Unplanned Plumbing

Whenever taking on a large project, you need to be prepared for the unexpected and allot time for such distractions. The first occurrence of this in the kitchen was a plumbing problem. Before removing the dishwasher, we of course turned off the hot water valve under the sink. Once it is off, we run the hot water in the sink to make sure it's off and to drain any hot water left in the pipe. However, the hot water just kept coming. The valve was completely hosed (pun intended).

So during our next trip to Home Depot we consulted the experts to find our solution. There are quarter turn valves and multi-turn valves available. The quarter turn valve is longer lasting but requires and extra piece to get the desired split. The combination is the same price as the less durable multi-turn valves. A no-brainer and a cheap solution - a nice change of pace.

Installation is the next step and requires quite a bit of effort due to the tightness of the seal and the awkwardness of accessing the old valve under the sink. When working with plumbing, especially in the kitchen and double especially in an old house, it is important to be cognizant of the nearby electrical. In this case there are two outlets directly under the sink pipes and they do not have GFIs. Now it is possible that one of the GFI outlets in the kitchen is correctly wired as the one nearest the breaker and protects against these outlets as well. Either way we covered the outlets in plastic bags and put a bowl under the sink in case something goes horrible wrong, as is often the case with plumbing. We turned off the new valve and tried the water: no more hot water. Success!


All that just to pull out the dishwasher in preparation for the cabinet swap. Still waiting on the plumbing fail, it comes later in the day when we realize that although there is no more hot water going to the faucet, when cold water is on and the faucet handle is moved up for hot water, this opens a valve in the faucet and the cold water goes down the pipe for hot. This is a result of no hot water to the faucet combined with it being a single handle faucet. I didn't like that cabinet anyway...