Thank goodness I found a tool to help with hard to reach fittings.
Ridgid EZ change faucet tool, multiple tools in one.
Next time you get under your sink use this tool.You wouldn't be sorry.
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Thank goodness I found a tool to help with hard to reach fittings.
Ridgid EZ change faucet tool, multiple tools in one.
Next time you get under your sink use this tool.You wouldn't be sorry.
Is that also known as a basin wrench?
No, this tool does 5 different operationsQuote:
Originally Posted by Maven
It appears to work on the water lines, NOT the drain fittings. There have been places that would have been handy. I try and avoid under sink stuff.
Vertigo while laying on my back inside a sink base is less than a cheap thrill.
Unfortunately, I see plumbing work in my immediate future, my daughter closed on her first house less than 2 hours ago.
And it's a fixer upper. Before she moves in she wants Dad to redo the bathroom. I doubt it will take her a year before she decides the stunning ugly kitchen will have to go.
May have to buy another tool, the horror.
My experience with those type jobs is that the more tools you have available, the better you are for all the unexpected "surprises" you always run into. I changed one out a few months ago and the big stamped nut on one side was so corroded that it was a bear to get started turning. I hate that job almost as much as working under a car dash! Such work should be done by younger men.
When I moved back to FL in 71, long boring story of a military brat, I got a job as a foreman/estimator for a renovation/repair contractor.
A fixer upper structure especially a house is like an old wood hull boat, chances are 100% you will get a number of surprises during your ride to wonderful. Extension cords in walls or ceilings, hoses in walls, water running up hill in a drain, 100 Amp breaker boxs, or screw in fuse boxes, old Kohler cast iron tubs in the wall, shower mixer in a wall with no access, etc. much easier to tear it all out.
Rarely do people take my advise, however, you should just order a roll off, go to the studs, and tear everything out, haul it off, then replace every single item, new for old, wiring, plumbing, insulation, sheetrock, trim, cabinets, flooring, breaker box, etc., etc. Renovation is about speed, not care in preservation. Do you really ever need a new house with 30 year old plumbing in it?
Want to know how I made a lot of money in a short time, I did just what I describe, above.
I supplemented one of those with a few 12 pt crowfoot sockets, the ones with the open side to fit over pipes. More expensive, but awesome to work with! Of course the best thing is to disconnect everything and flip the countertop over, but I rarely have that option.
Be careful on that remodel job , I remodel my daughter’s bathroom in her fixer upper a few years ago and when I was finished I ended up having to get my knee scoped.Quote:
Originally Posted by 15meter
In regards to the Rigid tool it’s on my wish list, it looks to be very useful!
Agree with you if it is really a true fixer upper. You'll spend more time and money trying to FIX problems and your daughter won't ever truly be satisfied doing piecemeal renovation.
I'm past doing things myself that will be over a week of my time. Have a great relationship with an old builder renovator. He built by daughter's home several years ago and he's done 2 good jobs for me. Removed all the stupid popcorn ceilings and repaired cracks, painted several rooms and then gutted our 2nd bathroom, installed a walk in tub that my wife needed, and got the doorway wheelchair accessible. Ever heard of 24inch doorways in a bathroom? There were 2 in that bathroom stupid. He's now doing a full replacement of our siding. 1991 house.
His 3 main crew, all Mexican brothers, can't be beat. Yep, rip it out.
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Oh, the one thing we had done that wasn't a full renovation? Kitchen. Just replaced the crap countertops with good quartz and the stove top with a new gas burner. But wife isn't satisfied with layout. But it will most likely not be redone.
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Not everyone that purchases a house can afford to do a to-the-studs gut job and renovation, even if they possess the skills or common sense to make their own repairs.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rapier
My skill level for repairs hasn’t changed. My inclination to take on such tasks has diminished substantially as age takes its toll. I’m in the tool and equipment consolidation and reduction phase now.
Nice notion if the wallet's thick enough, my daughter is a single woman living on a teacher's salary from one of the smallest school systems in the state of Michigan. Just buying the house is a stretch. Even with 20% down and an 800+ credit score. It WILL be a multiple year process. Even with Mom and dad donating most of the labor.Quote:
Originally Posted by Handloader109
Bidenomics driving interest rates from 2% to above 7% have pretty much stolen all her home improvement money to line the bank's coffers.
I'm not a spring chicken by any stretch of the imagination, but there's not much I can't do that needs to be done in this house.
Biggest hassle is, the house is 240 miles away from my house.
With this crazy real estate market, it took 4 years and 50+ homes to find one she could afford and is in good enough condition that she can live in it while she upgrades.
The only reason I ever undo those nuts if when replacing the faucet. So, if they're so corroded that they don't want to come off easily drill into it and hit it with a chisel or punch to break the nut.Quote:
Originally Posted by 35 Rem
Don't know how they do it up there but when I was a child my Dad was on the School Board of a small town in Maine - and we had the highest paid teachers in the State! It is a matter of priorities. We moved from a small town in Maine to Fairfax, VA - #2 or 3 in the nation school system, and my brother and I fit right in with no problems. Kids moving from Florida were automatically put back a year.Quote:
Originally Posted by 15meter
As a Union Pipefitter and Plumber I can tell you that I personally have so many specialty tools that I could not fit all of them into the trunk of my car.....
And when I get to a side job and realize that I forgot one or two of the tools that I need is sitting in the toolbox at home it is either a trip back to the garage or over to the plumbing supply house to get another one.
And then, there's the scrounger's gadget. Years ago there was a broken pipe wrench
at a flea market. It was a Rigid, and the smallest one they make. The handle was broken off just below the adjustment nut. It will get into spaces you would not believe, and has enough leverage to do whatever you need done.