9/3/19
(Above: Kitchen sink glued and caulked. Held down / in-place via heavy boxes of hinges and drawer slides.)
Building Summary: Today’s Jacobhouse activities began with my reading up / watching videos on how to install a kitchen sink drain system and how to fasten in a stainless steel sink without hardware*. This was followed by a trip down to Sparr where I spent about 45 minutes looking for and finding most of what I needed**: kitchen sink strainer / drain baskets, a double-sink union kit, a p-trap kit, and a couple little brass fittings for joining ¾” water supply line to 3/8” water supply line.
After that, I returned to Jacobhouse and began implementing everything that I had purchased. By the end of the morning, I had the kitchen sink drains/strainers in place (with a hefty amount of silicone caulking around the gasket regions for additional protection against leakage), and I had fastened on / caulked the faucet gasket.
(7:48 PM Update): I began by venturing down to Sparr with Padre to procure the remaining piece of plumbing I needed to attach the sink drains to 1 ½” PVC line. It required something called a ‘Marvel Adapter’ which ended up costing $4.59. Seemed a bit ridiculous, but I needed it.
We ventured back to the swamp – er, farm – afterward, and after I helped out for a little while, I was able to get back to Jacobhouse. There, I dry-fitted the ‘drainworks’ together, installed the faucet onto the earlier applied gasket, and then I set about gluing / caulking the sink in place. It ended up being a messy task (more in commentary) and a learning experience (more in TIL). But by the end of the afternoon, I had the sink glued/caulked in place with weights to ensure that it did not shift.
(Additional Note): Padre and I took down the sailshade on the way home this evening, because supposedly there is going to be constant 26+ MPH over the next couple of days due to the passing hurricane.
TIL: A vicious cycle with results that are found to be positive is instead called a ‘virtuous cycle’. This is something I discovered while writing a discussion post for my American History Class (in reference to describing the relationship between advancements in technology during the late 1800’s and the United States economy).
Silicone caulking is excellent for sealing drain-to-gasket connections. Plumber’s putty is decent, but supposedly*** is more prone to leaking. The benefit of Plumber’s putty is that it does not need much if any cure-time before the sink can be used again.
I also learned that my kitchen sink’s faucet is too tall to fit beneath my cabinetry. More in commentary.
Commentary: Presently, as I write this, the entire outdoors is colored by a vivid golden pink light. A tempest is approaching, and as of this afternoon, I’m glad to say that my future home is fully prepared for anything that the weather will bring. The sailshade is stowed away, the postern doors are shut, and the entirety of the dwelling is double-chained at all four pillars. To say that Jacobhouse is ready for the impending 25 MPH winds would likely be one of the largest understatements written in this blog thus far.
As for additional commentary, I shall include today’s primary event at Jacobhouse: the installation of the kitchen sink. I thought I had everything prepared, but I was proven wrong quite brutally by the faucet spout ****. Indeed, the space between the countertop and the bottom of the cupboards is 14 inches. The height of that spigot was 14 inches as well – an oversight, and one that I had to contend with while the counter and the sink basin already had caulking and glue laid in place.
So, with one latex-gloved hand, I moved and held the sink on the nearby workbench, and with the other, I unscrewed the EZ-mount (or some similar ironic name) faucet nut and pulled the entire thing free. This was followed by my lifting the sink back up and attempting to drop it into the hole. It was still not possible due to the EZ-mount being held in place by the hoses that had somehow grown in length to reach all the way from the nearby workbench to the counter.
Much more finagling caused the nut to fall off and the faucet to topple over. It was about to fall to the floor, so I caught it, but at that point I realized that no hands were holding the sink. Somehow, in a feat that likely could not be replicated even if I tried, the basin was balancing on the very edge of the concrete kitchen counter. I commenced to grasp that sink – caulking and all – with my now bare right hand (the stainless steel sink’s sharp edges had sheered through the latex and a small portion of my pointer finger), and then I grasped the other side with my left hand, and I gently lowered the whole thing into the awaiting orifice.
Needless to say, by that point caulking was in many places it was not supposed to be – a literal and figurative mess on my hands. So, I spent most of the remaining time at Jacobhouse cleaning it all up. As for the hefty amount of silicone caulk that ended up on my exposed fingers and palms, I easily washed/scrubbed it all off with a combination of dawn dish soap and sand.
Final Note: Later this evening, I intend to order a new, shorter faucet for my kitchen sink. Tomorrow, I plan on cleaning up the sink-installation supplies and plumbing in the drains.
*Padre and I found out last night that the hardware Kohler provided with its sink is not sufficient when it comes to a 3 ½” thick countertop.
**Unfortunately, the knowledgeable paint-desk man was not present today.
*** At least according to the sources I accessed.
**** Which yesterday I stated would be installed before laying in the sink.