Check out this ladykiller in the half bathroom:
It’s not especially offensive looking, but it leaks. And with a single knob I’m always worried that Clara will accidentally turn it to scalding hot when she’s washing her hands.
So we hit up our Habitat ReStore hoping for a cheap find. Sherry lunged for joy (you need to see that in person by the way) when she spotted this $12 find in the pile… only to learn that it was inexplicably missing one handle (we dug around for 20 minutes looking for it to no avail). Just wasn’t meant to be.
So we settled for this $34 find at Home Depot, which was pretty much the most affordable option they had. We figured that it was worth the peace of mind that we no longer had a leak and that Clara could use it more easily.
Making the switch promised to be quick and easy. Turn off the water. Unscrew some hoses. Bada bing. Bada boom. Hello new faucet. Except step one revealed a slight snag in the this-should-be-easy plan. The hot water valve wouldn’t turn off. It turned just fine, but the turning had no effect on the water flow. It just spun like a pinwheel.
That’s how switching out the faucet turned into replacing the hot water shut off valve (something I’d never done before)… which meant turning off the water to the whole house at the street. So we whipped out our water meter key to help twist the always stubborn valve out there (these are around $7 and we use ours more than you’d think).
I don’t have photos of the next part unfortunately, because I spent most of it with half of my body stuffed into the vanity trying to wrench various valves and hoses apart, wrap plumber’s tape, and wrench things back together. And somewhere between yelling at Sherry to have a plumber on standby and quietly cursing, I forgot to ask her to hand me the camera (which probably would have gotten wet and resulted in too-dark-to-see photos anyway). #bloggerfail. But for an idea of what the installation process looked like, you can check out this well-lit and profanity-free video from Home Depot.
I tell ya, I was convinced throughout this entire project that I was going to break some pipe and a cartoonish explosion of water would erupt from the ground, lifting our home from its foundation like we had just struck oil. But surprise – none of that happened, and I was able to get the new hot water valve in without any problem.
With the new valve attached, I got the old faucet out of the way, scraped away some of the gunk on the sink with a putty knife, attached the new hoses under the sink, and put the new fixture in its place.
When it came time to turn the water back on, I was certain at least one or two of the five new connections I had just made were going to leak (just call me the most pessimistic plumber in the world). So I laid some colored construction paper under everything so if something dripped, I’d be able to spot it quickly.
To my shock, there were no drips. And I watched for a good ten minutes – convinced they were just waiting for me to look away. Then Sherry finally dragged me away from my sink staring-contest and encouraged me to accept the victory like a big boy. Our new faucet (and its hot water valve) were officially installed!
It’s not a big exciting design decision, but we’re certainly glad to have it taken care of for functional reasons. And I guess we did make a deliberate decision about the finish. We looked at a few oil-rubbed bronze options (to match things like the doorknob and the light fixture), but all of those were at least $80+ (which felt too expensive for a Phase 1 fix). So we’re glad that brushed nickel worked just fine (and was a lot cheaper) thanks to the mirror, which acts as a “transition” between the two metals, since it mixes both tones in one spot.
Hilariously enough, the new faucet didn’t fail to impress our toughest critic. Clara walked in there after her nap and just stood there for a second staring. When Sherry said “Is everything OK?” she said “Wowwww! It looks beautiful in here! Did we get a new washing thing?”
She often notices things that change in the house, but I think this is the first time she led with such a strong compliment. We’ll take it.
Oh and here are the before and after photos you guys requested on our last bathroom post:
As for a budget breakdown, in our still-settling-in chaos we don’t have every receipt on hand, but our best guess is that we’ve sunk about $110 into this room in total (for the mirror, paint, light fixture, vanity knobs, and faucet). So for rooms that you use every day but are pretty pricey to fully renovate (like a kitchen or bathroom), it’s nice that an in-the-meantime upgrade can make a difference while you’re saving up for Phase Two down the line.
