Happy Birthday Faucet

I have a brand new shiny kitchen faucet. Happy Birthday to me!

What a story. My kitchen faucet has been acting up for months. It was one of those one arm deals that blends the water instead of two separate dials. I would have to twist it while pulling up just to get it to turn on. It would leak a little while on but seemed fine once off.
Then earlier this month the arm broke. It was still attached. It just hung there. I could pull up on the base to turn the water on but it would now just come on full force and it was a physical fight against the water pressure to turn it off again. I knew one of these days it was going to blow and I would have a geyser in my kitchen.
I thought that perhaps I should try my hand at Do-It-Myself but remembered what Brady said about liking to work with electricity over plumbing because electricity doesn't leak. I just didn't want anymore water issues in my place. (First the water heater, then the washer, now this). So, I called a plumber. A previous neighbor of a good friend... Yaddah yaddah.
While messing around with it, he fought the water pressure to turn it off and mentioned that it seemed high. He tested it saying that it should be no more than 80psi. It was almost 150psi! He asked if I knew whether the HOA had a pressure regulator for the pipes coming into the building or if I as the owner was responsible for one in my individual unit. I am so glad he asked that question. Just for that he is going to be "my" plumber.
Of course I didn't know, so while he was taking apart the faucet to try to fix it I called the HOA guy. Turns out the regulator is the HOA responsibility and they have already replaced several of them just not in my building yet. I told him what the water pressure was and he said he would call the HOA staff plumber.
Within a half hour there was another plumber regulating the water pressure to my building.
Turns out my plumber couldn't fix my faucet. When I broke the arm, I actually broke a piece of the faucet that was part of its design not just water working parts, so I sent him off to get a replacement. So now I have a new faucet AND it was a catalyst to get the water pressure to my building under control which in a weird way makes me happier. The icing on the cake is thanks to Dave Ramsey, I took the money out of my Emergency Fund to pay for it! Ouchless! Goodbye Murphy.

Happy Birthday to me!