*
I have a customer who has a pedestal sink that is made entirely out of cast iron. This is the kind with separate faucets for hot/cold on each end of the sink. In the middle of the sink between the two faucets is the pop-up stopper assembly to control the stopper.
The customer wants me to remove the two individual faucets and plug the holes, and put on a new modern faucet (a cheapo one)in the middle where the pop up lever is. To do this I have to drill through the cast iron sink base at least two holes with a 4 inch spread between them. The cast iron is 1/8″ thick.
Does anyone have any ideas on how to approach and do this? How do I drill through cast iron a hole large enough to accept the supply nipples from the faucet? Any opinions are appreciated.
Replies
*
If he is using a cheap faucet, he will not like your labor costs. At the least, have him buy a cheap single lever faucet with one-hole mounting. Still.....
I hate to admit this, but I saw this exact thing on This Old House in San Francisco. The plumber used an abrasive hole saw to open the hole, drilling through the glaze and the cast iron. You can even try using a standard hole saw, but they will really wear fast. If you do this, have two and grind through the glaze with the sacrificial lamb. Then cut the iron with the good one. Cast iron cuts well, but you will probably want to lubricate it, especially if you use the toothed thingy.
If the hole is where no hole has gone before, your job is easiest. Note the size of the guide drill on the hole saw, and get one of your oldest drill bits the same size and slowly drill a hole through the cast iron. This will serve as a guide for your big saw. Then take your hole saw, insert the center drill into your hole and drill your big hole. First knock the glaze from the bottom, then go to the top and finish the job. Make sure that the faucet has a large enough trim ring, because some glaze will chip.
If you are enlarging a smaller hole, you will have to rig up some sort of centering plug that will go over your hole cutter's center bit.
*Pyro - I'm sure you'll get some good suggestions (BTW check the archives, I think this came up not too long ago) on how to do this, but I'd like to offer an alternative that won't wreck the old sink.I can understand abandoning the old faucets since they probably are of the high-maintenance type (washers to replace) but why not purchase individual hot & cold replacements of washerless design, assuming that they are available. To avoid having to mix hot and cold in your hands, I would think that there must be a reasonable way to feed the hot faucet with a mixture of hot/cold proportioned to a reasonably warm (adjustable?), but not straight hot water, mixture. I don't know if you can do this without a themostatic mixing valve but someone else might.Just trying to think 'outside the box.' Wouldn't be the cheapest solution but it wouldn't risk the sink either.Jeff
*
John,
Since I've never done anything like this before, I'm not sure on two things. I am familiar with standard hole saws, but, forgive my tool ignorance on this, what is an abrasive hole saw? Not sure I've ever seen one. The other thing is...as far as lubricating, what do you recommend?
*Jeff, Not sure why, but the customer doesn't want to replace the faucets with new ones. He wants instead to use a mixing faucet while salvaging the sink. It's part of a rental property, so of course he wants to keep costs low. It's what he wants, and I"m pretty much hired to find a way to do it and......do it. :) One of the drawbacks in the business I guess.....or course whether or not the customer is always right is a separate discussion altogether, and don't we all know that.
*Ditto to what Jeff said.You can buy contemporary (yet old looking) replacement faucets at a jillion places - such as restoration hardware, etc.Why maul an otherwise good sink?Not to mention - drilling through porcelain enamel and cast iron sounds like a lot of time and labor, and will eat up some bits. There *must* be a better way. Rose
*
Here is a faucet example if he is willing to think about it. They are only $90. Naturally the hole size, etc. is key.
Jeff
*The saw looks just like an ordinary toothed hole saw, except that uses the same grit on it as the "hack saws" with the silicon carbide grit. They are available from most tool stores, I guess. I am looking at a Grainger catalog; if you are a business, you can order them. They are Morse brand Tungsten Carbide Grit Hole Saws. A 2" one costs $40.45.Lubricant? Water will help to keep things cool. Better is cutting oil, which can be found in hardware stores as tapping lubricant. Don't flood it, just keep it there.PS: I agree with everyone else: Why ruin a perfectly good sink, unless it is already trash. By the time your labor costs are included, the more expensive unit will cost less. And, don't they still make separate hot & cold faucets that you can plumb with that flexible plastic hosing stuff?
