(Kind of) DIY Bathroom #2 - Phase 1

Our Do-It-Yourself Project #2 was semi-successful - we were able to remove the old vanity top and put on the new vanity top when we ran into problem #1: since the sink bowls were a few inches closer together on the new one and were quite a bit deeper, the left bowl hit the edge of the vanity cabinet underneath, so Mike cut out part of the wood so that it would fit.  Problem #1 solved. 

Then I installed the faucets, but the shanks didn't seem to have very much room below the vanity top.  I was able to get the mounting nuts on and the water supply lines attached, so everything was fine (or so I thought!)...so I turned the water back on - Problem #2: the water supply lines did not have enough threads on the shanks so water sprayed all over in the vanity cabinets and down into the suspended ceiling of the bathroom below.  Ugh!  Whose idea was this anyway!?  Back to the internet for further research to solve problem #2!  Discovered they make adapters so you can make the shanks longer, and was able to find them at the hardware store and installed them.  Problem #2 solved (or so I thought!)...so I turned the water back on...and water was dripping out of the adapters.  Ugh!  Whose idea was this again!?  Decided to just use 3 washers & tighten the supply lines against them.  Problem #2 solved - finally!

DIY Project #2 was finished (or so I thought!)...so I turned the water back on...only to find that the water was slowly dripping from the L-joints on the right faucet...ugh! Problem #3! (This is getting old!)  I replaced the water supply lines with new ones (again), I tried it with pipe tape and without pipe tape, I tried tightening the supply lines (and broke one so had to get new ones again).  None of those things helped, in fact, some of those things made things worse!  Like when I over-tightened one of the supply lines and caused water to spray all over (again).  I decided to waive the white flag and call the plumber - I just could not figure out the solution to this problem for the life of me (and was getting quite frustrated trying!).  Monday the plumber showed up and ended up having to replace the L-joints because the old ones were corroded so that the supply lines couldn't seal properly.  I was relieved that it wasn't my own stupidity causing them to drip, and that it was something that we did actually need the plumber to fix.  Problem #3 solved!  WOOHOO!

So finally this project was finished (or so I thought!)...while fixing the leaking L-joints/water supply lines, the plumber must have done something to the drain/p-trap because Monday night there was an extremely slow leak from it whenever we used that faucet/sink (like 1 or 2 drips whenever we used it).  Problem #4 (have I mentioned this is getting old!?  I'm never doing a DIY project ever again!).  This problem I knew how to fix though - just needed to take it apart and re-install it.  Problem #4 fixed!  NOW we finally have Problems 1-4 fixed and therefore have officially finished DIY Project #2.  It took a long time (1 1/2 weeks to be exact) and help from a plumber, but I LOVE the results!  Oh and don't worry, I won't be quitting my day job anytime soon either!

So, Phase 1 of this bathroom renovation is complete!  Phase 2 is painting (I think I can handle that!), and Phase 3 is new sheet vinyl flooring, which will NOT be a DIY project after all the fun we had with the vanity top in this bathroom!  Lance the floor guy will be doing those honors!  I can't wait to see what it looks like when it's completely finished.  Here's the before and after pictures for Phase 1:

"Your mistake does not define who you are...you are your possibilities." ~Oprah Winfrey