Home Project Gone Bad

Okay why is it when we decide to do a "little" home project around this house it turns out to be a major catastrophe?!

Chris decides that today would be a pretty good day to install a "new" hand me down kitchen sink faucet.

1. He crawls under the sink and pulls out all the stuff and finds that something has been leaking down there and probably for sometime. Okay, get some towels and mop up the water.

2. Remove old gross, disgusting faucet and hose sprayer with help from Kelly who is afraid to touch anything that might get his hands dirty-"just grab it Kelly! You can wash your hands after you get it out!"

3. Find that the new faucet has a broken part and then decide the sink needs some new hoses. Try to get Ann to go to the Big Box Hardware Store to get the part. Ann declines, saying Chris needs to go because he knows what he is looking for.

4. Grab car keys, Kelly, and list and head to store. Call Ann while at store to grab tape measure and measure the place where the new part is to go (there were SEVERAL choices-glad he went).
Ann measures-measurements don't sound right to Chris so he buys 3 different ones for the one part.

5. Come home with everything on list and remember that you forgot to put something unrelated to this project on the list and didn't get it. Double check Ann's measurements and see that something doesn't look right. Call mom and dad-(original owners of "new" faucet) and find out that a part had broken off in the part that Ann was measuring. Get broken piece out and put in new part.

6. Try to attach a part (something different than above part) that was just purchased-wrong size. Get keys, Kelly, and head back to BBHS to get the right size. Come back attach right sized part and move to next step.

6.5 Bump head on cabinet hardware under sink and start bleeding by eyebrow.

7. Clean disgusting yuck off sick where old faucet used to be. Place new faucet where old one was. Oh, I should have bought some plumber's putty when we were at the store. Get keys, Kelly, and back to BBHS. Come back and put putty where it is supposed to go.

8. Attach hoses to "new" faucet. Oops, something not right-the hoses don't hook up properly. Get Keys, Kelly and back to BBHS. Come back with new hoses-attempt to attach those, nope, that's not working... Get keys, Kelly, and head back to BBHS for different hoses. Stop at grocery store to pick up brats to cook for dinner and come home. Try new hoses...still not working. Keep trying. Kelly starts to BBQ's brats. Hoses just won't work...finally call Plumber friend Darrel-not home, leave desperate message to please return call.

9. Darrel calls back, get back under sink and try to describe problem-discuss with Darrel for 45 minutes. Find that something else isn't working on the faucet. Take faucet apart to see what's wrong-describe to Darrel what you see. Get suggestion from Darrel, get keys, leave Kelly home this time and head back to BBHS.

10. My knight in shining amour arrives---it's Darrell, he has come to fix the faucet. He's still on the phone with Chris who is at the BBHS. Darrell looks at Chris's project, tries to tell Chris what he needs to get-decides to meet Chris at the BBHS (which Darrell doesn't know where it is). Darrell gets Kelly and heads to BBHS. I tell Darrell as he is leaving, just get me a NEW faucet.

11. Get call from Chris--look at your cell phone, I just sent you a picture of a faucet. Didn't come through--just pick out something, not expensive.

12. Boys return home, bring in bags of parts and hoses and a NEW faucet. Darrell brings in tool bucket, but it is Chris who heads back under sink. 60 minutes later--a NEW working faucet!


5 Trips to BBHS and 9 hours later....

Lesson learned....call plumber first ;o)