Home Improvement Project--Taking Out A Sink

This weekend at my family birthday party when everyone was honoring me, my Hubby said that he really liked how I am one of the least helpless people he knows.  I will get an idea in my head, research how to do it, and then do it.  Rarely will I ask Hubby for help--basically only when something requires muscle power that I don't have.  I think it's funny that he mentioned that even before I tackled my latest project.

There is a sink in my laundry/mud room.  From the day we moved in, I have hated that sink.  It is too small for any real usefulness that would come with a laundry/mud room.  The faucet swivels 90 degrees in either direction--translation: swivels beyond the sink bowl so that water can freely flow all over your floor.  While too small for real muddy projects, it is housed in a big cabinet taking up 2 square feet of prime laundry/mud room floor space in an already small room.  

Before--Excuse the mess of the laundry

Every time we all get ready to leave the house, we are all tripping over each other trying to get to our shoes and jackets.  Whenever we come home, we are all tripping over each other, blocking the door for people to come inside, preventing people from getting to the shoe rack, the coat hooks, the doorway into the house.  The room is tiny when you add five people, and it's made even tinier by a useless sink.

About a month ago I was digging around in the cabinet under the sink looking for a new bottle of laundry detergent when I stopped to look at the workings under the sink for the first time.  I'd always just assumed there was bare floor under the cupboard, but further inspection proved otherwise.  TILE!  I noticed WALLPAPER behind the cabinet.  A little light bulb went off in my head.  I could remove this cabinet and not have to redo the flooring or wall covering in this room.  DING!  DING!  DING!

Saturday Hubby went to the store to buy the necessary supplies to cap the drain pipe.  Sunday, after a quick internet search on the topic of removing sinks to learn if there was any critical step I needed to know about, I got out the screw driver and got to work.    

What was left after removing the sink

Off came the water supply hoses.  Off came the drain pipe from the sink.  And finally out came the screws that held the cabinet to the wall.  And then I was left with a dilemma--the parts that Hubby bought are not the right parts.  Hmmmm...

All the freed up space--Beautiful

Back to the internet to figure out what I need to buy to finish the project.  I love the internet.  

PVC permanent cap--Check

Brass compression cap--Check

Off to the hardware store to buy said parts.  I felt very prepared and like I could knock out this project in one trip to the store.  Brought said parts home only to realize I bought all the wrong parts.  Grrr... I HATE when that happens.  

Today I went back to the store to buy what I hoped were the right parts.  I knew what I was looking for, I just needed to find them.  After some searching and asking a nice employee for help, I walked out of the store with what I needed.  I came home, screwed them on, and voila!  A completed project!  

What the right parts look like installed

Every time I walk into the room, it feels so open and airy.  I love it!  Now I just need to find the right bench to go in there to store our shoes, hats and gloves, and provide a seat for putting shoes on.  If I can't find the right one, I will just have to pull out the tools, dust off my woodworking skills, and make one myself.  (The old sink will be going to my inlaws who are putting a new bathroom into their cottage--so the sink that annoys me will be put to good use)