Let there be (Kitchen) light!

When we bought the house seven years ago, the kitchen was a disaster. The grout on the kitchen counters was literally growing, the tile floors were trashed, and the appliances were non-functional (or non-existent). The Toile wallpaper really capped off the "look". 

The lighting was a classic 80s fluorescent box light over the island. It was awful, too, but it provided a lot of light, the interior of the box was only rough finished, and our attention (and budget) was all on the critical functional issues. Replacing it has been on the list ever since, but it became critical this week when the old fixtures decided not to turn on at all. 







I spent a considerable amount of time staring at the options available at Home Depot and Lowes. (This was kind of urgent, so I had to make my peace with what they had in stock.) 

I'd already come to the conclusion that a flush-mount LED fixture was probably the only thing that was going to provide a suitable amount of light. What I really wanted was one with adjustable color temperature. What I settled for was a 4000K fixed color temperature, which is a little on the cold side. 



On the plus side, this puppy puts out a whopping 5000 lumens. It's actually significantly brighter than the failing fluorescents. On the down side, like the reviews say, it was kind of a PITA to install and it's a struggle to get the diffuser inserted properly.

Portfolio Flush Mount Shop Light

• 5000 lumens

• Two 34 watt integrated LED bars

• 4000K (bright white) color temperature

• Dimmable 

Taking down the existing fixtures was pretty straightforward. I removed the diffuser panels and cut out the supporting framework. I left the outside trim, as I don't want to mess with retexturing and painting the finished ceiling. 

Since I was doing this by myself, I couldn't just hold up the fixture and mark the holes, and measuring over your head is awkward at best. I triple-checked my measurements and  drilled the holes for the anchors. 

Here's where I made my first mistake: I used the provided screws and anchors. That's almost always a bad idea. (I know that from installing blinds, but apparently I'm a slow learner.)

I propped the fixture up on a chair so I could wire it up. That was also straightforward--and I was thankful once again for having a decent pair of wirecutters. 

Now came the hard part--actually hanging the fixture on the screws. Have I said yet how much I hate working on things over my head? I struggled. I cursed. Tom came in to see what the drama was all about. 

What finally (almost) worked was partially screwing in the screws on one end, sliding the fixture onto the screws, and tightening them down while Tom propped up the other end with a rubber sweeper thingie[1]. Then screwing through the fixture into the anchors on the second end. Phew, success! 

Nope. As I was trying to install the diffuser, one of the anchors popped loose. And the diffuser wasn't going on because the fixture was slightly bowed from the wiring. Second mistake: I should have put spacers in. (Or done it right and moved the wiring to the center of the fixture.)

One by one, I popped the too-small anchors out and replaced them with bigger ones (that by some miracle I actually had on hand and could find). I didn't screw the longer screws all the way in so the fixture wasn't torqued, and was able to get the diffuser on.  Phew, success!

Nope. Turned the circuit breaker on and hit the switch to see how it looked...nothing. Inspected the wiring from the attic space above (more on that later) and everything looked good. Dropped the fixture from one end again so I could inspect the wiring to the fixture. What the heck? Why are there four wire nuts?

Third mistake: Somewhere in the struggle, the wires had come loose. I thought that the wire nut on the white wires had popped loose and fallen. So grabbed one out of my pocket and screwed it on. Sigh. It really helps if the white wires are actually connected. 

Got that fixed, flipped the breaker, turned on the switch, and Voila! Light! Blinding light. Flipped them off and reinstalled the diffuser. 

I'm going to have to go through the hanging fun all over again when I patch the holes and retexture the inset. When I do that, I'll put in a proper electrical box in the center of the fixture (so I don't need spacers), and install a wood brace in the attic so I can ditch the drywall anchors altogether. 

In the meantime, we have a functional light that's a big improvement over the fluorescents (even when they worked). I installed it with the intent to add mini-pendants for the counter seating at the end of the island...one of these days.

Of course, one thing always leads to another. As I was inspecting the wiring from the attic space, I discovered that the ducting to the registers in the kitchen has completely come apart. No wonder our heating/cooling has seemed unusually inefficient. Today I get to learn how to make flex duct connections. This, my friends, is #realitydiy.

[1] The rubber sweeper thingie is awesome, especially if you have pets. Got it at a home show years ago, but it's a lot like this one.

Plumbing Fail Number Six (continued)

For the beginning of this adventure, see Plumbing Fail Number Six, Part 1.

So, the Liquid Wrench made things a bit shinier. Unfortunately, it didn't penetrate enough for me to break things loose. To be honest, I wasn't surprised. I was hopeful...but really didn't have high expectations.

