And the Kitchen Sink!

Wednesday evening, while washing the dishes, I thought the sink lever felt a little funny. When I shut off the water, I knew why, because I ended up with this POS in my hand.

Thanks, MOEN, for ruining my weekend. (Buy it for life, my ass.) I was hoping to have just a little bit of time during the day to either do what I wanted, or to prepare for Heir No. Two's birthday party on Saturday evening. But thanks to the quality workmanship of MOEN, I have a project to take up my time. And it wasn't enough to replace the faucet. You see, I am married. Being married means never having to do the simple fix; instead, you get to UPGRADE. I mentioned something to Mrs. Blackiswhite Thursday about stopping at Home Depot on my way home to pick up a new faucet. The response: "You might as well wait. I want a new sink too." "Why?" "Because you can't put a new faucet on that old sink. It will look yucky." I took a deep breath. "And?" (Because I knew there was more.) "And because the one we have isn't deep enough. I can't wash the big pots in it." I sat silently, straining my brain to remember the last time I saw her wash any pot, let alone a big one. Those of you who have been married a while understand my conundrum. If you say what you are really thinking, you get to pay the consequences for a long time. If you get upset, you pay the consequences for a long time. Finally, I settled on "So you're taking a $75 repair job and turning it into a $450 dollar upgrade, and taking my weekend away at the same time?" "Yes." I hate the casual ease with which she can say that. Friday night, we went to the Home Depot, pcked out the Kohler 19 Gauge Stainless Steel with 8 inch deep sides, the Kohler Chrome Drains, and the Delta (That's D-E-L-T-A, not MOEN) Faucet, and casually dinging the plastic, I headed out the door.

Saturday morning, I climbed underneath the old no-name sink with some POS hardware attached, and did what I do best with tools: I took it apart. Naively, I believed that since the two sinks were the same size, the new one should drop right in. (You can insert the laughter here if you've played this game before.)

As it turns out, the first hole was never cut square to begin with, and then the self-rimming lip on the underside of the new sink is an inch longer and an inch wider than on the old one, so the beveled corners in the cutout are as useful as honesty in Congress.

Many adjusting cuts later, I have it so it is almost flat, and I think that once the clips are attached underneath, it'll be just fine. Tomorrow, I tackle the Plubming. Hooking the water up will be no big deal. The drains, and the dishwasher? We'll see.