H. G. Williams 

THE KITCHEN FAUCET

We were up early Saturday morning; around six o'clock.   Susan stated that the spray unit in the kitchen sink faucet was leaking.  I examined it and confirmed that water was indeed leaking from the base of the spray handle.  I suggested that we go to Orchard Supply and purchase a replacement, she agreed. 

 At 9 o'clock we arrived at the store to purchase the replacement nozzle and hose.  At the appropriate isle we began the search.  Next to the spray nozzles the display for new sink faucets was displayed with great glitter.  We both began the process of justification for a new faucet, with the spray unit included in lieu of just the new spray unit.  After all, the old unit was over 10 years old and looked its age.  A new unit was a good investment. The one hundred dollars was spent and we returned home to install the new faucet.

 The first order of business was to remove all the "stuff" from under the sink. Then remove the old faucet. With a chase lounge cushion under me for softness, the process began.

The first obstacle was apparent from the first moment, the nut holding the old faucet was in an unreachable spot and would require special wrenches. Not wanting to go to the store again, I decided to work around this problem by the use of ingenuity.  One hour later and several skinned knuckles, the obstinate nut was removed and another victory for ingenuity was recorded.  With the old unit gone, the new unit was installed with a minimum of hassle.

 The first order of business was to leak check the job.  Turn the water on and look.  What the hell. Water is leaking from the garbage disposal. That unit was not involved in the program, why is it leaking?  I began to examine the situation and found that where it was leaking showed evidence of a leak of long duration.  At this point Susan mentioned that there had been water under the sink now for a period   of time and that she has mopped it up several times.  Further examination revealed that the unit was rusted out and the obvious solution was a new disposal unit.  Back to Orchard Supply.  We settle on a middle range unit and one hundred dollars later we are returning home. 

 The old unit and it's flanges were removed but not with out detours. The first detour was while removing the old drain lines; the water flowed out through a horizontal line and not the vertical line that had the bucket under it.  The water flowed and flooded the under sink area and the floor of the kitchen.  Many old towels and the mop solved this situation. Next the old flange was of course rusted and the bolts that hold it were also.  This required cutting them off rather that just unscrewing them.  At this point the old unit is out and the work area somewhat dry and the new unit can be installed.

 All goes well until the part where the instruction booklet says " slip disposal flange into the mounting ring".   Neat trick. One must lay on one's back to hold the new unit to raise it into place. In this position one cannot see the mounting ring.  I hold that it is impossible for one to do this shy a miracle of luck in aligning the units.  This now requires the help of Susan.  This is a scary thing!  I love her dearly, but projects of this kind are not her forte.  I will not describe the next 30 minutes; suffice it to say, together, we did get the disposal unit into the mounting ring.

 Finally, with new disposal unit installed the drain lines can be put back together and a leak check done.  It leaks.  The gooseneck unit in the drain is leaking.  It is removed and found that an epoxy patch was made by someone before be bought the place and it now chose this time to fail.  Back to the store for a new gooseneck.

 The new gooseneck installed and the final leak check.  Finally all is well.  A new faucet, a new disposal, and new gooseneck, and no leaks.  All looks great.  The final step is to install the old aerator unit into the new faucet.   The threads don't fit and it leaks.  The decision is made, " It doesn't leak bad, leave it as is ".

 So there, the day started at 6 0'clock with a leaking spray unit and after two hundred thirty dollars, nine hours labor, the day is done and we have a new kitchen faucet and garbage disposal.  All is well.

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