Home Repairs/HoneyDo List/Advice & Tips/etc.

[jlb1705]

Great suggestions. Turned out, I just needed more beer. Which made me madder. Which caused me to swing a five pound pipe wrench on the old faucet with great fury, not caring if I damages the sink.

This, it seems, will loosen and/or break the plastic lock washers. Although an extended backswing did take out one wine glass.

Installed and working.

Sounds like you graduated from the same trade school as me.

Seven or eight years ago I had a clogged kitchen sink that my landlord wouldn't fix. Apparently he thought it was a good idea to leave it up to a broke-ass idiot like me to take care of it. I bought a 15-ft. snake to try to root it out myself. I ended up twisting it enough that 14 feet of that snake broke off and settled inside the pipe. My genius solution: get a bigger snake! I got a 25-footer, worked the clog loose and closed it all back up with the 14 feet of snake from the first attempt still in there.

Maybe next time that apartment complex will see fit to hire a professional.

 

[Gatorubet]

I just finished mopping up the water from the kitchen floor. We had issues over night.

 

[Mac]

Woke up this morning to a leak under our kitchen sink. She had the garbage disposal working overtime yesterday and it seems as those we busted a seal somewhere. The leak is pretty pronounced but slightly delayed...there is about a 1-2 second pause in between when the water is turned on and when the water starts pouring down the side of the Insinkerator. Any thoughts are welcome, otherwise I am going to just call my guy and have him come take a look at it...unfortunately I don't have a lot of experience with drains/garbage disposals.

Turn it on, then reach your hand inside thru the disposal. You may feel a slight pinch. Then immediately look under the sink. The blood will help you see where the leak is coming from.

Not as gruesome as Kyle, but get a pitcher of water and put some food coloring or something with color in it and test it that way.

 

[Gatorubet]

Woke up this morning to a leak under our kitchen sink. She had the garbage disposal working overtime yesterday and it seems as those we busted a seal somewhere. The leak is pretty pronounced but slightly delayed...there is about a 1-2 second pause in between when the water is turned on and when the water starts pouring down the side of the Insinkerator. Any thoughts are welcome, otherwise I am going to just call my guy and have him come take a look at it...unfortunately I don't have a lot of experience with drains/garbage disposals.

Have you hit it with a pipe wrench while drunk yet?

 

[knapplc]

Woke up this morning to a leak under our kitchen sink. She had the garbage disposal working overtime yesterday and it seems as those we busted a seal somewhere. The leak is pretty pronounced but slightly delayed...there is about a 1-2 second pause in between when the water is turned on and when the water starts pouring down the side of the Insinkerator. Any thoughts are welcome, otherwise I am going to just call my guy and have him come take a look at it...unfortunately I don't have a lot of experience with drains/garbage disposals.

If it's an Insinkerator brand, you may have actually cracked the housing on the thing. I had a 3/4 horse Insinkerator go out on me with pretty minimal use. The housing developed a pretty significant crack and leaked pretty bad. My guess is that you've got a crack inside the unit, somewhere not far above the blades. The delay in leaking most likely comes from the water filling up to the crack, then flowing through.

They're pretty easy to replace, even if (like me) you're not very experienced in these things. You'll need a pair of channel locks, some plumber's putty, some teflon tape, a bucket and some towels and a set of screwdrivers. Taking the old unit off isn't too hard - you have to disconnect the electrical connection (you should trip the breaker first), then take the pipes off. There's a compression screw-top up where your machine connects to the sink. Disconnect your pipes and wiring, then unscrew the attachment up top and the whole unit should just drop out.

Clean out the old putty, put down a new layer, fit the new unit in and screw up the compression plate, then connect your outflow pipe (be sure you pop open the dishwasher opening if your dishwasher connects to the disposal!), attach your outflow pipe (with a new layer of teflon tape), and you should be good to go.

If you don't mind slamming your hand in the car door again, go buy the same model/brand you just used, and everything should fit perfectly without any cutting of pipes. That's what I did, and the whole project took maybe 30 minutes.

 

[Fungo Squiggly]

If it's an Insinkerator brand, you may have actually cracked the housing on the thing. I had a 3/4 horse Insinkerator go out on me with pretty minimal use. The housing developed a pretty significant crack and leaked pretty bad. My guess is that you've got a crack inside the unit, somewhere not far above the blades. The delay in leaking most likely comes from the water filling up to the crack, then flowing through.

They're pretty easy to replace, even if (like me) you're not very experienced in these things. You'll need a pair of channel locks, some plumber's putty, some teflon tape, a bucket and some towels and a set of screwdrivers. Taking the old unit off isn't too hard - you have to disconnect the electrical connection (you should trip the breaker first), then take the pipes off. There's a compression screw-top up where your machine connects to the sink. Disconnect your pipes and wiring, then unscrew the attachment up top and the whole unit should just drop out.

Clean out the old putty, put down a new layer, fit the new unit in and screw up the compression plate, then connect your outflow pipe (be sure you pop open the dishwasher opening if your dishwasher connects to the disposal!), attach your outflow pipe (with a new layer of teflon tape), and you should be good to go.

If you don't mind slamming your hand in the car door again, go buy the same model/brand you just used, and everything should fit perfectly without any cutting of pipes. That's what I did, and the whole project took maybe 30 minutes.

I've changed out a couple and never had to fuss with the plumber's putty or teflon tape. The base that connects to the sink should be the same, so I've just taken the old disposal off the base and spun in the new one. The biggest pain in the ass, for me, was trying to get enough leverage to hold the damned thing up while I got it lined up.

And yes, do knock out the damn dishwasher plug before you install it.

 

[knapplc]

I used the teflon and putty out of an abundance of caution. I've had no end of trouble with my sink, with about half a dozen different leaks onto my suspended ceiling below necessitating the replacement of several tiles. I'm about two years from my last leak, thank goodness.

