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...
