It’s funny how one household project usually opens a HUGE can of worms. It’s also a time to reiterate to husbands, listen to your wives.
A few months ago we gave our kitchen a minor face lift – paint, lighting, furniture, decorations, you know the drill. And once we were done the room was all nice and sparkly – however the rest of the house wasn’t. And so began the process of repainting, removing and redecorating pretty much every room in our house. Nine years had passed, so I guess it was time.
This past weekend it was the bathroom upstairs. How hard could a tiny room like that be right? Patching up a few divots and cracks in the sheet rock was a no brainer, painting the walls and ceilings was tedious but a breeze and even installing some new lighting wasn’t all that painful. But when it came time to change the pedestal sink faucet, well, that was the beginning of the end.
Let’s just say that a rusted nut and bolt attached to the hot water faucet turned what should have been a two-hour project into two days. I tried some online suggestions like heating it with a torch, banging it with a hammer and even saturating it with some gross smelling spray that was supposed to dissolve the rust. And while each attempt did seem to loosen it slightly, nothing ever fully set it free. And so after hours of frustration, jerking my wrench back and forth while lying on a cold and rather uncomfortable tile floor, I admitted defeat.
But then my wife came up with an idea – “why don’t we just saw it off.” Now I adore my wife, but sometimes she comes up with fixes that aren’t as easy to accomplish as they are to think of – I love that about her. But on the verge of smashing the sink to pieces, I thought this was at least worth a shot.
With my hands wrapped in half a dozen band aides from the cuts I got from the sharp porcelain of the sink base, I handed her the hacksaw and said, “have at it!” And saw she did. Though I was skeptical at first, to my surprise within 15 minutes she had gotten the faucet completely off. I could feel tears of joy pooling at the base of my eyes as what I tried to do for two days, she was able to do in 15 minutes.
The lesson here? Husbands, listen to your wives. I know us men think we have all the answers when it comes to home improvement projects, but as I learned the other day, my wife is another great tool to have in my toolbox.
