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offcntrHave I mentioned lately that I'm really tired of doing repairs?
Making supper Saturday night. Nothing fancy, soft tacos with beans and ground turkey, lettuce, tomato, cheese. Sour cream and salsa for condiments. I hate guacamole.
I was just rinsing the can from the refritos, when the sink exploded.
I've posted about this thing before, a single-handle antique with a long history of dripping, stripping the handle screws, etc. It's been remarkably well-behaved for a year know, biding its time.
What seems to have happened is, the screw-down cap ring, which holds the ball valve and top gasket to the body of the faucet decided to crack like an egg. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised, it was a recycled piece from BRING, but when there's a massive fountain of water spraying the curtains, cabinet and counter top, surprise is sort of a given.
I pulled all the cleaning supplies out from under the sink, turned off the cold water shut-off. The hot, however, was missing its handle. Don't see it anywhere, water still gushing. I go get the vise grips, try to twist it closed, but there's very little clearance between the trap and the dishwasher hoses. Finally occurs to me to take a squared baking dish (required Off Center Ceramics content) out of the dish drainer and invert it over the fountain, to direct all the water back into the sink, so I can panic a little less as I wrestle with the shut-off. I get it about 7/8 closed, but it won't go any further, so I finally go turn off the supply line to the water heater, and throw the breaker.
It's 7:10 pm. BiMart, my closest hardware store, is closed, as is BRING. Jerry's Home Improvement, out on Highway 99, is open till 8. I mop my self off a little, grab my wallet and the handle-valve-cracked ring assembly and dash for the car. (Where there's already a mask waiting.)
At Jerry's, I join another woman with a plumbing problem, talking to an employee. It's not his department, and the one plumbing guy we see is already with a customer, so he phones up a manager to meet us at the desk. Two minutes later, Aldo arrives, takes one look at my dead soldier, and leads me down aisle 11 to the place where, way down at the bottom of a wall of sinks parts, he finds the exact, shiny new lockdown ring I need, for under 12 bucks. Then he takes the other lady in tow to solve her problem as well.
Ten minutes after I get home, the faucet is back together and I can finish making supper. I'll still have to replace the hot water shut-off at some point, but at least it's not an emergency.
I love Jerry's.
Making supper Saturday night. Nothing fancy, soft tacos with beans and ground turkey, lettuce, tomato, cheese. Sour cream and salsa for condiments. I hate guacamole.
I was just rinsing the can from the refritos, when the sink exploded.
I've posted about this thing before, a single-handle antique with a long history of dripping, stripping the handle screws, etc. It's been remarkably well-behaved for a year know, biding its time.
What seems to have happened is, the screw-down cap ring, which holds the ball valve and top gasket to the body of the faucet decided to crack like an egg. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised, it was a recycled piece from BRING, but when there's a massive fountain of water spraying the curtains, cabinet and counter top, surprise is sort of a given.
I pulled all the cleaning supplies out from under the sink, turned off the cold water shut-off. The hot, however, was missing its handle. Don't see it anywhere, water still gushing. I go get the vise grips, try to twist it closed, but there's very little clearance between the trap and the dishwasher hoses. Finally occurs to me to take a squared baking dish (required Off Center Ceramics content) out of the dish drainer and invert it over the fountain, to direct all the water back into the sink, so I can panic a little less as I wrestle with the shut-off. I get it about 7/8 closed, but it won't go any further, so I finally go turn off the supply line to the water heater, and throw the breaker.
It's 7:10 pm. BiMart, my closest hardware store, is closed, as is BRING. Jerry's Home Improvement, out on Highway 99, is open till 8. I mop my self off a little, grab my wallet and the handle-valve-cracked ring assembly and dash for the car. (Where there's already a mask waiting.)
At Jerry's, I join another woman with a plumbing problem, talking to an employee. It's not his department, and the one plumbing guy we see is already with a customer, so he phones up a manager to meet us at the desk. Two minutes later, Aldo arrives, takes one look at my dead soldier, and leads me down aisle 11 to the place where, way down at the bottom of a wall of sinks parts, he finds the exact, shiny new lockdown ring I need, for under 12 bucks. Then he takes the other lady in tow to solve her problem as well.
Ten minutes after I get home, the faucet is back together and I can finish making supper. I'll still have to replace the hot water shut-off at some point, but at least it's not an emergency.
I love Jerry's.
no subject
Date: 2021-06-16 04:31 am (UTC)