Alternative plumbing under kitchen sink

**tonertee** · 01-03-2011, 08:37 PM

My wife and I have been considering replacing the kitchen sink. I have about 4 years plumbing experience in repairs and new construction.

We are looking at a double sink/black 33X22X 8 or 9. Acrylic or composite granite or granite.

About 6 months ago I was surfing the internet for install instructions to refresh my memory. I came across a site that I have not been able to find lately. The site showed an unconventional way to plumb the drain. The result was maximum space under the sink. Have you got any ideas about this "other" way to plumb the drain?

**Gary Swart** · 01-03-2011, 09:57 PM

You might want to look through this forum. You can find lots of alternative ways of installing drains. Only problem, none of them are legal. One in particular comes to mind, the guy had an IKEA sink with a fancy schmance drain he was trying to figure out how to connect. Never did get the help he wanted. Drains gotta have a P trap and gotta be vented so it's pretty hard to get cute. Neat maybe, buy cute no.

**Terry** · 01-03-2011, 11:10 PM

If I recall right, that was one we were making fun off, it didn't meet any current plumbing codes. It was from a magazine article, a handyman's idea of how plumbing could be done, but not how the plumbing codes are written, and for good reason. It used an illegal S trap from the floor.

Good luck with that, don't bother trying to get that one permitted and inspected.

This one takes up more space, but it meets most codes.

**Basement_Lurker** · 01-03-2011, 11:13 PM

big problems happen when people try to make small changes....just stick with what's tried and true and your wife will have one less thing to nag you over lol

hj · 01-04-2011, 05:17 AM

That method used multiple elbows to offset the drains to the rear of the cabinet. IF you could get it to stay together whenever someone bumped it, AND keep it from developing odors, the you would be better than most people. Just install your drains as high as possible and you will have almost the same space as that "Kludge" would give you.

**ballvalve** · 01-04-2011, 09:56 AM

Do a search for handicap sinks. They are shallow and drain out the rear next to the back wall. Emminently legal also.

**Terry** · 01-04-2011, 10:31 AM

Handicap lavs tend to be for bathrooms with a 1-1/4" drain.
You could use the same principle for a kitchen sink with 90 degree elbows, and some new kitchen sinks place the basket drains closer to the back wall, rather then being "centered" as in the past.

**Gridiron Gang** · 01-07-2011, 09:13 AM

Similar to tonertee, I am looking to upgrade my current sink to a double bowel.

Is there a way to have both sinks go through the disposal? For example, can the second sink drain into the dishwasher inlet on the the disposal and have the dishwasher waste wye into the same drain?

I already spend enough time unclogging sinks and toilets from hair, GI Joe's, and female products that I would love to decrease the chance of this happening.

I'm sure this makes the people who write code feel nauseated, so I won't even open the air gap can of worms.

**jadnashua** · 01-07-2011, 09:21 AM

Buy two disposals...

**Terry** · 01-07-2011, 10:03 AM

The dishwasher inlet is only 3/4"
A standard drain from a sink basket is 1.5"
A dishwasher can drain into the 3/4" only because it has already passed through a grinder in the Dishwasher.

**geniescience** · 01-07-2011, 11:54 AM

Horizontal tailpiece (outlet) is OK. It is legal. ADA is one key word to use in web searches, but it isn't the only word to use to see more.

"Remote pop-up" is another key word to use. A remote drain pop-up puts the sink strainer tailpiece on a horizontal plane. From there it can go horizontal to the wall and comvine with a San Tee to catch the P trap there.

Remote drain pop-up. Franke makes them. Blanco makes them. Elkay too.

People made fun of the Ikea Braviken and Godmorgen products that someone posted here. I believe I posted a correction, very late in the game.

The Rex so and so handyman diagram was also made fun of, but some of the comments were valid.

Otherwise, I'm always surprised that many of the main players in this site feel it's OK to steer people wrong about making compact drain plumbing under a sink. I've posted often to tell people that the first bend in a drain can be a tight bend. A tub shoe is this. A WC (closet bend) is this. There are shower pans sold with the tight bend already in the pan.

Yes you can install a tight bend under your kitchen sink, and under your bathroom sink. Then the horizontal tailpiece can go to a P trap. The P trap has to be at the right height. This is non negotiable.

Another advantage of compact plumbing is that you hear less gurgling. If I could patent something here, I would.

**jadnashua** · 01-07-2011, 12:03 PM

One thing to consider on any install, is that the longer the pipe is before you get the p-trap, the greater possibility there is for decomposing crud in the pipe to create smells. Often, especially with a kitchen sink where there may be food waste, shorter is better. The water trap in the p-trap blocks anything beyond it, and the shorter section to it means less can accumulate. This is especially true if you have a horizontal section which slows the flow and can leave more debris sitting there. Not as big a deal on a bathroom sink, but could be an issue with a kitchen.