![]() Then he removed the porcelain waste knob between the taps to make way for the new spout. Using a basin wrench designed to reach up underneath the sink, he unscrewed the old stems, nuts and locking washers. In the guest bathroom, Deehan converted a circa-1900 cast iron sink with separate hot and cold taps to a more modern configuration a single, central spigot with knobs on either side. Now the tee could be placed below the backsplash and feed water up a single 3/8-inch tube to the spigot. He installed foot pedals-more commonly found on hospital sinks so that surgeons need not touch a tap-to control the hot and cold water lines. Deehan’s solution drew inspiration from an unlikely source: hospitals. Mounting the sinks presented yet another problem: keeping the backsplash flush with the marble wainscoting would not leave enough room for the 4-inch brass tee that mixes hot and cold water before they flow through the spigot. Installing traditional hot and cold taps would require drilling two new holes in the heavy sinks, an expensive and time-consuming process that couldn’t be done on site. Each sink had only one fitting hole, located in the backsplash. “Besides, there are so many new faucets that mimic their old-time counterparts, there’s really no reason to put in the hard work rebuilding the old ones.”ĭeehan’s first challenge was adapting two huge janitorial sinks for use in the master bathroom. “Antique sinks haven’t been used in so long that their washers dry up and the chrome can get pitted and worn,” says Deehan. ![]() To live up to the demands of modern life-and its building codes-the old cast iron and porcelain basins would need some shiny new hardware.Īccording to Deehan, rebuilding old fittings is difficult. For starters, the sinks’ old fittings would have to go. ![]() This Old House TV: San Francisco house projectĪfter homeowners Mark Dvorak and Laurie Ann Bishop snagged several classic jazz-age lavatories at a salvage yard in Berkeley, it was up to master plumber Jeff Deehan to get the antique sinks up and running.
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