New Sink - PVC Maze Assistance Needed! :)

[BDP]

Amateur plumber here, just learning. I've got a new sink I am installing that is on the lower level of my home thus, plumbling goes right into a pvc thru the floor. Photos are of where I am so far. Nothing is glued in yet, so anything you see is just for sizing purposes.

It was suggested that I take a path similar to the photos below. I have included a diagram of what I was told to do as well. So I now have attempted to attach the tee with a female adaptor on top, with a studor vent on top of that. Unfortunately, due to the trap starting so close to the top of the cabinet, there's not enough clearance for that to fit. So what do I do next? Do I need to buy sometime to now extend the drainpipe down lower from the sink so the trap sits lower? The pipe jungle is becoming quite a headache.

Hope the photos can help -- If anyone has any suggestions for a different way to do this I'm all ears, I can always take this stuff back!







Much thanks.

Brad

[RioHyde]

All you need to do is to either get a longer threaded tailpiece OR a slip joint tail piece. That will get you enough room to get your air admittance valve in. However, by doing this your trap (now lower) looks like it might wind up in the way of your hot water stop.

[Cass]

Get a 6" or 12" Extention and lower the trap. That will give you enough room to install the T and AAV. When you install it raise the AAV up at least 6" higher than the T. I raise them up as high as I am able.

[Norcal]

If it were me, I would lower that first 45 and lengthen the next section of pipe in order to get the vertical pipe and tee against the back wall. Then you can raise your AAV up higher. As already stated, you can alway use extensions to either lower your trap or extend the horizontal piece of the trap, etc...

Good luck

[BDP]

Thanks for all the great advice! I have made some strides thanks to your assistance...The extension on the sink drain was the key.

Now I'm just trying to decide the best way to do this. I hadn't thought of trying to bend the pvc to go against the back wall, that's certainly an idea. Looks like I can avoid the hot/cold inlets just fine. Here's a couple photos of what I did. One way I totally got it to hook up using the existing pieces I had without cuts, though I am thinking the second photo might be a better way, but the holes are REALLY close together, I'd need to cut the trap arm down to almost nothing to fit it in. Nothing in these pics is glued yet.

Looking at how I'm doing this, any suggestions? I want to do it right the first time, so if something looks stupid, or if you know a way I can do it better, I'm all ears -- I'm new at this stuff.

Thanks everyone! Photos ahead...

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[Cass]

That does not look like an AAV.

It looks more like a mechanical vent which is not allowed.

I would also get rid of the accordion and get a straight extention.

Get a real AAV and return the one you have. They are about $20.00

[TNPlumber]

I agree with Cass, you need to get an AAV, if you shop at a big box store it will probably be called a studor vent. Also try and get that AAV as high as possible above the trap.

[BDP]

Thanks folks, good ideas there. I am gonna get rid of the flex piece.

I asked the guy at Home Depot for a studor vent and that's what he gave me. The AAV (or whatever it is) is already up there pretty high, only about another inch before it hits the granite top. What's the danger of using the piece I have or not using one at all? Reason I ask is, first up, $20 is a lot for a piece, and second, it was previously set up without a vent at all and worked fine for 6 years. So what does the vent give me? The guy who built the place didn't use one at all under there, he just went straight down with no openings at all.

[ddmoit]

The big assumption here is that the AAV is necessary. Do you know for certain that the drain line is not already properly vented, perhaps behind the wall?

[BDP]

Actually I can see the entire run of pipe because I replaced it all. The whole works goes through that hole in the bottom of the vanity and then right into a larger pipe that's coming out of the cement floor (nothing goes into the wall) -- This is a bi-level home with no basement, so I can't get any further down than that!

I'm not at all saying you guys are wrong -- I'm just asking because if it is necessary, how the heck did it work without problems for the past 6 years (house is six years old) and why did the previous plumber do it that way? The pipes I took out just went from the old drain and straight down into the floor.

[Cass]

Thanks folks, good ideas there. I am gonna get rid of the flex piece.

I asked the guy at Home Depot for a studor vent and that's what he gave me.

Reguardless of what he gave you that is not an AAV.

You asked us how to do this and we are telling you how to do it right.

$20.00 is not a whole lot of $$$. They stock real AAVs at Low*s, the HDs I have been to don't sell AAVs.

[ddmoit]

There was at least a trap there before, right? The point of the vent, as I understand it, is to prevent the water in the trap from being sucked out by equalizing the air pressure on both sides of the trap.

I'm sure there is a lot of plumbing in this country that is improperly vented. Some of it probably works OK anyway, but why chance it it you don't have to?

[BDP]

Absolutely. Like I said I was just curious why it worked without the vent...That was more what I was interested in knowing. $20 is fine if it's going to ensure me a properly working sink.

And yep, there was a trap there before, then just a PVC run straight out the drainage hole in the bottom.

Thanks for the tip on Lowes vs. HD. I will hit Lowes today.

[BDP]

Ok, got it done, and I have leaks everywhere. The good news is that none of my PVC glue points seem to be leaking (though I must have made a slight error in the assembly as the PVC is slightly crooked, though I don't think that's the issue).

I've taken photos of where the leaks are. I've tightened these up as best I could but have NOT used any thread tape (though I think the problem is bigger than that, at least up at the countertop).

Where the trap meets the trap arm, I can actually see water pooled inside the connector there, after I shut off the water.

There also seems to be a slow leak at the top where the water first comes under (right at the drain) and I'm not sure where else.

So, where to start? What might be the problem here? Photo:

[chasbo]

One thing , yes the drain worked not being vented , but with out a doubt you could still a sewer gas having been compromized into the building. without you even knowing it, the part that always gets me, we all always try to save a dollar or 2 by doing things ourselves that we feel we can acomplish , then after several trips to the store , we have things done , or all screwed up and in your case you might consider leaving the plumbing to the plumbers, it looks as though you have the sanitary tee the trap goes into and the vent comming off of upside down. Good luck