How to be a handyman - the hard way!
Aug. 23rd, 2005 08:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
swehAs a kid I helped my dad with a lot of DIY stuff. This means I can paint, wallpaper, put up shelves, put up a light... basic home maintenance. I won't do anything major like wiring electrics through walls to the fuse box, or run a new water spur (eg for the ice maker in the fridge), but I'm not helpless. My dad may even be surprised at how much I can do :-)
However, I don't always have the experience. Case in point... basement sink. My basement has a large double basin double drainer sink in it. However the tap was pretty bad and would leak LOTS of water. So I decided to change it. How hard could it be?
Turn off the water at the valves... they're stiff (probably not been turned for 20 years) but I put a screw driver in the handle to provide extra leverage and manage it.
Next I had to get the old tap off. The nut holding it tight to the sink had corroded a little and the poor leverage meant I couldn't get enough force on my spanners to loosen them. So I borrow Tori's socket set... except the bolt stuck out too far so I couldn't put the socket onto the bolt! So I got a longer socket and after lots of patience and LOTS of heat (friction!!) the bolts come off. It's taken a week to get this far.
Disconnect the water pipes (tighten valves a little more since a little seepage), bend pipes straight and take old tap out. Clean off rust and scum and check to make sure new tap fits. Looks good... except the connecting pipes on this new tap are too short and are a good 8 inches away from the water pipe! Pondering how to fix this (how to get a pipe bent so it will go 8 inches down and 4 inches across) and three days later it suddenly comes to me; some sort of flexible hosing like a shower head! Duh, obvious! So I head to the hardware store and find something that looks like it should work.
Tonight I verify that the each end is the right size (fits onto pipe and onto tap) and I think... hey, why not make life easier; before putting the tap on and having to work at an awkward angle, why not connect these pipes to the tap then put the tap on place; that way I can use two spanners to ensure the tap pipping doesn't twist or bend and it'll be easier to do. Smart huh? Well, anyone who has done this before probably knows the problem... the resulting bolts and tubes end up being TOO FAT to fit through the hole in the sink! GAH!
At this stage I gave up for the time being and decided to exercise (low blood sugar so getting annoyed).
Of course, if I'd done any of this before then I'd know what pitfalls to avoid and what short cuts there are. I'm basically working all this out from first principles. I'm getting there, but it's taking time!
I'll still call in an expert to look at the boiler system though; it seems to need some overhauling and repair work.
However, I don't always have the experience. Case in point... basement sink. My basement has a large double basin double drainer sink in it. However the tap was pretty bad and would leak LOTS of water. So I decided to change it. How hard could it be?
Turn off the water at the valves... they're stiff (probably not been turned for 20 years) but I put a screw driver in the handle to provide extra leverage and manage it.
Next I had to get the old tap off. The nut holding it tight to the sink had corroded a little and the poor leverage meant I couldn't get enough force on my spanners to loosen them. So I borrow Tori's socket set... except the bolt stuck out too far so I couldn't put the socket onto the bolt! So I got a longer socket and after lots of patience and LOTS of heat (friction!!) the bolts come off. It's taken a week to get this far.
Disconnect the water pipes (tighten valves a little more since a little seepage), bend pipes straight and take old tap out. Clean off rust and scum and check to make sure new tap fits. Looks good... except the connecting pipes on this new tap are too short and are a good 8 inches away from the water pipe! Pondering how to fix this (how to get a pipe bent so it will go 8 inches down and 4 inches across) and three days later it suddenly comes to me; some sort of flexible hosing like a shower head! Duh, obvious! So I head to the hardware store and find something that looks like it should work.
Tonight I verify that the each end is the right size (fits onto pipe and onto tap) and I think... hey, why not make life easier; before putting the tap on and having to work at an awkward angle, why not connect these pipes to the tap then put the tap on place; that way I can use two spanners to ensure the tap pipping doesn't twist or bend and it'll be easier to do. Smart huh? Well, anyone who has done this before probably knows the problem... the resulting bolts and tubes end up being TOO FAT to fit through the hole in the sink! GAH!
At this stage I gave up for the time being and decided to exercise (low blood sugar so getting annoyed).
Of course, if I'd done any of this before then I'd know what pitfalls to avoid and what short cuts there are. I'm basically working all this out from first principles. I'm getting there, but it's taking time!
I'll still call in an expert to look at the boiler system though; it seems to need some overhauling and repair work.
