Everything but the Kitchen Sink

We closed on the house at the end of January in 2014 and allowed ourselves six weeks to work on the house before moving in. I figured we'd need a good six months to whip the house into shape, but in six weeks I was sure we could give the kitchen a necessary face-lift and get one of the bedrooms painted and situated. First things first, we needed a new kitchen faucet. After de-winterizing the house, we turned on the faucet and water sprayed out in all directions. We took measurements and consulted the almighty Internet and found a close match in a new model. Pow! Ordered.

This was amazing in 1929.	Similar, but slightly better, no?

Nick did all the hard work, taking out the old faucet and installing the new. While I don't remember the process at all (he may have done it without me), I do seem to recall him showing off his handy work. "See?" he beamed as he illustrated the smooth action on the lever and the steady, straight stream of water. "Oooooh…you're so handy!"

"Does the drain seem slow to you?"

Argh! Without the old faucet working properly, we weren't able to truly assess the drain. Nick crawled under the nasty sink and took apart the P-trap and cleaned it out.

Enter at your own risk.	Drain gunk or wet gerbil?

Water on….drain still slow. Crap. Off to good ol' Hardware Station we went and purchased a 25 foot plumbing snake. Imagine our nasty kitchen, seemingly caked in grease and evil, dimly lit by just the light over the sink and a project light spotlighting our show. The main light source was part of a ceiling fan that had collected enough dust to be an archaeological wonder on its own, and (big shock) didn't work. In center stage, Nick jammed the snake down the drain. It riled and fought, but with great strength and determination Nick reeled the snake back and brought with it a wad of indistinguishable gunk that best resembled a wet long haired gerbil. The drain was now clear, but the sink leaked. Nick replaced the whole part and caulked. Bodda bing!

Old drain stuff.	New drain stuff.
Old drain. Blech!	New drain. Yay!