From 
A New Sink & Faucet
1. Remove the trap
and other drain parts by loosening the slip-joint nuts with a large slip-joint
pliers or pipe wrench. Disconnect the disposer from the sink by sticking a
large screwdriver or disposer wrench into the ring near the drain and twisting
it counterclockwise. You may have to tap it with a hammer to break it free.
Close the water valves and disconnect the tubes leading to the faucet. Hold the
shutoff valve steady with one wrench while you loosen the supply tube nut with
a second wrench. Remove any clips holding the sink in and lift it
out.
A New Sink & Faucet
2. Mount the new
faucet to the new sink. Follow the instructions provided with your faucet.
Protect your countertop with cardboard.
A New Sink & Faucet
3. Set your new sink
in the countertop to check the fit, then trace around it with a pencil. Enlarge
the hole if necessary. Remove the sink and apply a bead of mildewresistant
tub-and-tile caulk just to the inside of the pencil line. Set the sink back in
the hole and use a nut driver to tighten the clips that hold the sink down.
Tighten the clips just enough to close the gap between the sink and countertop.
Don’t overtighten. Clean up the excess caulk with a damp
cloth.
A New Sink & Faucet
4. Roll
plumber’s putty into a 1/2- in. dia. rope and form it around each drain
opening. Press the top half of the basket strainer assembly down into the
plumber’s putty on one side. On the other, press the disposer drain down
into the putty.
A New Sink & Faucet
5. Assemble the
undersink half of the basket strainer assembly and tighten the large nut with
the slip-joint pliers. Hold the basket with your hand to keep it from spinning.
Reassemble the disposer drain and tighten the three screws. Clean the excess
plumber’s putty from around the drain openings and polish the sink with a
dry cloth.
A New Sink & Faucet
6. Connect the water
supply valves to the new faucet with flexible braided stainless steel sink
connectors. Hand-tighten the connections. Then turn them an additional quarter
turn with a wrench.
A New Sink & Faucet
7. Loosely
assemble the new PVC drain fittings. Hold up and mark parts needing to be cut.
Then saw them with a fine-tooth wood saw or hacksaw. Slope the horizontal pipes
down slightly toward the drain in the wall. Hand-tighten all the fittings and
turn the nuts an additional quarter turn with the large slip-joint
pliers.
Low-Voltage Track Lighting
1. Test for live
wires. Switch off the circuit breaker or remove the fuse at the
main electrical
panel to shut off the power to the light. Then remove the screws
that hold the
old light fixture, pull it down and disconnect the wires.
Doublecheck that the
electricity is off by placing the two leads of a voltage tester
between every
possible pair of wires. If the tester lights up, the power is
still on. Do not
continue until you find and turn off the correct circuit
breaker.
Low-Voltage Track Lighting
2. Attach the new
fixture to the electrical box using the hardware and instructions
provided.
You’ll need a helper. Connect the white wire to the neutral
white wire,
the black or red wire to the black or red hot wire and the bare or
green
grounding wires together. If you’re connecting stranded wire
to solid
wire, let the stranded wire stick past the solid about 1/8 in.
Size the wire
connectors according to the connector manufacturer’s
directions. Align
the threaded stud on the fixture strap with the hole in the
fixture and slide
the fixture up to the ceiling. Secure it by tightening the nut
onto the
threaded stud.
Low-Voltage Track Lighting
3. Bend the track to
the desired shape. Follow the instructions included with the track
system.
Support the track on the countertop directly under its eventual
position on the
ceiling. Mark the standoff locations no more than 4 ft. apart and
wherever two
track sections are joined. Then use a string and plumb bob to
transfer these
locations to the ceiling. Attach a standoff at each location with
the mounting
hardware provided.
Note: Position the track far enough from cabinets so open doors don’t hit the light fixtures.
Low-Voltage Track Lighting
4. Hang the track
from the standoff tubes according to the instructions included
with the system.
Get help lifting the track.
Low-Voltage Track Lighting
5. Attach the
fixtures to the track by sliding the U-shaped connector over the
track and
screwing the light fixture to it.
Caution: Aluminum wiring requires special handling. If you have aluminum wiring, call in a licensed pro who’s certified to work with it. This wiring is dull gray, not the dull orange that’s characteristic of copper.
Stainless Steel Backsplash & Open Shelves
1. Make a paper
template. Switch off the circuit breakers or remove the fuses at
the main panel
to disconnect the power to all the switches and receptacles in the
backsplash
area. Take rough measurements of the backsplash area. Then cut
kraft or red
rosin paper about 2 in. smaller than the area you intend to cover
and tape it
to the wall with small pieces of masking tape, leaving about an
inch of wall
showing all around. Cut around the outer edge of the outlet and
switch boxes.
Secure strips of paper drywall tape to the pattern paper to
establish precise
edges. Mark the “face” of each template, that is, the
side that
shows.
Stainless Steel Backsplash & Open Shelves
2. Glue the metal
backsplash to the wall with silicone caulk. Start by unscrewing
the switches
and receptacles and tilting them out as shown in the photo. Check
each one with
a tester (see Photo 8) to make sure the power is disconnected
before
proceeding. Apply a straight bead of silicone caulk around the
perimeter and a
squiggly bead in the middle. Then tilt the metal into place and
press it into
the caulk. Use pieces of duct tape or masking tape to hold the
metal in place
until the caulk grabs.
Stainless Steel Backsplash & Open Shelves
3. Caulk the joint
between the countertop and the metal with silicone caulk. For a
neater job,
space two strips of masking tape about 1/8 in. apart and apply the
caulk in the
space. Smooth the caulk quickly with a wet finger and immediately
pull off both
pieces of tape. Screw on the receptacles and turn the electrical
power back
on.
Stainless Steel Backsplash & Open Shelves
4. Drill holes in
the metal to mount the utensil rack. Measure up from the counter
and mark
pieces of tape for the center of the holes. Use a center punch and
hammer to
make a small divot in the center of each mark. Place the tip of
the bit in the
divot and drill very slowly with heavy pressure. Use a special
cobalt bit to
drill stainless steel ($5 at home centers).
Open Shelves
17. Remove the
cabinet doors and hinges. Fill all extra shelf bracket or hinge
holes with a
hardening-type wood filler. Allow this to harden, sand it smooth,
and apply a
coat of lightweight surfacing compound to fill low spots left
after the wood
filler shrinks. Let the second coat dry. Then sand the entire
cabinet interior
with 80-grit paper to provide a “rough” surface for
the paint to
grab.
Open Shelves
18. Paint the cabinet
interior. Use masking tape to protect unpainted areas. Prime the
interior with
white pigmented shellac (BIN is one brand) to keep the filler from
showing
through and to provide a binder for the final coats of paint. Sand
the primer
lightly with a fine sanding sponge after it dries. Remove the dust
with a
vacuum cleaner and brush on the final coats of latex or oil
paint.
Open Shelves
19. Support glass
shelves with metal shelf pins inserted into holes drilled in the
cabinet sides.
To prevent the pins from enlarging the holes, drill 9/32-in. holes
and tap in
metal sleeves. Then insert the metal shelf support pins in the
sleeves and
apply a self-adhesive round rubber pad to each pin to keep the
glass shelves
from sliding off.