My Plumbing Wishlist
I am prepared to order a period-correct custom-made soapstone sink for my 1894 kitchen. And a non-period faucet.
But..I hesitate.
I hesitate.
It is all Walter’s fault.
I have never met Walter, but I fell down the rabbit hole of his website. You see, Walter is a vintage plumbing obsessive. He restores and installs. A man after my own heart.
After looking through his website I realized that I will not likely be happy with modern versions of old things. Rather, I will be thrilled to have actual things from the 1890s.
I have long known that a reproduction high-tank toilet is very different than a restored 1890s high-talk toilet. And I would never be happy with the former.
An 1890s toilet. The wood seat is attached to the wall rather than the porcelain. This is a very fancy toilet. They came even fancier. And much plainer.
A reproduction. To me, this is just not the same.
So why, I find myself asking these past few days, do I think I will be happy with modern faucets? And…what about the other parts? Like hot/cold lines, and the drain trap? All this would be visible under a soap-stone sink.
This was the faucet I had planned to order. Because I thought that in the 1890s cold/hot taps were separate. Bo though wrote in, and linked to an amazing 1890s plumbing catalog, which revealed that I was wrong. There WERE combination faucets in the 1890s. Sprayers even!
How amazing is this! Zounds! This was intended as a shampoo faucet for a beauty salon. However, looking though the catalogue and through Walter’s website, I began to realize that I could get a period-correct combination faucet AND with a period-correct sprayer. So, now I am lusting after such a vision.
An 1890s vanity. Note what is UNDER the bowl. A fabulous drain trap, and cool on/off valves. Modern versions are ugly.
This is from Walter’s website. He restored and installed these glorious vintage plumbing fittings for a sink. I am gobsmacked.
Also from Walter’s website. A drain trap. This is so friggin’ amazing!
Also from Walter’s website. Just gorgeous! Modern fittings look nothing like this.
An incredible survivor. Note the underparts!
MY PLUMBING WISHLIST
KITCHEN
Also from Walter’s website.
So, kitchen wishlist:
- A period-correct 1890s sink. It could be slate, soapstone, or even wood with a porcelain bowl. Ideally, it would be a corner unit, to fit to the right corner.
- A period-correct combination faucet.
- A period-correct sprayer. The hoses were, I think, rubber. Cool.
- Period-correct hot/cold lines, and drain trap.
BUTLER’S PANTRY
The original pantry counter.
Fabulous drainboard.
Original sink. Somebody painted it! It was likely nickel-plated originally. You can see where the two faucets went.
This appears to be the original trap. Can it be used?
This is an 1890s pantry cock.
So, butler’s pantry wishlist:
- A pair of restored nickel-plated pantry cocks.
- Re-plate sink in nickel.
- A period-correct stopper for the drain, attached to a metal chain which is attached to a cool hook.
- To reuse the original trap.
MAIN FLOOR POWDER ROOM
Note fabulous underparts, and marble floor insert.
Existing evidence confirms that the powder room had a 34-inch-wide marble vanity. Evidence indicates that there was, too, a marble floor insert.
Existing evidence confirms that there was wall-hung toilet. Evidence indicates that there was, too, a marble floor insert.
So, powder room wishlist:
- 34-inch-wide marble vanity with tall backsplash. Brackets rather than legs are much preferred (as I can hang it a bit higher than was the standard in 1894).
- Period-correct underparts for the vanity.
- A matching marble floor slab.
- A toilet floor slab.
While I would LOVE to install a restored 1890s high-tank toilet the price, likely, precludes this. So, I plan to use the 1926 toilet installed in the room in 1929, and already restored. But placed on a marble floor insert.
This, thus, is my plumbing wish list.
I am not in a hurry.
Rather, the issue will be financial. Certainly, none of this will be inexpensive and I am prepared for that. Previously, I costed out what a restored high-tank toilet. Gulp. They average $9,000. Yep, gulp. A reproduction version is available for $1,000. So, the difference is vast. Hence, my reusing the 1926 toilet!
A custom-made soapstone sink will be around $2500. Expensive, yes, but I can deal with that. Will a period sink be like $10,000? If so, a new one will be fine!
A few years ago I found a restored pair of pantry cocks for $1,000. A pair of reproductions cocks were $250. I would do the former. And never regret it.
