kitchen update # 61 - day after the countertops

on august 7 i had the roommate shut off the main water to the house so i could replace the shut off valves under the sink. (the shut off valve is down in his bathroom).

installing the new faucet


new faucet with the pull-down sprayer head in place


lots of hoses, all fit thru one hole in the countertop


underneath


the old shut off valves, the one on the left (hot water) leaks and has a paper towel shoved in it.


then i used dads pipe cutter and cut off the old leaking shut off valves


dads pipe cutter (the red thing). you twist the dial on the side to tighten the cutter wheel and spin it around the pipe, then tighten, then spin, and keep doing it until the pipe breaks off.




the orange thing has two functions. one is those little black circles in the middle are metal cutters that strip any burrs off the top of the pipe after the pipe has been cut off. you spin it around while pressing down. the second function is that it tells you the proper depth for the push-to-fit valve to be pushed down to.


you draw a line under it, then push and push and push the valve all the way down so its properly in place.


voila! valve pressed down to the line, perfect fit. no soldering.


then i attached the hoses from the faucet to the new shut off valves


lovely functional shut off valves under the kitchen sink, and they work nice. then i had the roommate turn the water back on and no leaks.


then i needed to make a run to the store for more plumbing parts because the sink drains are in different spots than the old ones, so the old drain pipe pieces didnt work. i put a bowl in the sink under the faucet to remind me theres no drain hooked up yet even though the water is hooked up.

on august 8 i went to menards and found all the new plumbing parts i needed in one set.


i attached the little stubs to the sink strainer, then screwed the sink strainer in with the plumbers putty.


view from above with the new sink strainer in place


all the plumbing drain pieces cut and screwed together! no leaks!


kitchen with the sink cabinet doors in place now that i'm done with all the plumbing underneath.


the new faucet is great, but at first kept dripping a few times each time i shut it off. i worried if thats just how the pull-down sprayer faucets work or if i didnt something wrong. but it quit doing that.

every time i walk into or out of the kitchen i drag my hands over the new pretty counters.