We just moved in to our new home. It seems there's one project after another. Yesterday I installed light fixtures and wired them in myself. The day before that I learned how to fix a bunk pilot light and jimmy-rig our water-heater. (For 3 days we had no hot water and had to bathe the kids at a friends house... Dan and I just muscled our way through the freezing cold shower water and constant gasping.) I've never seen so many spiders and crawling things in my life than I've seen in our new garage (which is converted into 2 make-shift bedrooms.) I've installed screens in the windows, light and socket covers on the outlets, tested our heater, demolitioned 2 walls of sheet rock and lumber, torn up carpet, painted railing and walls, and figured out how the fuse box worked. Today was sink incinerator day.
If any of you reading this have ever replaced a sink disposal, I'd love to hear about it.
If any of you reading this need help replacing your sink disposal, please refrain from calling me.
After 2 trips to home depot, 8 hours of grueling work, sitting on tile and looking up with my arms above me, and several moments of pure horror when Abigail would attempt to eat something that had just flown from the smelly pipes, I realized I was in over my head. Things became increasingly difficult with the kids being there the whole time. When I FINALLY got the old corroded and rusted one out, Addie shouted, "Yeeeeeaah Mooommmy!!! You DID it! You're SO strong and BIG!!!" I attempted putting the new one in. Only to discover that I had to re-wire the electrical box and install a plug. Since I had no patience left for home depot, I resigned myself to sifting through the garbage to find the gross/crappy incinerator and then figured out how to disengage the cord and re- wire it into the new disposal. It was really fascinating figuring out how to attach the grounding wire and strippping the other wires so I could twist them together and make the appliance "hot". I was so proud. After many long hours of frustration, I did it. I even took a picture to show off my handy work!
Sooo, I began cleaning the large pile of built-up dished we'd accumulated, when I noticed a funny sound in the distance. "Hmmm, what's that funny sound?" I asked myself. It took me a few seconds to figure out that water was streaming out of the bottom of the sink cupboard and the kitchen floor was quickly flooding. It being 1AM in the morning, it took my brain a few moments to react and shut off the water. Turns out that the incinerator I installed works great, but now I've created 2 other leaky gaskets on the pipes surrounding my masterpiece.
It was a good thing we had a lot of extra paper on hand! I was so un-proud of my work I took another picture.
Oh, and also...
I recently discovered that painter's putty does not wash off your hands in water. It's water resistant. That's probably why they use it to seal sink incinerators. My hands are super dry and pasty.
Sooo, I began cleaning the large pile of built-up dished we'd accumulated, when I noticed a funny sound in the distance. "Hmmm, what's that funny sound?" I asked myself. It took me a few seconds to figure out that water was streaming out of the bottom of the sink cupboard and the kitchen floor was quickly flooding. It being 1AM in the morning, it took my brain a few moments to react and shut off the water. Turns out that the incinerator I installed works great, but now I've created 2 other leaky gaskets on the pipes surrounding my masterpiece.
It was a good thing we had a lot of extra paper on hand! I was so un-proud of my work I took another picture.
Oh, and also...
I recently discovered that painter's putty does not wash off your hands in water. It's water resistant. That's probably why they use it to seal sink incinerators. My hands are super dry and pasty.
9 comments:
i'm impressed by all your competent handiwork, but i'm sorry not all of it worked out for you. isn't that how it always goes, though? whenever my dad did home improvement-type work at home, there was always ONE thing that didn't work according to plan. i'm just amazed you attempted it yourself and that it worked--i doubt i could do that!
Way to go, Wunda Girl!
Wunda Girl to the rescue! Great work learning to do home projects! I'm happy you didn't electrocute yourself like I probably would have done.
Wow Ang I am impressed, I would have called a plumber around my first trip to home depot. I am impressed miss fix it! And way to go on all the other home repairs you will have that place whipped in to shape in no time!
good job sis. i knew you could do it...did you remember to remove the knock-out plug? have fun replacing the gaskets around your p-trap (that sounds really dirty) and remember, it's called an in-sinkerator, not an incinerator (unless it burns up your old food waste, too). :)
your new nickname is "tim the toolman taylor"
I remember getting our disposal fixed in the UT house, and right as the plumber pulled it out, I leaned in for a closer look and nasty puce colored water flew everywhere, including inside my mouth. Phtewkugh!
I'm impressed with all your hands-on attempts. That is awesome. Also, WELCOME BACK to the BAY!!!
Wow! You can seriously do anything!! I shouldn't be surprised anymore by your amazing abilities! Keep up the good work and we can't wait to see pictures of the finished product.
I'm very impressed. I worked at Home Depot for three years, and when we needed to replace ours I paid for the install too. I didn't want to look stupid if I messed it up and (probably more so) I am lazy.
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