We bought our home almost a year ago, and one of the home improvement projects on our list was a new kitchen sink and faucet. The pipes leaked so we kept plastic containers under the sink to catch the water. It was tolerable at first, so other projects took precedence over the kitchen.
Apparently, the sink got tired of waiting on us to decide when it was ready for a makeover and made the decision for itself last week.
Our stainless steel sink and the pipes underneath died last week from corrosion, rot, and pure gross-ness. As much as I hated the thought of spending the money on a new sink and faucet, I was very much looking forward to getting rid of this:
Our sink was my least favorite part of the house. It wasn’t deep enough to wash big dishes. The faucet rotated when you tried to just move the faucet head. The pipes had become so bad that we didn’t trust the water enough to put it in our dog’s water bowl – we filled their bowl in the bathroom sink. It was gross…ok? Take my word for it.
So, last week, Mark was washing his hands before dinner, and decided to empty the plastic container underneath that was being used to catch leaks. Well, when he opened the cabinet, lo and behold, one entire PVC pipe had broken free from the grips of plumbing lockdown and was spewing water into the floor of the cabinet at an alarming rate.
We had to resort to this:
Water in the kitchen was turned off immediately, and dishes were hand-washed in the tiny pedestal sink in the half bath. A TV table became a makeshift drying rack over the toilet. Nice, right?
The next day, I began shopping online for sink and faucet ideas, and asked all of my awesome
Facebook fans for assistance.
Thanks to all of you, we selected a lovely espresso-colored sink for our kitchen. That very afternoon, I came home to this:
Mark wasted no time at all getting rid of the sink, faucet, and pipes. We headed to Home Depot and found the faucet I had my heart set on, but they didn’t have the sink (even though their website said they did – boo). We went to Lowe’s and found a sink. Even though it wasn’t the one I initially wanted, I ended up loving it!
Mark spent two days figuring out the plumbing and installing the sink and faucet. This was his first time with any kind of plumbing project and he did a fabulous job! (Let’s just say I was glad this happened during the week Marley was at her dad’s house…because, well, Mark got frustrated a time or two, and…you know, things get said. Yea. You understand.)
Finally, all the pieces were put together and I am very happy to say that we have a brand new sink and faucet in our kitchen!!
It’s beautiful! It’s deeper than our old sink, and the faucet it taller, so I can actually wash large dishes! And the pipes are brand new and clean so the water isn’t gross anymore. It has completely transformed our whole kitchen, I swear. It’s amazing what a difference it’s made. It has really stepped up the design and made it feel more upscale.
Tips:
– Make sure the water is turned OFF on all valves under the sink BEFORE pulling the pipes apart. (Yea, Mark got a bath he wasn’t ready for.)
– If you’ve never done plumbing work before, it’s totally do-able. Take a BEFORE picture of the pipe configuration with you to the store. That was a HUGE help.
– Be sure to purchase the sink strainers when you buy your sink. (You know, those silver circle things that go in the bottom of your sink?) Otherwise, you’ll be making a run to the store mid-install to get them. Can’t attach pipes to an open drain hole!
– You may want to buy extra faucet supply line. The line extending from our faucet wasn’t long enough to reach the existing hot and cold water lines under the sink. This warranted yet another trip mid-install.
– When in doubt, visit YouTube. There are tons of helpful videos that will walk you through the installation process.
Resources:
– Franke USA Drop-in or Undermount Granite Double Basin Sink
– Pfister Avanti Pull-down Faucet in Tuscan Bronze
What area of your home is the bane of your existence?
6 Responses
I LOVE it! IT looks great!
Thanks Tarah! It’s so nice to have it finished 🙂
Thank you!
Thanks Meredith!
Looks awesome! I love the sink. I would love to replace our stainless sink, I have scratched that baby up terribly!