrench last fall when I first had a problem with my kitchen faucet and never did get it back to him. Must have known I'd need it again.

I managed to get the kitchen faucet to stop dripping. It was a super simple solution -- I had neglected to re-assemble the faucet properly last fall, after our water surge courtesy of the fine folks at the Royal Oak Department of Public Works.

The bathroom faucet situation was a bit different. After 3 trips to the local hardware store, Frentz & Sons, and 1 trip to Home Depot, I am calling it a night. And yes, I did miss out on my girls night out party at Holly's. Damn anyway.

My hands ache from working on the bathroom plumbing. I replaced the water lines and the aerator and thought all was well until I realized the rubber gasket just under the sink was leaking.



For the life of me I could not figure out how to get the darn ring above the sink opening to dislodge itself from the pipe below. At Home Depot, Sebouw was able to talk me through the process and I bought a new sink pop up assembly, just in case I tear up the darn ring trying to remove it.



I sprayed the WD-40 on it and it will rest overnight. Don't be frightened -- that's just plumber's putty surrounding the drain hole. I'll be popping a couple of ibuprofens to help ease my aching hands and hopefully getting a good night's sleep so I can start again tomorrow. Can't be without a bathroom sink for too long.

Notice anything missing here????



Yes, I do have all the parts stored down below the pipe. Once I get things straightened out, I'll be putting the pipes back in order too. Sure hope this get resolved tomorrow.

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