*
I am a building manager, and put new mixing faucets on older pedestal sinks all the time. The center spigot on the American Standard faucets I use is only 3/4" in diameter, and will fit on most sinks center hole that is used for the drain stopper rod. There is absolutely no reason to drill it larger to fit a cheaper faucet. They sell the fauctet at Home Depot and I think it runs about $115. (American Standard Williamsburg)
*
By the time you get paid for your labor to do this, the drill bits you'll wear out, and the cheapo faucet, he could have bought a faucet that would work or even replace the sink.
BTW, this question comes up every couple of months...the archives will have more suggestions.
*Any chance of:1) Retaining the center hole as currently used for the sink stopper.2) Using either the left of right hole for a single-hole faucet.3) Using the remaining (right or left) hole for a liquid soap dispenser.This could result in no drilling (which seems to be the unknown risk for you, no left and right "hole plugging" (another unknown), along with no cash outlay for the abrasive bit). On top of that the customer get a "stylishly offset" (you can quote me on that) faucet with a soap dispenser thrown in as well.
*Cutting cast iron: no lubricant required.S.
*Why not just use a wide spread faucet? John Myhre touched on it above. You use the existing holes for the handles & valves, and the center pop-up hole for the spigot itself. They're labeled 'wide spread' or just 4-8" spread. You should be able to find a basic model for under $100 at HD, or your local supply. I imagine a $35 faucet and 2-3 (+) hours of your labor would be more than $100 and less than 1 hour...
*Pyro, I replaced a faucet in a pedestal sink with just the 3-hole configuration you describe. I purhcased a set wholesale from a distributor called Strom Plumbing or "Sign of the Crab". They sell the same stuff that Renovators Supply sell, or at least they sure look the same. The set I used had separate units for the two faucets and spigot. They connected under the sink with either copper or brass tubes and compression fittings if I remember correctly. The point is, you could custom install to whatever spread the holes happen to be. Their wholesale prices were very reasonable and if you are a business you should be able to take advantage of this. Check them out at: http://www.signofthecrab.com/I expect that drilling out a cast-iron porcelain sink is more trouble than it's worth.
*Flather, do you have any ties to The Catholic University of America? I ask because Flather is a kind of uncommon name, and there is/was a Flather Hall dormitory there.Sorry for the off topic, guys.
*Sean - Holes on an old pedestal for single faucets are often out where we put the soap dish today - i reallywide, like 20" apart.Jeff
*Yeah, my mom has one in her powder room. OK, hers is a wall hung, and only mebbe 12" apart, but same idea. If he gets the wide spread faucet, he just has to replace the included connections with something of suitable length, IF the holes're too far apart. Still far easier than drilling & plugging the sink, IMHO.
*
Thanks guys and gals(?) for all your help. I will look into the wide spread concept. My customer does not want to replace the faucets with separate faucets (a hot one and a cold one) He wanted to use a mixing faucet while retaining the sink because while it's not in the best condition, it works in the rental property in which it is located.
I"m sure I could sell him on the wide spread concept. If that doesn't work, then I will try the American Standard option mentioned by the Building Manager above. After that, if that fails,my customer indicated he'd buy a new vanity and sink.
*
My brother had a similar problem with a marble sink in his old Victorian house. He found a plumber to custom make a single outlet sink from stock parts to fit the wide separation from the old faucets. Didn't cost much, the parts are very easy to cut and fit together, once you know where to buy them. Maybe give your favorite old plumber a call?
Hope this helps. Rich.
*Pyro,I didn't describe the parts right, the faucet I installed was a mixing type with a single spigot and two separate valves, connected beneath the sink with compression fitting pipes. The the model we used was one of the ones on this page: http://www.signofthecrab.com/catalog/page24.htmSorry for the confusion.
*
I have a customer who has a pedestal sink that is made entirely out of cast iron. This is the kind with separate faucets for hot/cold on each end of the sink. In the middle of the sink between the two faucets is the pop-up stopper assembly to control the stopper.
The customer wants me to remove the two individual faucets and plug the holes, and put on a new modern faucet (a cheapo one)in the middle where the pop up lever is. To do this I have to drill through the cast iron sink base at least two holes with a 4 inch spread between them. The cast iron is 1/8" thick.
Does anyone have any ideas on how to approach and do this? How do I drill through cast iron a hole large enough to accept the supply nipples from the faucet? Any opinions are appreciated.