Know When To Call A Pro

Last year I actually did a lot of projects. (I just didn’t post about them.) A few involved plumbing; each ultimately resulted in calls to a plumber. The trauma is too great to relive, but let’s just say that I have learned to let professionals handle the things I cannot. And that is anything that involves water.

Around Thanksgiving, we noticed the kitchen faucet was starting to get loose. It was about 15 years old, but it wasn’t leaking, was not an emergency, and I know others do have emergencies at this time of year. I figured after Christmas I would either fix it or replace it myself. We needed a new side sprayer, anyway, so I’d do it all at once.

I took a look at the underbelly of the sink. I tried to turn off the water supply, but the valves didn’t work. And I remembered that I don’t do plumbing. Especially not water shut off valves.

That broken washer/ring is the culprit, but everything was rusty and gunky.

I finally decided that I might as well just get a new faucet and sprayer. Based on last year’s jobs, I estimated how much it might cost, and kept putting it off. Then I found a licensed plumber on NextDoor, recommended by several neighbors, and contacted him. He was really smart, and his price was much lower than I was braced for.

I had a time deciding which faucet to get. I finally settled on a Delta Classic 400-DST Faucet with a side sprayer. I’m just not a fan of the faucets with the built in sprayers. I know how we use our sink, and the side sprayer works best for us. And, you can’t go wrong with a Classic, right? I had another one in mind, but this one was a better value for our needs. Heck, I don’t have a fancy gourmet kitchen.

I got the faucet, and the plumber came as scheduled. He even asked if he could come 15 minutes early, which rarely happens. My biggest task after getting the faucet was to turn off the water supply to the whole house and drain the lines right before he arrived.

It turns out that working shut off valves are not subject to code here, and the setup under my sink was just fine, no leaks. So the plumber recommended not replacing them. He did make sure everything was running properly, including supply to the dishwasher. That knocked half off his fee! (This is a local guy, a licensed plumber, who does small jobs like this on the side. He is a helpful neighbor.)

So for the faucet kit and the install, I ended up only paying out about one third of what I initially expected. Total Cost: $243! Yes, I really did budget $750 for the job originally, based on including the shutoffs, my past plumber experience and the going price of my dream faucet.

The new faucet and sprayer are much better than the old ones ever were. I asked how long they should last, and the plumber said built-in obsolescence was about 10 years. He said he was surprised our old one lasted as long as it did. Delta is a good, sturdy brand, and we can feel it when we use the faucet and sprayer. For a 10-year life, I can’t see spending $200.

Sometimes you have to know when to fold ’em, and call the professional. I am so very glad I did. He had to use a special tool to saw off the old parts, and he was contorted up under the cabinet for about an hour total. I don’t I would have handled the project well at this age. I certainly would not have survived the contortion. The cost, a really nice surprise, was well worth it.

Isn’t it terrific when you find a contractor you work well with, who realizes you know what you’re talking about, and who is fair and helpful? My list is growing.

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I Needed To Vent!

So you know how one little project can cause a different, or sometimes bigger issue? Yeah.

Several weeks ago, the odor from the washing machine drain signaled it was time to clean out the gunk and drop in a few Green Gobbler sticks. There was much smelly gunk. A little cleaning. No big deal, right?

Well, I unfortunately dripped a bunch of water on the floor. No big deal. I just carefully moved the machines and mopped it up. And I took that opportunity to clean out the dryer vent (all the way to the outside, a whole 2.5 feet).

Then a bit later I started noticing a LOT of extra dust and lint, and movement of my curtain while the dryer was on. No clog at the outside vent; laundry was drying fine. But the busy holiday season kept my attention off the dryer until this week. The laundry room was so cold and I just could not stand it any longer.

This is my dinosaur dryer. It’s a 21.5 year old Maytag, from when Maytags were still good – pre-Whirlpool buyout. I’ve been able to fix him when needed, from wobbly feet to squeaky wheels and belt, to worn out moisture sensor. He continues to serve us well.

A quick peek showed me that even though I thought I’d aligned all the things, the connections weren’t tight, and the flexible vent pipe wasn’t flexed correctly. Ugh. The vent at the exterior wall is about an inch higher than the vent at the back of the dryer. It’s also about an inch further along the wall than the elbow when the dryer is where I want it to be. Hence the flexible kind. It’s a thick metal one, not the flimsy shiny plastic kind.

TIP: I use my cell phone to look into tight spaces.

When I moved out the dryer, I could see the clamps were a bit loose. Huh? I know for sure I screwed them tightly. I’m not sure how that happened, but there it was. And while I was working on it, the clamp holding the elbow to the dryer came off!

Misbehaving machinery!

I took the opportunity to clean out the vent again (not much there). Then I started reconnecting everything very, very tightly, from the exterior wall to the elbow, then to the dryer. I reinforced the connection from the elbow to the vent pipe with some foil duct tape, to prevent lint from escaping.

Foil Tape is different than duct tape.

This got smoothed out till it was air tight.

Then I tightened the heck out of the clamp at the back of the dryer. It was not budging again.

As it should be now.

Of course, I swept and mopped behind the machines again, just because they were out from the wall. Then I slid everything back into place. And I wiped down the machines with a very slightly damp microfiber cloth so they were clean and shiny.

Total cost: $0.

Total time: About ½ hour.

Oh, I could have called a new repair guy and paid $200 to have this work done with no effort. But I have the tools, and the tape, and the time, and the inclination toward a superior job. You can bet I’m checking every day to be sure the connections are still secure, too.

Next on the list: Replacing the 15-year-old kitchen sink faucet. Did I do it myself? Stay tuned.