Well, today Dave nearly got the guest bathroom finished. That is until a snafu popped up and then another and another. Here is the most recent photo of the project. By the end of the day we did have the knobs on the cabinet, the hand towel rack and TP dispenser installed and, drum roll please. . .ta-da!!!! Running water in the sink.So what were the issues. Oddly they all centered around the sink and its faucet. The space between the sink and backsplash is really tight. We didn't know how tight until Dave tried to install the faucet.
Problem 1: That thingy that always sticks up behind the faucet that you pull up and down in order to stop up the sink? Well, the granite guy forgot to drill a hole for that thingy. He only drilled the holes for the hot and cold pipes. Arrrgh! Not to worry, he admitted his mistake and will be by to fix it.
Problem 2: There wasn't enough room to secure the faucet to the countertop from the underside using the standard parts. Arrrgh! So the parts had to be modified and even then carefully threaded on in the tight space available.
Problem 3: The hot/cold handles are square in design at their base, a nod to the arts and crafts/bungalow architectural style we love so much. The problem is the space issue again. This time the square corner of the faucets just barely hit the backsplash everytime the faucet is turned on. Arrrrgh! The solution? This time it may be a bit more difficult to solve. We could:
- Cut the 2 cm thick backsplash lengthwise making it somewhat less than 2 cm thick at the cost of about $200.
- We could give up and switch the faucet out for one with rounded handles. Problem here is that all the other accents, towel racks, TP dispenser, etc. are all matching that way.
- We could machine the spot where the faucet hits the backsplash leaving a small concave spot in the backsplash just large enough to allow for the handles to clear.
At this point we are going for the 3rd option. We thought the spot was so insignificant that with a high-speed carving tool we could create a small concave groove just deep and wide enough to allow for clearance and no one would ever be the wiser. Tomorrow we try it. Cross your fingers.
