Small Kitchen Projects - New Sink!

We are slowly but surely making the kitchen our own.  Since moving in we have installed new appliances and cleaned (and cleaned, and cleaned...).  My dream kitchen looks quite a bit like this:

Ah, butcher block and soapstone countertops, warm wood floors, happy yellow walls and pretty appliances.  Unfortunately, I'm a teacher, so this kitchen is probably not in my immediate future. What I can do is make lots of little changes and add paint and hope for an eventual outcome that I like.  Its the journey, right?

In an effort to move in this direction, I mapped out a plan.  I want a nice cottage/farmhouse feel (sort of like Ina Garten's Kitchen, but obviously not in the Hamptons...yet).

Oh, Ina

After the appliances, its turns out that the only major expense is new countertops.  And since I obviously fell in love with the world's most expensive counter material, those will have to wait.  However, I can do some smaller things without hurting the pockets too much.  So, it was off to Home Depot to get a new sink fixture!

After looking at their selection, I found two that I really liked and decided to go with a brand I trusted since I liked both of the fixtures equally.  We ended up with a Moen fixture called Banbury.

The "Spot Resistant" claim was a big deal.

Putting in a new fixture is not that hard.  In theory.  However, our sink fixture was original with the house and due to a lack of water softener and upkeep all of the moving parts underneath the sink were completely stuck together.  For this we needed a few tools:

From left going clockwise:

So... Many... Tools..

1. Slip Joint Pliers

2.  PB Blaster Lubricant (for our stuck parts)

3. Safety Glasses

4. Crescent Wrench

5. Other Crescent Wrench

6. Diagonal Cutters

After the tools, the most important thing is to TURN THE WATER OFF.  Otherwise it will go everywhere and that will be a mess.  Directly under the sink when you open the cabinets there should be two pipes or tubes.  One is for hot water and one is for cold.  Hot is on the left, cold is on the right.  

Hot on the Left, Cold on the right.  The other tube in the center hooks up to the sink sprayer.

To turn the water off, turn the knobs on the sink pipes all the way until they're tight.  Test to make sure you didn't just open the flow more by turning on the sink.  If no water comes out of the faucet, congratulate yourself!  And proceed to the next step.  If water comes out, and continues to come out, turn the knobs the other way (all the way) and test it again.  

Once the water is off, you can start disconnecting the tubes.  The white knobs at the top spin to loosen (lefty-loosey!).

Sorry for the weird angle, it was the only way to do it.  The pipe on the bottom left is the hot water, then the sink sprayer, then the cold water, finally the other end of the sprayer. 

This is the worst.  This is the reason people pay plumbers to do things, and its the reason plumbers can charge so much (in hindsight - they don't charge enough, I would charge a lot more because this is really awful).  First off, there's stuff in the way, there's pipes everywhere.  Secondly, its in a cabinet so obviously when you go to undo the sink tubes, there's no space for a human body to fit except if you lay on your back and slide in (and there's no lumbar support... because its a cabinet) and then the sink is in the way of all the places your tools need to go to work effectively.  Awesome. 

Does this look comfortable?  No.  Because its not.

It took me nearly 20 minutes to get the original tubes unstuck, and that was only the hot water.  I gave the cold water task to John, and then we used the cutter to snip the hose for the spray (the new sink came with a hose).  

Putting in the sink fixture is the same procedure in reverse.  Check your directions for any special instructions, then place the new fixture on the sink (checking to make sure you have the hot water side on the left) and head back into the cabinet for more fun.  

Put your hot water tube back into place and attach it with the fitting that is similar to the one you took off (it should have come with the new fixture).  Put the new sprayer in place and attach the tube to the center of the fixture (make sure its not tangled or wrapped around any existing pipes under the sink before you attach it).  Put in the cold water tube with the new fitting.  Tighten everything.  Tighten the tops and bottoms of the tubes/pipes, tighten the sprayer connection and then check everything once more. 

Turn the water back on and cross your fingers (well, that's what I did).  We tested hot water first, then turned it off and tested cold water.  Once they both worked we checked the sprayer.  No leaks!  Yay!  Close up the cabinets and bask in the glory of a job well done.  Also, wash your hands.  WITH YOUR NEW FAUCET!

And now:  

Before:  Sad Fixture

After: Happy New Fixture!

 My next task is to replace the soap bottles with pretty glass ones.

Meanwhile...

Cat nap....  Har har har.