On to the next room!
Looks great!
Everything you put your hands on turns into something beautiful! Well done!
Hurray for no cartoonish explosions of water and yay for a new faucet! I can’t believe how much better it looks in there…wait, yes I can.
And did Clara go through a growth spurt because man she looks tall in front of that sink!! :-)
She’s so tall these days!
xo
s
We’ve always had a main shutoff inside the house – in the basement. Both houses have had them right around the water meter. Do you guys not have that?
This brings me right back to all the plumbing we did in our old house… “Alright, everyone go potty and get a drink of water now; Dad’s turning off the water!!”
Haha, we totally yell that before we turn ours off too! As for the shutoff valve in the house/basement (we don’t seem to have one and never noticed one in our last few houses either) but that sounds so convenient!
xo
s
I like the new faucet, however, can we talk about tile grout for a minute? Your floors look to be in a similar state to ours and we have tile throughout our kitchen, half-bathroom and laundry room. Do you have plans to clean and re-seal? It seems like such a big, tedious job! Which, I always tend to want to outsource.
Oy, the grout! I cleaned it before we moved in, but it’s discolored/stained in some spots, and I recently tried a second method that tanked (boo!) so it’s onto the next thing! Will report back when I crack the case.
xo
s
Grout colorant! Which I think is just an expensive form of watered down paint with a little sealer mixed in. For that small room, you’d be done in 10 minutes. I think a slate gray would be pretty!
Paint that grout! I read a blogpost about it and it turned out amazing. I think the product was called Grout Renew?
Bleach, you need to use bleach. And scrub with a stiff brush.
Rubbermaid Commercial Quality Grout Cleaner. We picked ours up at our local Menards a while back and it worked wonders. In our last master bath we had white tile and what was supposed to be white grout… But it was disgustingly yellowed and gross. You pour this stuff on and watch the dirt come out of the grout. Barely any scrubbing required. We eventually used it on all of the grout in our house and were not disappointed. I’d send you our extra bottle that we still have but he have tile in our back hallway that I know will need it one of these years :)
We just made the same switch last weekend. Same old faucet, same new faucet. Luckily, no valve here. For the price, I’m happy with the new faucet but still looking forward to our phase 2 Reno.
Faucet twins. High five.
xo
s
The two handles are a smart safety move for Clara! Never thought of that. Hopefully this is common sense that comes standard when I have kids…
To worry and protect will be your new calling once you have a youngin’.
HAHA! Tara, thank you for that. I will be quoting it from now on.
Clara’s comments are always a joy to read about. I guffawed at the “Kermit the Frog” one, but one of my favorites is her reaction to one of the Christmas presents the two of you made for her: “oh, wow, man!”
Oh yeah, that’s the best.
xo
s
Looks so great in there for just 110$ so far! Love it! As someone about to buy a new place and do a fair bit of renovating (on a major budget!), I love your concept of phase one and two, it makes so much sense and makes things liveable in the meantime! Thanks for all the awesome ideas.
Love glacier bay! Super economical and they’ve held up for us! What a little improvement can make a big impact!
So good to hear!
xo
s
Everything is looking great as you all begin your updates. I hope you decide to keep the floor in the foyer and 1/2 bath and this may be in your plans already, but having the grout professionally cleaned is pretty inexpensive and makes a world of difference.
Thanks G!
xo
s
We have this exact same faucet – and I hate to say this – but ours is peeling bad. Its cheap. Maybe we got a lemon but its gross looking. The silver paint/coating whatever its called is coming off the handles. It started to look bad after about a year so hopefully yours will make it to phase II!
Oh no, thanks for the tip Robin! Someone else said they have them and love them and it made me so happy. Womp-womp. We’ll have to see if ours holds up and report back!
xo
s
Yup, we have this exact one in 2 of our bathrooms, and the one that is used most often is peeling pretty bad. But, if your planning on replacing it down the line, hopefully it will make it a few years for you.
