Sunday, November 6, 2016

More fun

The other day, I installed a new kitchen faucet to replace the leaky one. New one was over a hundred bucks, and all plastic, including the lines. Quality stuff. It should do for selling the house. Looks and works good. Has a soap dispenser where the spray hose use to be. It is a pull out faucet model, high mount for easy fill of big pots. When I went to install it, I turned water off at the shut off under sink. Remove all nuts holding faucet in, then, remove lines. One line comes off fine, second line, the shut off doesn't work completely and I have a little shower going under the sink. Main shut off is just outside kitchen, so I quickly shut it down. I thought the main purpose of the shut off was to not have to shut off the main. Silly me. I am cursing the Chinese junk shutoff the house builder used as I pull it. I get it out, made in the USA. Guess we make junk too. I pick up a new one at the store and go to install it. The copper tube above the ferrel is too long for new shut off. The tube is short enough above the T fitting where I can't cut the ferrel off and install new. I am not going to buy copper pipe, dig out torch and solder, try and remove stub from T and install new pipe. I put old shut off on, hook up faucet, turn on main, good enough. All works and shouldn't have to mess with ever again.

 Todays fun, replace toilet fill valve. New ones are all plastic and junk. I pull the line and have no flow. I figure the shut off is bad. I pull shut off. There is something in the line. I fish out pea gravel from the supply line. Pea gravel. Several pieces. I flush line and am hoping that was the issue with the fill valve. Hook it all back up, nothing. Go to replace the fill valve with new one. It doesn't work either. It looked like the same model I took out. I run down to ACE and pick up a different brand. I install it, my toilet fills instantly. Modern plastic junk does not last as long as the old brass hardware we use to have. You had to adjust the ball right and keep a decent rubber flapper in there, but, as long as you did that, they were perfect. Plastic junk, not so much.

I believe I am done with the repairs on the home, until something else rears its ugly head. I am hopeful to get out to the bank this week and see my loan options. I believe I may try for the home I looked at a couple weeks back if it is still available. Measured all my rooms, and the other home is much bigger, with genuine hardwood floors throughout. See what the week brings.

1 comment:

  1. This is one of the handiest tools for sink work that there is,
    https://www.ridgid.com/us/en/faucet-and-sink-installer

    ReplyDelete