My guilty pleasure is watching home improvement shows on TV. I usually watch one each evening. I mix it up with a different series each night so they are not too repetitive. I have Netflix and lately they have been dropping shows like flies, so sometimes I don’t get a whole series in, but some new series seem to show up.
This Genevieve’s Renovation is one show that I just started. My kids wonder how I can stand the slow pace and repetitive information in these shows, but I look for that one idea that can help me in our renovation and I guess I’m willing to slog through whole shows just to find it.
Outdoor Spigot in Guest Bath–Season 1 Episode 4
I was impressed by this idea. I have been thinking of using a wall mounted faucet for the bathroom faucet in the guest bathroom, but they are VERY expensive. Just like in this show I have always liked the animal shaped spigots that are made for outdoors. In fact I bought one for our first house and used it to fill the wood cook stove water reservoir. I had to remove it when the pipe was in the way of the new furnace installation. But I kept it and even have it here in the new house.
Genevieve learns her idea has a problem
So Genevieve buys two of these thinking one for hot and one for cold, right? But then she wants to have a big sink and separate the faucets–but if one is hot and one cold they would be too far apart to mix like in old fashioned sinks.
Forgot one was for hot and the other cold–what can she do?
Never fear, this is the clever part, there is a mixing “box” they call it, or valve that can premix the hot and cold at a desired proportion before it gets to the spigot. This valve is installed under the sink.
There is a brief glance at her tub faucet diagram which is a normal mixing faucet.
By adding mixing valves under the sink, she is able to have two inexpensive and interesting faucets that both deliver hot and cold water to each side of her sink.
A mixing “box” (valve) under the sink.
When the faucet turns on, both hot and cold come out in a pre-set proportion.
The faucets needed to have an extension from the wall to reach inside the edge of the sink so they used plain copper pipe and covered it in rope as a decorative accent. I’m thinking there are several coverings that could be used for this purpose.
Spigot’s copper extension pipe covered in rope.
Here are the final faucets installed in her guest bathroom.
Final two spigots in bathroom.
And here is the mixing valve that I ordered for my bathroom!
Moen Mixing Valve
This was not the most nor the least expensive valve available on Amazon. I chose this one because it has check valves integrated into it and they are recommended and it is a good brand name while others seemed to be non-branded imports. The mixing setting is very simple and it is checked at the faucet for temperature with a thermometer. They recommend about 110 degrees.
This is a very inexpensive solution for a wall mounted faucet. Especially since I already have a decorative snail spigot! Too bad I don’t have a wall–yet.