Hail, the conquering hero!
Sep. 7th, 2005 05:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thewayneI fixed my kitchen sink today!
When my parents were here last week we replaced the faucet and had an unexplained leak on the cold water line. It was, of course, discovered on my parent's last night. Dad told me to go to Home Depot and return this hose as defective. So I did and got another. Same problem. So I went to Lowe's and bought two hoses, different models. Same problem.
It was the cut-off valve.
I couldn't replace it easily for two reasons. First, I needed a big crescent wrench, which I picked up yesterday. Second, you need the replacement on-hand before you take off the bad one, otherwise you have to leave the water shut off on your house until you get the replacement. A bit inconvenient. Well, conveniently the hardware store in Cloudcroft had the proper-sized valve on the shelf, it was probably more expensive than buying it in Alamogordo, but it would have cost literally $5 in gas (32ish miles round-trip) to go down for the one part. I don't have anything else that I need to buy in Alamo right now, and I don't go down for single items.
So I'm feeling kinda studly and got to buy a big cool wrench!
AND IT ISN'T LEAKING!!! I also installed a faucet-mount water filter, so that was also cool. Unfortunately this also means that I have to do dishes: think about it, it's not easy doing dishes if all you have is hot water.
(you need to wrenches when working on sinks because when removing fittings you'll need one to turn the fitting and one to prevent the fitting that the first fitting is attached to from turning as you don't want to turn it all, you need a big handle (10" or so) because of the poor leverage and reach of the area you're working in, it's going to probably need to be over a 1" jaw, and it helps to have one wrench that has fixed-jaws and one pipe wrench to deal with the fitting you're removing/installing, such as this beauty.)
When my parents were here last week we replaced the faucet and had an unexplained leak on the cold water line. It was, of course, discovered on my parent's last night. Dad told me to go to Home Depot and return this hose as defective. So I did and got another. Same problem. So I went to Lowe's and bought two hoses, different models. Same problem.
It was the cut-off valve.
I couldn't replace it easily for two reasons. First, I needed a big crescent wrench, which I picked up yesterday. Second, you need the replacement on-hand before you take off the bad one, otherwise you have to leave the water shut off on your house until you get the replacement. A bit inconvenient. Well, conveniently the hardware store in Cloudcroft had the proper-sized valve on the shelf, it was probably more expensive than buying it in Alamogordo, but it would have cost literally $5 in gas (32ish miles round-trip) to go down for the one part. I don't have anything else that I need to buy in Alamo right now, and I don't go down for single items.
So I'm feeling kinda studly and got to buy a big cool wrench!
AND IT ISN'T LEAKING!!! I also installed a faucet-mount water filter, so that was also cool. Unfortunately this also means that I have to do dishes: think about it, it's not easy doing dishes if all you have is hot water.
(you need to wrenches when working on sinks because when removing fittings you'll need one to turn the fitting and one to prevent the fitting that the first fitting is attached to from turning as you don't want to turn it all, you need a big handle (10" or so) because of the poor leverage and reach of the area you're working in, it's going to probably need to be over a 1" jaw, and it helps to have one wrench that has fixed-jaws and one pipe wrench to deal with the fitting you're removing/installing, such as this beauty.)
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no subject
Date: 2005-09-08 02:12 am (UTC)Uh....the link seems to go to a page that shows generators and air conditioners. And decorative wine cellars. Maybe I didn't read enough of the fine print, but I didn't see anything about the dimensions of their handles or the size of jaws.....and I can definitely see how the wine cellar'd be a pain to try and use under the sink. ;}
Huh. Fixed the link.
Date: 2005-09-08 03:08 am (UTC)I can do a fair amount of car maintenance, up to and including brake jobs and half-shaft replacement, I don't think I could replace a CV boot. I've watched my dad (retired industrial plumber) do so much stuff that I have the knowledge to do tons of stuff, but I don't have the physical skills for all of it.
I'm really just beginning my personal tool set. The pipe wrench and 10" crescent are a good beginning, I also have a great metric/English set from Sears with over 100 pieces: huge socket set, box end wrenches, and a few additions for screw drivers and pliers. I need to get a set of very fine screw drivers for odd camera maintenance (not repair!), I need to start shopping for those.
Re: Huh. Fixed the link.
Date: 2005-09-08 12:10 pm (UTC)