We have the same one in our rental and while the coating/paint is fine, the blue and red dots have fallen off (presumably into my drain). Works perfectly fine, though, and easy to clean.
I was afraid when I saw that Glacier Bay faucet box in your post. We had the same one on each of the double sinks in our master bath. They lasted less than a year before the finish started flaking and peeling off. They looked horrible.
I actually wrote a review on the Home Depot website about them and they sent me a giftcard to buy new faucets once I sent them photos of how bad ours looked! Just a warning, if you are planning to keep that faucet for awhile. It might be worth it to keep an eye out for another good deal on a different faucet.
Thanks for the tip Sara!
xo,
s
-hot water shot off valve?!
-water meter key?!
YOU TWOOOO!!! :D
‘scuse me while i go spray paint some stuff because that’s still my DIY speed. lolol ;D
bathroom looks fantastic.
You know, “washing thing” makes sense. Where did “faucet” even come from? And other silly words, like refrigerator – it used to be the ice box, which was much more descriptive if you ask me.
If you guys still have the steamer you used to remove wallpaper, you might want to try it on your bathroom grout. I used a steamer to clean mine and it worked like a charm! The grout looked like new. Plus, no chemicals (and since it’s hot steam, totally disinfected). I had a nozzle on mine that made a “steam stream” to target the grout. Just thought I’d mention it!
Great tip!
xo
s
Not that it doesn’t look fabulous, because it totally does. But, just curious why you didn’t go with the rubbed bronze look for the faucet?
We have mixed up finishes in our house and it is making me crazy, but, I can’t justify the expense of replacing faucets that are only 2 years old over it…
Seeing you guys mix it up makes me feel better :)
That’s hidden in the post for ya. The ORB ones were $80+ and since the mirror has both tones in it, somehow the brushed nickel seems to work.
xo
s
Oops! I am a skimmer…
No worries Renee!
xo
s
It ties in/together the brushed nickel cabinet knobs, too!
Mixed finishes can totally work together (like Sherry & John’s), unless they are really bad finishes to start with! Its impossible to match every single metal finish in your home, and I don’t think I’d want to.
For example, you can have stainless steel appliances in your kitchen, and still have ORB door and drawer pulls, brushed nickel faucet, etc. They just need to relate to each other. Like, shiny brass drawer pulls with little ceramic floral inserts would be LESS COOL. :)
All in my humble opinion, but I prefer a collected look as opposed to everything came out of the same brand new box on the same day.
I found an ORB faucet for $50 off overstock! Might be worth checking out for the future.
Is there anything you two can’t do? ;)
Um, I’m going to have to disagree that the old faucet was inoffensive. It was pretty ugly. The new one is very nice. I agree with Clara- it makes the whole room look pretty!
LOVE the look of this powder room! I’m just in the beginning steps of tackling mine and I’m totally going to copy you guys–hope that’s cool! :)
I currently have a brushed nickle faucet but was thinking of ORB-ing it…have you guys spray painted fixtures that (obviously) get wet a lot? Good, bad, ugly?
I think The DIY Showoff did that and it worked. I think the key is to tape off where the water comes out so it doesn’t touch spray paint (it’s not food safe).
xo
s
YOU GUYS. That half-bath looks AWESOME. I was hoping, though, that your faucet-switcheroo experience would be profanity-free, because it’s something I’ve wondered if I could tackle on my own. Now I know the answer is No. ;-)
If you don’t have a broken valve I think you can totally do it! That little curve-ball was the nerve-inducing part.
xo
s
Love the before and after (and all your’e doing in your new place!!) But I have to say that I’m REALLY taken by how, in the after photo, the tile seems SO much less dark. I would have thought that the lighter walls etc would accentuate the dark tile but it’s the opposite! So cool! The grey vanity I think helps ‘blend’ the floor into the room. WELL DONE!