In the end, this project required some tools that aren't automatically associated with plumbing: a cordless Dremel tool with a cutting bit and disc, and a sledgehammer.

I used the Dremel to cut through the nuts that I couldn't unscrew. I worked slowly and did my best to shield myself from the metal dust.

My cordless Dremel is awesome, but I was hyper-cognizant that it would keep spinning if I dropped it. (While working on fittings over my head.)

Patience paid off and I was able to get all but one of the stuck nuts loose.

That last one? That's where the sledge hammer came in. 

The nut holding the center faucet was rusted and fused to the washer. It was still stuck after dremeling. Knowing the nut was seriously weakened, I decided to take a sledge-hammer to the faucet to see if I could break things loose. 

The counter is this horrible resin cultured marble, so I figured it could withstand a little bit of force. 

It worked. (And sledgehammering things is always kind of fun, right?)

The next fly in the ointment was getting the drain pieces out. 

Taking apart the trap was simple enough, but I couldn't get the decorative top bits to unscrew from the drain pipe. The Dremel with a cutting disc and a bit more patience solved that little problem. 

Did I mention that the basin was draining slowly? I'm surprised it was draining at all! 

Seriously gross.

I was initially going to skip replacing the frozen shutoff valves, but "If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right" kept echoing in my head. So, I took them off and went back to the hardware store for replacement valves and supply lines. Removing the old ones and installing the new took a bit of muscle, but I didn't run into any issues. (Thank you, Lowes, for being open New Year's Day.)

Dropping the new faucet in was the easy part. I did have to laugh at the step in the instructions that said to hold the valve assembly from underneath with one hand, and use your other hand to install the retention clip from the top. That might be physically possible for some people, but I'm most definitely not one of them. Fortunately, Tom was around to pop the clips on for me. 

The only snag I hit with the install was when I got to installing the drain closer. I dropped it into the hold and...clunk. Turns out, I had the faucet mounting plate positioned wrong and it was blocking the hole. Fortunately, it was just a matter of loosening the connection, rotating the plate out of the way, and tightening it back up. 

Phew! This all took way longer than it should have, but I now have the "Dremel trick" in my plumbing repertoire. And having successfully replaced one set of the shut-off valves, I'm less hesitant about tackling the others that don't work. Someday.

Speaking of tricks, I also put my iPhone camera to good use. Taking pics is an easy way to get a close-up, well-lit view of things that are hard to eyeball. 

I also used the front-facing camera to get a live view of things from underneath. And capture some of the frustration...

Plumbing Fail Number Six

Okay, I'm not actually sure what number this is when it comes to plumbing snafus. I do know that dealing with plumbing issues is one of my least favorite things. This latest adventure was largely self-inflicted, which just makes it all the more painful.

We have hard water. Seriously hard water. The mineral deposits build up on the faucet screens and send water shooting in every direction but where you want it to wash your hands. A vinegar soak solves the problem, but that requires removing the aerator. Unfortunately, the mineral deposits can make that hard, too.

In the past, my handy-dandy vice grips solved the problem. Okay, they scratched the aerator a bit, but these 80s contractor special faucets have much bigger cosmetic issues than a few scratches. And, worst case, replacement aerators are readily available.

This time around the faucet gave before the mineral deposits. Now, instead of just spraying water around the counter and sink, the busted faucet sprays water around the counter and sink and leaks water back down into the cabinet. Not good. Cue new faucet.

In theory, installing a new faucet is a piece of cake. It involves cramped working conditions and some awkward positions, but putting in a new faucet really isn't hard. Removing the old one? Now that is a royal pain in the patootie. Especially when dealing with contractor-grade, no-name fixtures that have been subjected to decades of our insanely hard water.

The biggest fly in the ointment with this project is removing the nuts that hold the faucet and handles in place. (This is a wide-spread, two-handled faucet.) There's not enough room to get a wrench on them and even if you can, applying leverage while lying on your back and reaching over your head is virtually impossible. I was able to get one of the handle nuts and the drain nut loose with my vice grips. The other handle nut & center faucet nut are being considerably more stubborn.

There are actually some specialty tools for just this purpose. The most common is a spring-loaded basin wrench that looks something like this:

If the darn nuts weren't so thin, this would probably work quite well. As it is, it's tricky to apply the required force to keep it in position while you try to rotate the nut. If the nut is stuck in place...good luck.

The Rigid Faucet Tool can be configured to suit a variety of nut sizes & is a bit easier to use. Unfortunately, it doesn't fit the nuts on these Delta-clone faucets. 

