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".