MommieLady, Wow. You have noooo idea how nice it is to read such an uplifting post right about now. Just noooo idea what it means. Thank you so very much! Ok, can you keep a secret? Shhhh...Just between me and you, k? The legs are brown resin with a screw hole drilled in the bottom. Son bought me the correct double-ended screws and it was like magic. Screw one end of double-ended into leg, the other end into bottom of vanity. Another shhhh, K? Searched for almost a year and couldn't find a 24" vanity that didn't take up too much depth space and with a usable drawer. Vanity is a re-purposed microwave cart. Didn't want to lose the utility drawer at the top (with sink hanging inside vanity) so had son reconfigure drawer and glides and put it at the bottom. (gotta have a place for that almighty make-up, doncha know *grin*) Hey, I kept telling everyone I was on a strict budget, now maybe they'll believe me. lol And you are so right, in the grand scheme of things, the quappy work the previous owners did to create a master bath, leaving us with the mess, is a small obsticle when I start to think of the bigger things that could go wrong in other areas of our life. Your post has given me the umph to keep "plugging along"---Thank youuuuu! In fact, I'm printing your post and I'm going to stick it where my new medicine cabinet 'should be' but isn't, yet. lol It will serve as my new "Keep Pluggin' Along" mantra each day from here on out. You're too kind. Amity P.S. The faux work, in all rooms where I couldn't afford the real stuff, was done by me. See? told ya I was on a strict budget. lol Again, many many thanks!

The thing about lead and oakum joins is that the lead is used to secure the oakum. The lead does not make the joint. If you look into the bell end of the CI you will see a recess inside the lip. When you pour the joint with lead you then take inside and outside yarning irons and you basically set the lead int othe recess and against the pipe. once the oakum begins to get wet it will swell and that is actually what mass the joint. I like the Mission band brand of couplings. that said, if I am working to two fixed points with a single piece I will get a no-hub coupling that I can pull the clamp and outer support back, affix the rubber coupling to one end of the pipe and fold it back on itself. Position the pipe and roll the band back over the new pipe, whether CI, or PvC. Your dimension has to be spot on, but I've done a lot o them. Also, if you are going CI to PVC/ABS they make special claps for that.

you don't have to rip out the shower and the sink to change it out usually. you can access it from teh OTHER side of the wall/floor. that being said, there is plenty of CI plumbing in place tha tis well over 100 years old and still problem free. just keep in mind tha tif you do have to cut into the CI for other areas, it could shatter and cause you to have to cut it back further than desired. but if your plumber knows how to work with it, that should not be an issue. also, if your CI run up between floors, make sure he supports it before cutting into any section. CI is self supported, so if he cuts a vertical stack in the basement, it could all come right down on him! as far as changing them now, IF you need/want to change them then do it while you have other walls open and workers on site. you don't want to seal everything up and then 6 months from now decide to change it out, cause then you pay to rip open lots of stuff and redo it, some of which may be stuff you JUST did.

The Oatey option is a lot less expensive than the Fernco and comes in the right size. I couldn't find a Fernco 4 x 2, only the 4 x 4. Bit of personal experience here re 1.5" washer drain. When we moved into this house 20+ years ago and set up the washer (old school top load), the washer drain cycle overwhelmed the stand pipe so I just popped the drain hose over into the laundry sink. Never understood why the stand pipe drain didn't work properly. NOW, I know why. Thank you, Randy427. Sure enough, the drain is 1.5". Still have a top loader (Speed Queen), BTW. When we bought it eight years ago, the first think that I noticed was how fast the pump emptied the washer. No experience with the water miser front loaders. But I wouldn't take any chances going with 1.5". Apparently not up to code and you're doing a third floor install...