This time around, I came across these basin sockets from an Aussie company. They look awesome...but also don't come in a size big enough for these stupid nuts, even if I could get them here.

So...I got some smaller vice grips and some Liquid Wrench. If that doesn't work, I will resort to drilling/cutting the darn thing loose. The existing faucet is slag, and I'm not overly worried about damaging the counter top...it's an 80s cultured marble number that has not aged well. I want to gut the entire bathroom and start over...but in the meantime, we need a functional faucet!

To be continued...

Zinc Prep Table

Sadly, I don’t have before, during, *or* after photos for this one. Blogging it anyway to remind myself what the gotchas were, as I still intend to replace the guest bath counter. I sacrificed the zinc sheet intended for that purpose to expedite this project, though, so I’ll have to order another. I’m sure Roto Metals won’t complain.

Anyway, I now have a bit more experience with working with sheet metal. This was kind of a get-it-done project, so I wasn’t overly concerned with making it look pretty. Serviceable. I was going for serviceable. Here are some of the things I discovered…

It was more malleable than I expected. But maybe that’s because I’d just been working with galvanized steel. That said, for a relatively light-duty application like the guest bath, I’d be inclined to go with 24 gauge. (This was 22 gauge, .027".) I  don’t expect people to be slamming things down on it, and I suspect that it will be easier to get a clean edge and flat face. For this project, I literally pounded the heck out of it with a hammer without regard to dents and imperfections. Nothing like a DIY project that doubles as stress relief!

While I wasn’t overly concerned with making it look pretty, I was concerned about making sure the corners weren’t dangerous. Instead of simply trimming the corners for a single seam, I opted to wrap around each corner. I’m glad I did, as soldering turned out to be the point of failure in this project. I wrapped, pounded, and filed the corners down with the intent of soldering any remaining edges that didn’t quite meet.

Clearly, I need to level up my soldering skills before I tackle the bathroom countertop. I understand the process and theory, but was unable to heat the zinc edges to the melting point of the solder. The zinc sheet functions as a giant heat sink, my soldering iron was underqualified, and I was probably irrationally concerned about heating the underlying plywood to its combustion point. For my second attempt, I used a heat gun to pre-heat the zinc before trying to solder, but it still stubbornly refused to liquify. I’m sure it didn’t help that I was working outside & it was cool and windy. And it’s entirely possible I need to go back and study Practical Soldering 101.

I tried a couple different adhesives. The Gorilla Glue Heavy Duty Construction adhesive worked, the cheaper stuff didn't. I cleaned the zinc with acetone and roughed it up with some coarse sandpaper before gluing it up and clamping it. Glueing up two shelves at the same time and clamping them face to face with some cross blocks worked well. Ideally, it should stay clamped for 24 hours for the adhesive to cure...I was in a hurry and started in on the edges after about 14 hours. 

For the bathroom counter, I think I want to wrap the front edge under far enough that it meets the cabinet base & there are no edges to worry about. A little adhesive and a few screws to secure the underneath flap is probably not a bad idea, though I didn't bother with either for this project. After all the pounding, it stayed in place without assistance.

Overall, working with the sheets was easier than I anticipated. Gloves, of course, were essential, but I managed to fabricate four tops/shelves without injury. 

For the bathroom counter, I think the challenge is going to be bending the edges with more finesse and avoiding unsightly divots in the front edge. Will have to skip the direct hammering, for sure. And figure out how to properly solder the corners...

Locking Up

Tonight's DIY adventure was installing keyed locks on all of the bedroom doors, and a double-keyed deadbolt on the door to the garage.

I opted for Kwikset SmartKey locks. They aren't the cheapest, but they totally deliver on ease-of-use. I actually know how to rekey regular locks. Trust me, the extra $$ are totally worth it if you anticipate needing to rekey the lock. And let's face it, virtually every lock will need to be rekeyed at one point or another.

Are they less secure? Possibly, but  I've watched a locksmith pick a standard deadbolt in just a few minutes so I'm not sure the difference is relevant. There are absolutely more secure options--the question is whether or not that matters for your application.

For my purposes, going with the easily re-keyable option was a no brainer.

The good

Swapping out the existing lever door handles for the keyed knobs was super easy. Under 15 minutes easy, including the bit where I neglected to read and follow the instructions. (I'm way better at writing instructions than actually following them.)

The bad (But thankfully not that bad)

My first attempt at rekeying one of the locks failed. Thankfully, all was not lost. Kwikset has fully anticipated the user failure scenarios and a quick YouTube search revealed a gem entitled 

Recovering a Misprogrammed SmartKey Cylinder. 

