Finally! The Sink is HOME!!

Being without a sink (THE SINK) is a lot harder than I imagined. I can't tell you how many times I turned to pour something down the drain, or fill a glass, only to feel like...an idiot. Using the hall bathroom to do dishes also felt "icky". So I either ate out or didn't cook much beyond eggs and toast. 2 weeks is a long time when you're used to eating clean and healthy. I survived...barely. 

In my efforts to save some cash, I decided to patch the gaping hole in the wall myself. Clearly because I know how, right? Not so much. But with the help of a few online videos (provided to me via "a friend" who thought he was being funny) and my awesome perseverance, I bought a 4 amp reciprocating saw and went to work cleaning up the edges of said hole. I have to admit, I felt kinda badass!

See! There's my saw (and my gardening knee pad...a MUST!)!! In the course of taking out the old cast iron, my awesome plumber, Tom, found a potentially big issue with the drain. It had rusted out! Not cool. 

what do you expect for 94 y/o

One cool thing I found... My support beams still have bark on them! Weird. 

So I set out to on my first attempt at drywall "patching" and... I did it!! There's so much satisfaction in doing this I can't even explain it! It wasn't pretty and I am really glad I bought extra concrete backer board because I measured at least 10 times and ended up cutting 3 different pieces for the the bottom half (only once for the top piece). But who cares! I did it!! Here's proof!! 

Drying Joint compound

All the walls in the kitchen (and previously in the hall bathroom) have this faux brick pattern to them. I'm sure there's some "right" way to do it, but I said screw it and used joint compound and made my own pretty pattern. It's not great, but it'll do. It's under the sink so really, if you're visiting my house, the LAST place you need to look is under the sink! Just look AT the sink. It's quite impressive!

Paint is still wet

I still can't believe that the sink is held on by those two brackets in the picture above. It's caste iron. It's SUPER heavy. But that's what's holding it on! Incredible. And OLD!

This is what i was dealing with before. The drain was broken, the sink itself was pitted and stained. I couldn't keep it clean, even with bleach. It just absorbed everything! Especially coffee. The drain "ring" was rusting. It was just awful.

But now...finally...with new hardware, pretty water shutoff values and a chrome drain pipe...she's a beauty!! I have hot water, a drain that I don't have to plug with a plastic lid. It's USABLE. And oh so pretty.  The guys at AAA Electrostatic Painting did an awesome job. It's smooth, there are no pits. Just incredible. (Look at the header of the blog if you don't believe me!)

I helped life this heavy thing onto the wall, thank you very much!

I spent the morning doing... you guess it. Dishes. I realize that everyone and their brother has a dishwasher. I could have one too, if I really wanted it. I can also install a garbage disposal. But right now, using this sink as it was intended makes me feel more connected to a restoration, as opposed to a renovation. Which is what I had intended. Now that the sink is usable, clean, easy to clean and a little stylish with the new fixture, I find that the house feels more...complete.

The remaining projects are smaller. Refinish the stairs going up to the master suite. Re-grout the tile in the main floor bath. Start on the windows. Cleaning out the garage (for the third time). Getting the piano off the front porch. Touching up paint in every room. Oh, and don't forget the yard! Lots of potential there! Next year, maybe electric to the garage and a window to replace the door where the laundry now sits.  That may be on the 10 year plan. It doesn't really matter at this point. 

I'm excited to be loving my new home. I'm excited to give the farm sink a new lease on life (top and bottom, btw). And now? Who knows what changes are in store for my little house, the sink and me going forward!