Luigi to the Rescue

As my regular readers know, we purchased our home almost 2 years ago.  At that time, we knew we would need to make some fixes.  Some immediate (replacing stained carpets).  Others over time (adding a ceiling inside the garage to make it cooler in the summer).  It was a short sale, so it's to be expected.  Then there's the matter of personal taste issues that can be dealt with either as things go on sale or break.  The kitchen is one of the biggest and more expensive personal taste areas we wanted to deal with.  With money being tight, all projects have been put on hold unless something breaks.

Well, we've been limping along 2 things in the kitchen and I finally got fed up with it and hubby agreed it was time to deal with them.  The first thing that needed to be addressed was a cast iron sink.  The problem (besides I didn't like the color) was that the coating was chipping which caused rust to form when water came in contact with it.  Considering we are speaking of the kitchen sink, it comes in contact with water on a very regular basis.

The second issue?  The kitchen faucet.  It's been leaking for about 2 months now.  We found a way to make it stop leaking, but it was a pain to remember.  Again, when we bought the house we knew the faucet had to go.  Not only was it installed wrong (the handle wasn't lined up the way you would expect it) but it wasn't the style we liked.  Unfortunately, the kind we like is apparently not made anymore.

Original sink and faucet. 

Chipping and rust on old sink

But we lucked out... we found one at a yard sale for $5!  We had to use a few parts from the faucet we removed, but it's working GREAT!

And the sink?  Well we got that when my Aunt and her boyfriend were moving across the country.  Hubby found it sitting loose in their shed after they had moved out.  Hubby figured it might come in handy in the garage some day (once we get water out there).  When I realized it was the right size for the kitchen, I suggested he rethink its destination.

I'll be honest, he was a bit reluctant.  Then I told him it was what I wanted as my Loot Day gift and he gave in.  Having my dad here to help didn't hurt either since the old sink was probably 100 lbs.

Sink is out.  Had to make the hole a little bigger.

 And we found a few added benefits of the new sink and faucet too.  The drains in the new sink are offset enough that plates don't plug the sink.  While replacing the sink we also purchased new drains and stoppers so the sinks actually plug correctly (the water used to drain out in about 5 minutes).  And we also discovered that the old faucet wasn't letting much hot water through.

We also used the opportunity to change the "handles" in front of the sink.  The previous owner had black handles everywhere but right in front of the sink where they were yellow white.  My guess is they were all white at some point, but they couldn't reach those to switch them without removing the sink, so we did it while we had the sink out.  And all this for $40 and a few hours of hubby and my dad's time.

And for all his reluctance, he's actually enjoying the new sink and faucet too.  Now if only I can get him back in the habit of doing dishes on a regular basis again ;-)

New sink and faucet.

So what do you think of the end result??