A: Hi, Rich. Even though you sound like a stable person, I regret to inform you that "your worlds may be colliding"! The key to your letter was that you stated this was a kitchen remodeling job with an additional sink installed. Any remodeling job can mess up the plumbing if you're not careful, plus with the second sink installed, mistakes may happen.

Sounds to me like somewhere in the new water lines or at one of the appliances or fixtures, you actually have a "cross-connection." A cross-connection is when the hot and cold water lines somehow get connected to each other. Once this happens, you get a problem called "crossover." That means that the hot water will cross over and actually fill the cold water lines with hot water. This can be a very dangerous problem since both sides of the fixture can be supplied with hot water. (As you have seen first hand.) This may explain why after running the faucet for a while, cold water is restored. It also explains why the hot water lines are always hot, because they are constantly supplying the cold water lines with hot water.

Like I said, I think your two separate worlds (Hot and Cold) are colliding. I know this all sounds complicated, because it is. I believe even your plumber may need a little help in finding the cross-connection and they should consult with the building inspectors. I'm sure permits have been taken out for this job, and when you get inspectors and licensed subcontractors working together to bring things up to code, problems usually get solved quickly.

Without seeing the job, I cannot tell you exactly where your problem is, so this is something you have to work out with your local plumber. But don't wait! This is an issue that can easily affect every fixture in the home. And turn your water heater down below 115 degrees F to be on the safe side. Remember, according to most safety instructions, water heaters should be set to 120 degrees F or lower for safer operation.

The good news is once the crossover is located and corrected, things should go back to normal instantly and your island sink will once again become a paradise!