Princess daily tip: Are you as smart as the plumber?

Recently, my daughter decided to redo her kitchen. Her formica countertops were marred and her old cast iron sink had sunk into rattiness. The faucet was the cheapest of the cheap and since the kitchen is at the very front of the house she wanted to dress the sink up also.
She and I had great fun at the Habitat for Humanity store near the capitol in OKC. (There is probably a salvage store near you too. The HfH store the sell goods donated by overstocked builders and decorators as well as some used fixtures like chandaliers and furniture) She got a  shiney new stainless steel double sink and a fancy new Delta faucet for under a hundred dollars. She bought the big 12″ ceramic tiles at Home Depot along with the high grade thinset mortar. The cheap stuff is not worth the time. Don’t even think about it! I learned to do tile years ago through printed tutorials from Home Depot (Home Depot is one of my very favorite stores and we own stock in it), and asking the sales clerks there lots of questions. If a contractor comes into the store to buy something I’m looking at, I ask them questions too. They’ve always been super nice about answering which materials or tools they like best and why.
Tricia’s original counter had flat edges, so she laid the new tile directly on the old counter. She cut the tile with a plasplugs wet saw she borrowed from me, (a great tool for the occasional project).  When the tile was all set and grouted, (and looking fantastic) it was time to install the sink. We quickly realized that the under the sink shutoff was no good nor was the house shutoff in good order and had to shut the water off at the street.
  A few things to know: In OK the common practice is to glue rather than screw plumbing fixtures together. Less likely to leak, less likely to be sucessfully replaced by an amature.
  We got it apart, got the faucet installed on the sink but absolutely could not get the old water supply pipe off the inlet. We knew HOW to do it, but it just wouldn’t happen. We struggled, muttering and mumbling about inferior workmanship etc. until at last it seemed like it MIGHT be secure. We turned the water back on with fingers and toes all crossed…Drip drip drip. I gave the nut a quarter turn and the whole thing blasted off the pipe, shooting water all through the lower cabinets. I jammed my finger into the pipe, shouting for her to turn it off.  She’s got very good water pressure and my finger in the pipe succeeded in redirecting the spray into my face and every other semi-dry place within 20 feet.
So we called a plumber. He was there in 15 minutes and the pipe was all fixed and assembled with a new fitting in about 5more. He charged about $50. He explained that having the right tool keeps him in business. He wasn’t mad that we tried to do without his services. His certifiably low riding pants and high riding shirt instilled great confidence that the job was done right and would last forever.
 What does this have to do with saving money and time? I want to point out the fact that this is the worst case senerio.  If we’d called a plumber to do the little tasks of disconnecting and  installing the faucet and sink and drain pipes, it would have cost 4 times as much. So, by doing as much as you can and then calling an expert when you really need them, you’ll save a lot of money. Tricia spent a total of about $450 for new countertops, sink and kitchen faucet. I would estimate that the upgrade added about $2000. to her home. A little bit of hard work and inconvenience paid off with a more royal lifestyle.  (I’ll ask her to send a picture so I can prove it, but she’s at work right now.)