Somewhat to my surprise, following said instructions worked on the first attempt. Wow, these documentation folks really seem to know their stuff!

The ugly (Back to rekeying the old-fashioned way?)

Alas, things didn't go quite so smoothly when it came to swapping out the deadbolt lock on the door to the garage. The Kwikset version requires a larger hole than the original contractor-grade unit, and I don't have the requisite hole saw. Even with the right hole saw, sawing said hole is tricky because of  the existing hole. 

I'm thinking that finding a double-keyed lock that is compatible with the existing hole pattern is the better option. Even if it means having to rekey it manually. Did I mention how much I enjoy dealing with all the fiddly bits? Sigh.

Conclusion

The whole point of this blog is that reality often intrudes when you tackle DIY projects. Having to resort to a Plan B (or C, D, E, or F) is not unusual. Successfully completing projects  requires  a mix of creative problem solving, tenacity, elbow grease, and a healthy sense of humor.

Tonight, I accomplished 80% of what I set out to do. Quite easily, in fact. And I've worked out an interim solution for that last bit that, while not ideal, is totally workable for the time being. I'm okay with that. As a wise person I know keeps saying, "Progress over perfection".

Fixing leaky faucets

Last weekend I successfully fixed the leaky toilet in the guest bath. (A straightforward job, except the shut-off valve is stuck. Tom pointed out that I could just shut off the main water supply. Voila! A toilet that doesn't run constantly.)

So today, I decided to tackle the drippy faucets, utilizing the same water-shut-off technique. One of these days we need to replace the shut off valves, but that's a task for another day. (Or, perhaps, for a plumber--I hate working in cramped spaces.)

This was by far the easiest plumbing task I've tackled. The two faucets I fixed are the old style wide-spread two handled faucets with the "crystal" knobs. You pop out the center piece to access the screw that holds the knob on, unscrew it, and lift the handle off. Then, you use the wrench to loosen the nut that holds the cartridge in place.

In theory, you just lift out the cartridge. In practice, I had to use the flat-head screwdriver to pry them loose. When I did the second set, I was able to loosen them a little with the screwdriver, and then grab them with the channel locks and pull them out.

Once I removed the cartridges, I reached in with the needlenose plyers to pull out the seats and springs. I had a moment of panic as I realized that putting the new seats and springs in wasn't nearly as easy as taking the old ones out. That's where the tweezers came into play. I used them to set the spring in place (narrow end up), and then put the seats on top of the springs. It still took a bit of fiddling with my finger to get the seats "seated", but the tweezers helped tremendously.

Then, it was just a matter of putting the new cartridges in place and putting everything back together. There's just one catch: it's not obvious which way to set the cartridges into place. They fit into the slots two ways. If you end up 180 degrees off, you have to turn the knob backwards to turn it on and off. I now understand why the one in our downstairs bath was screwy. I honestly didn't figure out an easy way to tell without putting it back together and turning the knob. At least it's easy to fix--take it back apart, rotate the cartridge 180 degrees, and reassemble.

Oh, and then check for drips. The master faucet was still drippy when I first reassembled it. I just repeated the process, made sure the seats didn't have any crud on them, and put them back together.

No more drips!


Tools required: Phillips screwdriver, flat-head screwdriver, needle nose plyers, tweezers, crescent or channel lock wrench.
Project time: 20 minutes
Difficulty level: Easy
PITA rating: Low

Removing and Cleaning Patio Screen Doors

The spiders love the inside of the screens on our patio doors, but we don't love inviting them in every time we close the screens. After wrangling multiple wolf spiders back outside, I decided it was time to remove and clean the screens.

Our screens have rollers on the top and bottom. There are adjustment screws at each corner to raise or lower the rollers. Easy enough, loosen the screws, slide the putty knife in along the bottom edge to push the rollers up, and pull the bottom edge out of the track. Except there's one important thing:

Loosen the screws just enough that you can remove the screen!

Wanting to make sure the rollers would retract, I over-loosened the screws and they fell out when I removed the screen. Didn't seem like a big deal until I went to re-install them & realized that re-threading the screws was non-trivial. In fact, it requires partially removing the screen and disassembling the frame. Doh! I confess to giving up and taking them to the local screen shop. Turned out to be a wise decision--for $15, Templeton Glass saved me a considerable amount of frustration.

Tools Required: Thin putty knife, Philips screwdriver
Project Time: About an hour
Difficulty Level: Easy-Moderate
PITA Rating: Low-Moderate (as long as you don't over-loosen the screws!)