William Morris: The Taps

The first time we had the faucet set installed on our vintage late forties sink, we had to call a plumber. We simply had no idea how to install a faucet, two taps and a drain. That was in May 2001. We spent $151.00 on the taps and $258.55 on the plumber. (Yes, I made a scrapbook page about it.)



We've had a leak in the left hand faucet for ages. Every time we would turn it on, water would leak out at the base, right by the estrucheon. It was more annoying than anything, until I noticed this beneath it:



There's no mold: just water damage.

I sent away for a part: it didn't fix the problem. I called customer service again, and they told me that I had a lifetime warranty on the faucet set and that I could return them to the place I bought them and with this number the nice man on the phone was about to give me, I could get the exact same set for free.

That was last fall. It seems like procrastinating, but what I was really doing was trying to justify paying the money to replace these with something more to my liking. I couldn't. They aren't terrible. Taps which would express my taste and sensitivity for our vintage modern sink are not a need but a want. It's just taken me this long to accept reality. Curious, I checked out the current price for the same taps. They were fifty dollars cheaper, $109.00.

So, last week being Bathroom week on the Spring Cleaning schedule, the hubs and I took everything apart and went into Canadian Tire on Sunday to pick up our new set. Turns out, the store had to call Danze Customer Service and confirm the number. They keep banker's hours, Monday through Friday, two time zones the wrong way. So, I went back Monday and hubs re-installed everything on Tuesday. And so here we are:



I love the estrucheon plate underneath the new spout. I have no idea if we had one before but it looks much better. Bonus: the tap doesn't leak anymore either.