Thanks Janice!
xo
s
We have pink tile in one of our bathrooms and we chose red for the walls because anything else seemed to make the tile look even more pink.
Wish we could have found matching grout paint for the tile – the newly-white grout is calling so much attention to the ugly tile.
Nice job on the faucet switch! We’ve replaced our kitchen faucet (old white plastic to new stainless steel finish), but still need to do the one in our bathroom. It’s got the single big twisty knob thing like yours and we need something with smoother functionality. Would you consider re-using your new one in the final bathroom renovation, or are you planning to get something totally different?
Oh yeah I think we’d totally reuse it (here or in another room)!
xo
s
Now, *that’s* how DIY projects go at our house….thanks for always keepin’ it real! Yes, I would think growing up in the household that she’s in, Clara will become a very observant person, always trying to pick out what’s changed recently (everyone, cue your favorite “psych” episode). Lol
. . . she said “Wowwww! It looks beautiful in here! Did we get a new washing thing?”
OMG… she cracks me up! Love that girl. :)
And she’s right wowwww ~ it is beautiful in there ~ with just a few simple changes (well, except for the hot water thingy) ;)
We had the same old faucet as you, sans leak, but I still couldn’t wait to replace it. I’ve a question, though, and please do NOT take this as a criticism because it is so not my intention! When you move to phase 2 and it sounds like you might replace the faucet again then, why not buy the more expensive one now and just re-use when you move into phase 2? Just trying to understand the thinking, ’tis all. Looking good!
We just don’t know what vanity/sink we’ll use and some have wider faucet settings and more narrow ones so we were worried if we got a fancy faucet that was 3″ wide and the new vanity wasn’t compatible with that, we’d be sad.
xo
s
Makes sense!
How funny… We have two separate taps (faucets) which is considered quite old fashioned in Australia, and I’ve always been so worried that the kids would turn on the hot tap and burn themselves!
I’ve always thought a mixer was safer… I guess whatever tap ware you have you worry about your little angels!
Bathroom looks amazing… Just adore your blog xx
Thanks Suzi! I wonder if it’s just whatever they’re used to? Clara’s used to grabbing the handle on the right for cold water, so I having faucets that you just push back (she’s not always as precise about pushing it back and to the right instead of straight back or twisting it to the left) is throwing her off.
xo
s
I think the single lever ones (versus the ball thing) are easier to teach the kids to push it up and to the right, so I thought that would be safest, but we ended up getting a dual because my husband accidentally gets way too hot of water in our kitchen sink which has a single lever.
Our future kids would be getting some of his genes after all.
We had way more discussions about single versus dual lever than is reasonable, especially since we don’t have kids yet, lol.
Amazing the difference 100 bucks and some hard work will do! Looks great!
was this a In Cold Blood reference? If yes, I love it :D if not, well, never mind me ;)
I really like the new faucet!
We have the same faucet from Home Depot at three bathroom sinks. They’ve been in since 2009 and we haven’t had any leaks or problems with any of them. We are content with our little cheapos!
So glad to hear that! We’ll be so grateful if ours lasts like that!
xo
s
I have the same classic post faucets. I need to swap mine out because they are hard for my grandparents to operate with their arthritic hands. So glad that aside from the turn-off valve, it is a pretty easy project.
Also, if you lurk in the right aisles at Costco, I’ve picked up fixtures and stuff for REALLY good prices. The set I have to replace my post was less than $20 I believe.
Great trick!
xo
s
I buy all my faucets at Costco. I buy pretty much any home items there, if they carry them! I’m surprised you Petersiks don’t shop there, being the fellow VALUE HUNTERS you are! Costco is amazing.
Same thing happened to us only in the kitchen. Went to shut off the water under the sink the knob turned..and turned..and turned…but the water didn’t shut off. Only for us the replacement process did end in a cartoonish explosion of water!
Didn’t tighten the new shut off fitting tight enough and when my husband went to check for drips and tighten a little more the whole thing came shooting off at him!
