Recently the hose on our handheld shower head sprang a leak. Time for a new shower head!
Here's the "before" photo.
Okay, there's not much to see there, because I didn't think to take the picture until I had already removed the old shower head.
So here's the old shower head in the bathroom sink. Impressive, eh?
Here's the new shower head in action.
Actually, the "no leaks" thing took 3 attempts.
The sparse instructions said to use Teflon tape between the shower mount and the water inlet. And they said to use Teflon tape between the hose and the shower mount, so I did so. But they said nothing about using Teflon tape between the hose and the shower head. That seemed strange, but I followed the instructions.
As expected, it leaked. Why would they mention using Teflon tape the first 2 times, but not the 3rd time? I guess those words would have put them over their word budget.
The shower head came with 3 washers. Two of the washers were already in place. The 3rd washer was, for reasons known only to the manufacturer, attached to the hose with a twist-tie. The only likely place for the 3rd washer was between the hose and the shower head. However, without the washer, the shower head screwed flush with the end of the hose; with the washer, there was a gap between the shower head and the end of the hose. The instructions, of course, made no mention of any washers. I decided to try it without the washer.
Again, as expected, it leaked.
It's almost as if the shower mount and hose were made by one company, while the shower head itself was made by a separate company and added too late to include in the instructions.
Now, I know what you're thinking: "Wally, changing a shower head does not in any way justify a 4-photo blog entry. Boring!" Yeah, I know. But there are just so many repairs and home improvement projects waiting for us that I figure I'll take credit for at least getting something done!
In that vein, here's what we've done (or had done) since we bought the house (about 16 months ago):
- Removed every inch of carpeting.
- Removed the closet doors in the craft room and the master bedroom; we'll eventually install curtains, at least in the master bedroom.
- Removed the medicine cabinet in the master bedroom; the replacement will be installed Real Soon Now.
- Removed the thermal roller shades from the family room doorways.
- Removed the wallpaper in Lando's bathroom, the kitchen, and the laundry area.
- Replaced the faucet in Lando's bathroom.
- Replaced the faucet in the kitchen sink.
- Replaced the garbage disposal (as well as the drain pipe).
- Replaced 2 toilets with ultra low flow models and removed the 3rd (although we haven't installed its replacement yet).
- Replaced part of the underfloor in Lando's bathroom and installed self-stick linoleum tiles.
- Replaced the lights over the sink in the master bathroom.
- Replaced the light switch in the dining room.
- Installed swag lamps in Lando's bedroom, the master bedroom, and the craft room.
- Installed ceiling lights in the dining room.
- Installed a ceiling light in the family room (with Eric's help; actually, Eric pretty much did the entire thing; thanks, Eric!).
- Painted Lando's bedroom walls.
- Had a French drain and a curtain drain installed in the backyard.
- Had a new septic system installed.
We still have a very long "to do" list, so it's nice to create a "done" list!
About halfway through your list, I thought perhaps you were simply going to remove the walls, floor, and ceiling and have done with it.
Posted by: ross | 01/07/2010 at 10:38 AM
Ripping stuff out doesn't cost any money, and you don't have to worry that perhaps you're not doing it right. :-)
Posted by: Wally Hartshorn | 01/07/2010 at 11:07 AM