 

[wadc45]

Thanks...I am going to try and research which unit I have. It seemed to me that something was loose...just below the top of the unit where it connects to the wink there is a rubber ring and then a metal ring that seem to be loose. Usually what I would do in this case is just start taking the thing apart and then try to figure out how to put it back together properly while inspecting each part to see what is damaged.

Otherwise, I think I'll get drunk and go after this thing Conan style.

 

[knapplc]

If your compression ring is loose that's an easy fix - just tighten it and you're gold. That should definitely be the first thing you check. No reason to start tearing things apart when you could have a ten-second fix.

 

[Gatorubet]

Thanks...I am going to try and research which unit I have. It seemed to me that something was loose...just below the top of the unit where it connects to the wink there is a rubber ring and then a metal ring that seem to be loose. Usually what I would do in this case is just start taking the thing apart and then try to figure out how to put it back together properly while inspecting each part to see what is damaged.

Otherwise, I think I'll get drunk and go after this thing Conan style.

Twist it a quarter turn "righty tighty".

But I'd still hit it with a wrench.

 

[jlb1705]

But I'd still hit it with a wrench.

 

[Saw31]

Let's see. Last 4 months at Saw31's castle:

New kitchen sink drain requiring hammering a chisel for 45 minutes to remove frozen fitting while laying on back inside of a cabinet.

New toilet requiring all new supply line fittings and drain adapter while laying on elbow and side, wedged between a wall and the place where I shit.*

New shower drain requiring entire tub and shower surround replacement and relocating shower head.*

New tub/shower supply line requiring new shut-off valves also requiring drywall destruction to create access panel that should have already been there.*

*Basically an entire bathroom remodel

Fuck plumbing. Fuck plumbers. Fuck plumbs. Fuck Jake the Snake. Fuck leaks. Fuck Wiki-leaks. Fuck Chris Leak. Fuck water. Fuck teflon tape. Fuck putty. Fuck solder. Fuck flux. Fuck torches. Fuck wrenches. Fuck drywall. Fuck 100 year old oak studs. Fuck nails meant for brand new pine studs. Fuck shims. Fuck kitchen ceilings under shower drains. And fuck my bloody, broken knuckles.



A few things I've learned.

Women think these things fix themselves.
Showering under a hose in the basement only sounds like a reasonable solution until you have to do it.
Women alive before indoor plumbing deserved equal rights. Today's women do not. They are spoiled pussies. And until they know the difference between a pipe wrench and fucking pliers, they should not be allowed to vote or go to Bed, Bath and Beyond.
New towels and shower curtain from Bed, Bath and Beyond does not 'count' as 'helping with the bathroom'.
The best idea to accomplish the task is always the last one you think of.
If you think it'll only take an hour, give yourself three.
Soreness in arms, back, fingers, neck, shoulders, legs etc, takes much longer to go away than when I was 19.
The internet is full of assholes that make this shit sound way easier than it is.
Home Depot, Lowes, Ace Hardware, etc are full of assholes that make this shit sound way easier than it is.
The desire to set everything I own on fire, and laughing as I watch it all burn, will pass...

And finally I learned; Beer still = good

 

[FCollinsBuckeye]

Let's see. Last 4 months at Saw31's castle:

New kitchen sink drain requiring hammering a chisel for 45 minutes to remove frozen fitting while laying on back inside of a cabinet.

New toilet requiring all new supply line fittings and drain adapter while laying on elbow and side, wedged between a wall and the place where I [Mark May].*

New shower drain requiring entire tub and shower surround replacement and relocating shower head.*

New tub/shower supply line requiring new shut-off valves also requiring drywall destruction to create access panel that should have already been there.*

*Basically an entire bathroom remodel

[censored] plumbing. [censored] plumbers. [censored] plumbs. [censored] Jake the Snake. [censored] leaks. [censored] Wiki-leaks. [censored] Chris Leak. [censored] water. [censored] teflon tape. [censored] putty. [censored] solder. [censored] flux. [censored] torches. [censored] wrenches. [censored] drywall. [censored] 100 year old oak studs. [censored] nails meant for brand new pine studs. [censored] shims. [censored] kitchen ceilings under shower drains. And [censored] my bloody, broken knuckles.



A few things I've learned.

Women think these things fix themselves.
Showering under a hose in the basement only sounds like a reasonable solution until you have to do it.
Women alive before indoor plumbing deserved equal rights. Today's women do not. They are spoiled pussies. And until they know the difference between a pipe wrench and [censored]ing pliers, they should not be allowed to vote or go to Bed, Bath and Beyond.
New towels and shower curtain from Bed, Bath and Beyond does not 'count' as 'helping with the bathroom'.
The best idea to accomplish the task is always the last one you think of.
If you think it'll only take an hour, give yourself three.
Soreness in arms, back, fingers, neck, shoulders, legs etc, takes much longer to go away than when I was 19.
The internet is full of assholes that make this [Mark May] sound way easier than it is.
Home Depot, Lowes, Ace Hardware, etc are full of assholes that make this [Mark May] sound way easier than it is.
The desire to set everything I own on fire, and laughing as I watch it all burn, will pass...

And finally I learned; Beer still = good

GPA.

I fucking hate plumbing. I tell my wife to get the hell out of the house if I have to do any because I'll probably do some harm to the relationship if she crosses my path when the fittings start leaking once I turn the pipes back on.

And fuck pedestal sinks. I've installed three over the years and working on drain connections behind them never gets easier.

 

[jwinslow]

Fuck putty.

High five.

 

[MaxBuck]

A few things I've learned.

Women think these things fix themselves.

Not those who have tried to deal with my "repairs." I leave no doubt - they don't. Nor, really, do I.