I have not a clue what a restored 1890s drain trap will cost! Same for the other underparts.
I also have no idea if Walter can work with me.
So, I am going to reach out to Walter and forward this blog post.
Then…
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Wow. Learned a LOT from this post! Must…have…high tank toilet!!
Oh why am I not surprised! Bad Walter Bad 🤣
Decisions, decisions. Will Walter still be providing these lovely, refurbished originals in, say,…5 years, if they need replacing? I divide how many years I feel I will get out of an expensive purchase into the purchase price, and sometimes I feel it warrants the high end product after all. Sometimes not.
Anyway, keep these posts a coming. I am burying myself in your blogs tonight to stay off the t.v. so I don’t watch “you know what”. To damn nervous.
You don’t replace them. Stuff was designed to be repaired. If the guy sells the fixture he probably sells the parts.
HI Ross,
I bookmarked this DIY nickel plating video,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-PtnwtOR24,
several years ago. I want to try my hand at replating the period plumbing fixtures from my footed bathtub. You might enjoy trying it on your sink. It appears to be easy. You might note that I said “appears to be” because I haven’t tried it yet.
With your ability to persist until you get things just right, I suspect you could experiment with your sink and fixtures and nickel plate them successfully even if you do post a few blog entries about the process headed with “FFFFFFFFF………ck” in their titles.Regardless, I found the video interesting and hope you do too.
If Walter ain’t in business in five years there won’t be any parts to be had for repairs!
As an owner of many old houses in the past….old parts are hard to come by. Costly too.
But if you got money to burn…..burn, baby, burn!
I never imagined a lengthy post about period plumbing would have me so engaged!
Same! Fascinating. I always admire Ross’s meticulous eye for detail.
have you visited the historic house parts website? They have their own bath supply website as well. https://www.periodbath.com/antique-bath-items/ It’s Northeastern sourced materials, but that might still be okay for Kansas.
Hello Ross!
I had the same vanity faucets that you pictured in image B-463. Those had ceramic valves! Which means they were delicate and could not withstand today’s water pressures. Seriously, 15 psi!
Only a trickle would come out so if that is the way you wanted to go, a reproduction would probably be more feasible with rubber valves instead of ceramic.
Ross, life is full of compromises, because of both financial constraints and time to find all these pieces. I totally understand your desire to have everything just so, but unless you win the lottery or turn back time and become thirty again, I’d advise you compromise.
Travis!
You are a caution! Because YOU are a man who is obsessed with vintage appliances, and will spend huge amounts of time and money to get what you want!
Also, why should I give up even before starting?
I plan to pursue my wishlist and see where it takes me. And, as I stated, I may eventually end up with a new soapstone sink and repro faucet. But I’ll feel great about at least trying!
Go ahead and try, but you’ve got much more on your plate than I do. You’re doing wonderful work, but I do worry that you’ll either never finish it or they’ll put you into a nursing home right as you do.
Whenever feeling defeated or depressed I skim over your blog. It reminds me with small steps and patience great things are possible. Ironic while waiting for final votes to be counted I should reach the Year End Update for 2017 (posted 12/28/17). You are such an amazing person Ross, both in what you have achieved and inspired in others. Thank you for the joy, beauty, and hope.
Ross, the vintage plumbing is fascinating to look at and if any house could show it all off, it would be yours… but it’s not a practical choice for modern living. The first faucet you selected was perfect for you. It acknowledges the history of the house without confusing the narrative and it’s clearly of today. Trust your first instinct. You’ll be glad you did when you are scrubbing spaghetti from the bottom of a pot using normal water pressure after a wonderful night entertaining friends.
That lead trap under the pantry sink could be fully intact or completely hollowed out from inside, that’s quite hard to tell. Lead drain pipes had thick walls but chemicals can eat drain pipes until the metal is paper thin and eventually springs a leak – or is disturbed. I discovered that when I wanted to unscrew a modern bottle trap (from the 70s I think, the first bathroom remodel in a 1960 house) and the whole pipe crumbled in my hands!
I’m always in awe of what those plumbers did back in the day. That trap was probably made on-site from straight bits of lead pipe bent and soldered together! As far as I know there were no standardised fittings for lead pipe, everything was made from scratch!
Walter’s website is a delight.