Lockdown plumbing achievement unlocked!

I've lived in my condo for over 10 years. I had big plans to do so much before moving in, but besides having the balcony enclosure replaced I have not got around to any of it. (A raging case of executive dysfunction doesn't help!)

I'm not young, I live alone, and I have had no previous experience with plumbing or building, but I like to be as independent as possible. As my Dad's only daughter, he's always surprised by my wish to do this stuff myself and that I have my own actual tools.

Now, being here all the time, I'm finding I'm finally more inclined to make this place liveable. I've started with the smallest room, the bathroom.

Since mid-March, I have repaired a leaky toilet tank, installed a bidet attachment, swapped out the shower handles, and fixed a broken flush chain. And now...

For 10 years I've been looking at this crappy faucet several times a day. Cheapest faucet available at the hardware store, installed rather hastily by the previous owner (the caulking job on the cheapest vanity top sink is a story for another day) - and I've finally had enough.

I did a bit of YouTube research and dove in.

Preparation: drag all the crap out from under the sink, figure out where to put it while I do the thing, fold yoga mat for floor.

Here are my ten simple steps to replacing a bathroom sink faucet:

1. Take last look at uninspiring faucet. Nothing physically wrong with it. Of course, besides the h and c plates missing from the handles. They've never been there.
   


2. Close shutoff valves and turn on faucet to drain remaining water. Roll my eyes at the fact that OF COURSE the previous owners didn't bother to install the wall tiles up to the access plate, and seem to have just cracked a hole in the wall for the water pipes. Not a surprise, as the kitchen flooring also only extends to just past the front feet of the refrigerator.
   
   
3. Place bucket not being used to catch roof leaks (that's a whole other thing). Remove water lines from supply and faucet. The supply end was easy using an adjustable wrench, but the faucet end a bit more awkward, as I had to use locking pliers (my wrench was too small for the size of the nuts on that end) and working with it in such a small space meant teeny tiny turns until it was loose enough to turn with fingers!
   


4. Unscrew mounting nuts. This was somewhat difficult as they had been screwed on VERY tightly, took some contortions and weird angles to get a good angle and I don't have the best upper arm strength, but with the assistance of the locking pliers again I got there.
   


5. Remove old faucet. Try not to puke at the gooey grossness left underneath. Turn your mind away from thoughts of what microcosmic society might have been growing there.
   


6. Clean where the old faucet was. Clean like your life depends upon it. Learn to live with the very slight discolouration left, as it will be covered.
   


7. Place escutcheon with insulating foam layer. Thread new lines, one at a time, through centre hole. Line up new faucet as best you can.
   


8. Connect faucet underneath with washers and circular nut. Tighten, check alignment, tighten a bit more, check again, tighten more. Repeat roughly 47 times. Realize previous installation hole was not drilled 100% in the centre. Sigh and decide to live with it. Give one last twist, knowing you can always adjust later. (There was a time when I would have obsessed over things like the slightly-off-centre hole, but after dealing with out-of-my-hands problems for so long, I've realized that "I can live with it" is a good mental place.)
   


9. Reconnect supply lines. Hot on the left, cold on the right. If you do it the other way around, you're not "quirky," you're a monster and should be removed from polite society.
   


10. Remove screen/aerator from faucet with handy included gadget. Open shutoff valves. Test faucet without aerator, just in case any gunk got in the lines. Let it run for a half minute. Turn off water, reattach aerator, test again. Groan as you realize you can EITHER have the faucet straight OR you can have the water go directly down the centre of the drain, but not both due to the aforementioned drilled hole. Sigh again, let it go, and marvel at the beauty of your sparkly new faucet.
    
    

I'm quite proud of the finished job, and have more confidence in whatever my next project will be! Thinking the black tiles will be next - cool idea, but not in a closet of a bathroom with no windows!

I don't think I can bring myself to actually remove them - any work that would require condo Board approval is likely going to be too much for me alone, and on full lockdown we can't have major work done anyway - but maybe painting over or even covering with adhesive tile for now may be in my future!