The $20 pipe wrench that cost me 3 hours on a simple sink drain

I thought replacing a kitchen sink trap would be a quick 30 minute job. Turned out the previous owner had cranked down the slip nuts with what felt like a breaker bar. My cheap adjustable wrench just kept slipping off the rounded edges. After an hour of swearing and slipping, I drove to the hardware store and grabbed a proper pipe wrench for 20 bucks. Even with the right tool it took another 45 minutes because the old PVC had warped from heat. Total time was 3 hours for what should have been a 30 minute swap. Anyone else run into a quick job that turned into a whole afternoon because of one stubborn fitting?

1 comments

1 Comment

the_john2h agoTop Commenter

oh man, "cranked down the slip nuts with what felt like a breaker bar" hits too close to home. buddy of mine tried swapping his garbage disposal last spring. took him like 4 hours to get the old one off because whoever installed it had basically welded the locking ring on with corrosion and brute force. He stripped two cheap wrenches before calling me over. We ended up having to cut that ring off with a hacksaw, tiny little strokes, both of us sweating in his tiny kitchen. The new disposal went on in like 20 minutes.