Water. Everywhere.
Looked like he had just went for a swim!
Fortunately, it’s all fixed now..and we learned an important lesson: No matter what always shut off the main water when touching a shutoff valve with a wrench!
Glad you didn’t have the same fate!
Oh my gosh, that sounds like a nightmare.
xo
s
Kristen at the frugal girl used grout paint and said it was amazing, maybe that’s an option for ya
Sounds good!
xo
s
I think we need to get you an iron! I wish you would have ironed the fabric behind Clara’s picture. In the photos it looks terribly wrinkled. Where is the color?
Oh yes, I keep meaning to iron that! For now the color’s in the flowers and the front door in the nearby foyer but we’re just getting started ;)
xo
s
I never noticed any wrinkles. But then again I live my life by the motto that irons are for special occasions. Everything else gets popped in the dryer for a few minutes and called good enough!
The bathroom looks great.
What fabric? Clara’s dress? I’m confused.
Maybe my eyes aren’t that great, but I don’t see any wrinkles.
And who cares? My daughter has dozens of dresses that have such little fabric it would take ages to iron them all. Plus, she plays so hard in everything she wears, what’s the point?
The picture of Clara on the wall above the toilet (below The Bathroom Armadillooooo!) is matted on a burlap-ish fabric (that’s the background).
xo
s
Wow, really? Can’t see that AT ALL! You’re too kind, Sherry! I would’ve *click* deleted that comment! Lol
We recently had to replace our kitchen faucet after the handle literally broke off in my hand (maybe I have hulk strength and didn’t know it?). It was a comedy of errors as my poor husband spend a lot of time under the sink and a return trip to Home Depot after discovering we had to replace both shut off valves as well. I’m sure his frustrations weren’t helped by me singing “big guy in a little sink” like Tommy Boy. Tee hee :)
We also accidentally turned our neighbors water off while they had family in town. That was fun!
After all that though, I live out new faucet and I love yours too!!!
Holy cow, that sounds crazy. I love your sense of humor about the whole thing.
xo
s
I seriously fat-fingered that post. Thanks iPhone!
Truly though, I am not as illiterate as I sound in the above post. Haha
What an already amazing day and night difference from before and after. The original bathroom now looks horror movie scary. haha.
Oh dear…not Glacier Bay! We replaced a kitchen faucet with a Glacier Bay fixture in our old house, and it leaked like a sieve. My brother had the same problem with a BG bath fixture. :(
Here’s hoping you have better luck!
Well done!
My brother-in-law came over to help me fix a leaking toilet recently, and (speaking of profanity…) in overzealously turning the water valve, he BROKE THE PIPE OFF INSIDE THE WALL. Fortunately, I had already turned off the water to the house. :-)
OH NO!
xo
s
It sounds like y’all’s habitat store is a winner! I’ve been to ours a few times and, well, loser. Maybe I’m just not thrifting it up enough!! Good job guys.
Peace of mind = priceless! :) and I love the 1st phase transformation guys!!
I gotta tell ya, guys — this is so not a color palette that I would have thought of/chosen, but IT LOOKS SO AWESOME! I love that you guys get to test-run these things for me. ;) It really comes off as sophisticated and clean, and it even makes that vanity top work. Geniuses, you are! (Goodness, you’ve made me go all Yoda!)
As for that faucet, we have them too — bleccch! We are right smack in the middle of redoing our half bath, and the crystal ball faucet and shell sink are officially gone. Good riddance to the old and in with the new!
Thanks so much Katie!
xo
s
This the same faucet that I painted in the ORB paint. It came out great! Maybe it is something you want to do, maybe not. The new faucet is definitely better than that old one.
We have the same one- but here’s a tip- the little red and blue dots labeling the handles fall out over time. Check to see if they are loose, then throw some super glue on them to keep them in. Before we learned, we lost our blue dot in the kids’ bathroom forever…sad
Great tip!
xo
s
The faucet looks fine but man is this boring. The only part of this post that caught my eye is how disgusting the bathroom grout looks in the 7th photo.
