Fifty Plus (50+) - Putting in a sink is full body workout!

Spent the best part of today installing a new sink in our downstairs half bath. Guess what? Parts of me are not as flexible as they used to be. On my knees holding a flashlight in one hand and a screw driver in the other while trying to turn my head 95 degrees to the left and 30 degrees of elevation is a real challenge these days. Guess I will go out on the porch and "rest up" on the trainer.

You have it wrong. I have two daughters- now married. One son-in-law is a painter/ decorator and the other is an IT specialist that is also handy with tools. I act as the foreman and the wife provides the Nourishment- but I just invite them round for lunch on a Sunday and then drop the reason for inviting them round.

15 or so years ago I put a composite (plastic) sink in the kitchen of our previous home. A dream to handle. So light I had to make sure the clamps holding it to the countertop were tight while the adhesive caulk cured. When we upgraded the countertop, etc. in our current home 10 years ago, the Boss requested an porcelain/cast iron sink, so of course I had to wrestle that puppy into place. No problem getting it to stay put. Tossup on degree of difficulty on connections under the sink. Came close to having a disposer fall on my face with one or the other sink jobs. Would be nice to just provide management for those kind of jobs.

I used to do a lot of that stuff, but these days I fix things with the telephone dial. I think my wife is glad to be free of listening to me piss and moan.:rolleyes:

Sinks aren't so difficult when you have a helper! :)

Maybe I can train our kitty to hold a flashlight.........................

Two words, pre-assembly! Maybe that's one compound word. Any way, putting the drain and faucet together and on the sink before you drop in the cabinet makes the job much easier, if you can.
Just replacing th faucet is just a pain anyway you slice it.

I have found that under the sink work is one thing my back will not allow me to do. An hour under the sink would set me back years in bulging disk rehab and keep me off the bikes for weeks. Not worth it.

Here's a great tip for under-sink work: Build a platform that is the same height as the bottom of the cupboard under the sink. Slide that up to the edge of the cupboard, and you can lie on your back comfortably. You won't have to hold your butt up in the air, or bend it around the edge of the cupboard.

Two words, pre-assembly! Maybe that's one compound word. Any way, putting the drain and faucet together and on the sink before you drop in the cabinet makes the job much easier, if you can.

That makes WAY too much sense!

My back is shot and my knees will not tolerate kneeling at all. My wallet won't tolerate a plumber or handyman and there are no sons-in-law yet.

So we go around the house and gather all the cushions and I make a nice soft nest from which to work. My bride is my assistant and she's gotten quite good at handing me the proper tools when requested. (In fact she's become accomplished at tearing out plaster & lathe, throwing circuit breakers, handing me the proper tools for small electrical jobs.....by golly, I do believe she's finally properly trained. Lord knows it'll be awhile before I get nearly as proficient at assisting her on her projects.) :o

Not to deflect the thread too much but, with two other guys, I moved 85 sheets of 3/4 plywood up some stairs today. Who's up for that? (My 37-year-old son-in-law moved half of them singlle-handedly. But he was sucking some wind at the end!) :)

Hmmm.... Sink or plywood? Which is worse?


Ed Note: I would have suffered greatly doing this two years ago before I started riding....

It is just amazing the things that can go wrong on a job like that. Just about every time I do one I learn something new, that I wish I never knew.

Like a totally new posture that might never have been accomplished by a human body before.

The plastic drains are pretty easy to install usually. Did have a serious problem with one where there wasn't room to make a turn. But I had put in quite a few of the metal drains without problems and then one day one of them just would not line up well enough to not leak.

Took it apart and put it together about 5 times over a couple of months before getting it slightly right. Fortunately it was in the place I rent and there was no hurry.

Well I have the sink in and it only took a week (had to get a part from the company that had not been included in the package.) To my surprise and relief when I turned on the water fully (after several tests to show which joints in the drain needed tightening) the single cartridge faucet worked perfectly! the hot water was hot and the cold water was cold and the action was smooth and no leaking spouts. Unfortunately when I tried the stopper it let water leak out of the basin. No amount of disassembly, fooling with the rods and pivot and so forth had any positive effect. Can only think the rubber gasket on the brass stopper must not be doing its job. Should have tried a rubber plug last time I had it disassembled. I know the water is not leaking through the sink itself and I have caulked the space between the plug flange and the sink with plumber's putty so it can't be leaking there.

Wait until you do the bathtub!:eek:

Amen on the tub! That cast iron is heavy!

Well its finally done! Only a few weeks and 50 or so manhours but I have at least proved that what I lack in plumbing skills I make up for in tenacity. Perhaps that bodes well for my upcoming century ride I have planned for this summer.

only 50 hours? Now if you had called in a plumber it would have taken 2 weeks and lots of breaks for PIE and coffee.