The almost-finished guest bathroom countertop.
When we bought our townhouse in January, 2023, both bathrooms were as they had been since the house was built in 1984. In both, the sinks and countertops were molded as one piece of faux marble. Louise wanted countertops of laminated acacia wood and new sinks. So we did the master bath first. Read about it here.
We got the wood for the guest bathroom countertop not long after that. I cut it to size, and Louise stained and varnished it. Then the project got bogged down. I had a bad fall which diminished my lifting ability, so I wasn't strong enough to lift out the faux marble countertop and sink, and I didn't want to break it up in place for fear of cracking the large plate-glass mirror above and behind it.
My son Don wanted to help me, but before he could, he had an acute attack of pericarditis which put him in the hospital and made it impossible for him to do anything for several months. So, the project languished.
It was brought back to life by a request from Louise that what she wanted for Christmas was to have the guest bathroom finished.
Okay, time to move.
Don is still not available, so I contacted a handyman who had been recommended to me --Andrew Duncan, of (wait for it) Handy Andy Services! Andrew was precise and efficient and we soon had the old sink and countertop out and the new counter in place with the sink connected to the drain, but we then found that the water supply tubes to the faucet that came with the sink were the wrong size to fit the taps under the counter.
I thought I could finish that part myself, so I paid Andrew for his excellent work, sent him home, and ordered another faucet with standard water supply fittings.
I remember my mother telling me, when she was in her early 70s, how hard it was to get up if she got down on the floor for something. I couldn't image it. But I can now. In all, in order to install the faucet and connections, I had to get on my back on the floor four times, put my head and arm in the sink cabinet, and get up again. I did it, but this 88-year-old body struggled and strained. I wanted to see if I could still do it myself. And I could and I did. But I won't do it again.
Thankfully, the project is mostly finished and Louise is happy with it. I still have a little caulking to do, and I'm going to trim around the edges of the mirror with narrow strips of molding. And then my lifelong career as an unwilling handyman will be officially over.
I hope. . .
The photo: Fuji X-T20 with Fujinon XF 16-80mm (24-120mm equivalent) lens.
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Dave, As a commercial/industrial plumber myself of 30' plus years, you Sir are to be commended for your successful sink install at 88 yrs old.
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas to you and Louise!