Gosh, kind of harsh don’t ya think? They have not lived here for very long, and they are dancing as fast as they can! They KNOW the grout is gross………. they will get to it :) And just may I say, I didn’t know how to do any of this faucet updating, and I appreciate now having something to look back on for help!
You must be new here. The discolored grout issue has been hashed out repeatedly in several posts. Sherry just said she tried another method that didn’t work, but I can tell you didn’t actually read the post. Is it just me, or has there been another sudden influx of trolls and vandals? Do you think they have a monthly newsletter with a little reminder, “Don’t forget to go troll YHL this week!”
Looking great! How do ya’ll decide when it is best to go with a “phase 1″/inexpensive quick fix and when it is best to just wait for what you really want? We are fixing up our new home right now, and I am constantly torn between the two. Part of me wants visual relief from the ugly, but the other part wants to use the $30 I would spend on the quick fix, and place it towards the big fix savings. Help!
I think we try to think through how long/expensive the long-term fix is (doing a phase one followed immediately by phase two seems a little silly) and we try to guess how much we’ll spend on a Phase 1 (ex: we thought it would be around $75 – 125 in here) and then decide if it’s worth the cost for the reward (ex: if it’s a room we use a lot and we think it’s a good investment for now we’ll go for it, but if we don’t mind the original look or use the room infrequently we might just leave it for the main redo later).
xo
s
Thanks, Sherry! I think it is the penny pincher in me that creates such conflict. :)
In our house, it always seems that plumbing projects are a bit more iterative than they should be ;) Looks great, and the price doesn’t hurt too much, either!
Your bathroom looks beautiful, just as everything you guys do/create/improve. I love your blog! I discovered it when I moved to the States (I’m originally from Brazil) and became addicted to it! You guys are awesome!
Thanks so much Ligia!
xo
s
I think it’s a requirement for profanity and fear whenever anyone replaces a sink faucet. Just sayin’. Also – if you tire of the nickel you can always ORB it. I’ve seen some online pics where foks have successfully painted faucets. Worth a shot!
Plumbing is one of those things that I don’t even want to learn…lol
Questions though:
1. I thought it was standard to have a main shut-off valve at the house?
2. If you turn your hot water tank thermometer down to 125 (the recommended setting), you won’t have to ever worry about getting scalded, and you’ll save a little on your electric bill. Have you guys done this already?
Oh yes we did that (I think 121 is our temp) but she still panics and says “it burns!” if she accidentally twists it to the left when she’s expecting cold water, so it’s nice that she can control it more this way. As for the shut-off, none of our last few houses appeared to have a main shut-off anywhere that was easily accessible, so the curbside thing worked best (even contractors who helped with our first kitchen used the curbside one).
xo
s
Just a guess – maybe the shut-off valve in the house is a Northern thing? Since all the pipes/plumbing outside have to be at a certain depth inthe ground so they don’t freeze?
I’m guessing, but I think it might possibly depend on the locale, the age of the house, or another factor. I’ve lived in 9 different states, with both new and older homes. Some had main shut-off valves in the house, and some had the curbside shut off. :o)
Hilarious! I can totally picture our daughter doing something similar. That explains everything!
We live in Florida, so I don’t it is a Northern thing…Must just be something that is done differently from house to house!
It’s amazing to watch even such a small room transform so dramatically. I have to ask (and I hope you answer, because I can’t easily find the answer); where did you find that mirror?
That was from HomeGoods.
xo
s
well done! I’m of the school that likes a mix of metals. I think the new faucet looks perfect with the mirror {a win over matchy-matchy for sure}.
And, you could always do the knobs in a matching finish to carry the look through the whole vanity.
congrats on no drips! my first rate handy-man husband ranks plumbing as his least favorite honey-do.