God Helped Me Replace A Bathroom Sink Faucet! - By: Bob Alexander

I didn't think I would need divine intervention to replace a bathroom sink faucet. Instructions found on the internet suggested that even someone with less than average intelligence could do the job in 30 minutes. With my plumbing expertise I did the job in five hours; with some help from God.

Reading the instructions and the first item on the list, I was advised to cut the water off at the shut-off valves under the sink. Tackling the cold water valve first, I tried as hard as I could to twist it with my hand. That didn't work, so I used my channel lock pliers on the handle.

Squeezing the pliers hard, I put a lot of muscle into the twisting of the handle on the cold water valve and crushed it into mangled mess that fell to the floor of the cabinet. Water spurted out of the stem, drenching me in a cold shower!

Dashing outside to the meter, I quickly shut off the water to the house. Back in the bathroom and the mangled shut-off valve, I tried the hot water and there were no leaks. I would only have to buy one and I could get the project underway again.

The super indoor lumber yard and hardware store was five miles away. After finding the items I needed I drove back home and replaced the shut-off valve. Now I could finally take off the old sink faucet and exchange it for the new one.

Taking the old faucet off the lavatory wasn't really difficult and I had it off in 30 minutes. I also had skinned knuckles because the wrench I was using slipped off the brass fittings twice, causing me to accidentally rake my hands on the rough underside of the sink.

Now, only three hours after I began this task, it was time to replace the old bathroom sink faucet with the new one that was still in the plastic bag.

The next steps were easy. Tearing something apart is usually a lot easier than putting it back together again. This was the case with the new faucet. For some reason the 'P' Trap fell apart when I disconnected it from the drain pipe in the sink.

Try as I might, I couldn't figure out what was wrong, because I couldn't put it back together. Finally it made a lot more sense to run back to the hardware store again and buy a new 'P' Trap. When I got back home and installed the fixture, everything worked perfectly.

After installing the new faucet and connecting the water supply lines to the sink faucet, I removed the aerator as advised by the now water soaked set of instructions. Turning on the water from the road, I heard a hissing noise before I got to the bathroom.

This time I turned off the water at the sink. Instead of a drip, there had been a flood coming from the faucet itself, a place where it was impossible to leak. Since it wasn't dripping with the water off, I gave up and went to bed, soaked and tired from the day's effort.

Being the praying man I am, before I went to sleep I asked God to fix the leaky faucet for me while I slept. If he didn't want to do that, He could at least send me someone who was smarter than I to show me what to do.

The next morning when I turned the water on in the sink, water blasted from the top of the sink again. My wife heard the commotion and walked into the bathroom. After turning the water off, she held out her hand and showed me the aerator I had taking off the faucet saying sweetly, "I don't know for sure, but this might help."

Mumbling that no one told me to put the attachment back on, I crawled out from under the sink, screwed it onto the faucet. No leak!

God does have a sense of humor.

About the Author

Bob Alexander is well experienced in outdoor cooking, gardening, fishing and leisure living. Bob is also the author and owner of this article. Visit his sites at: http://www.homeandgardenbob.com http://www.redfishbob.com

Article Directory Source: http://www.articlerich.com/profile/Bob-Alexander/7389

Additional Articles From - Home | Home & family | Home improvement