# garbage disposal plumbing



## shan2themax (May 9, 2008)

so.... just what i needed... another thing to fix.... lol... so as you will see in the picture my garbage disposal and drain line are the same height..... that wont work.. isnt there supposed to be a 3" gap?  tell me from the picture if you think that doing this myself is a good idea... and what tools I would need.... at this point... its the weekend so i guess it doesnt really matter if I had wanted to call a plumber!!!!!  



The fruitloop at Lowes tried to tell me that I didnt need a ptrap I could just use straight pipe and it would drain.... no I didnt believe him


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## glennjanie (May 10, 2008)

Hello Shan:
Yes, the drain in the wall should be lower than the disposer. The only way you can fix that is to cut out the wall, cut the Drain, waste and vent pipe off and lower the Tee in the wall. Its not such a big deal with plastic pipe, hoping the pipe inside the wall is also plastic. You can cut the pipe by wrapping a cotton string around it and pulling it back and forth rapidly (nylon string will melt); which makes a tight place a lot easier to cut. 

You will need 3 couplings to hook it back up: one under the tee and two to put the piece of pipe back in above the tee. Or you may use one new tee and one coupling to put it back (tees are aprox $3 while couplings are approx $1) which would make a much more attractive job. More than one coupling in sight looks like a botched job to me.

You may not be able to move the vent pipe up far enough to get a new coupling in the line; in that case you can use a stainless steel wrapped, neoprene slip-joint coupling. It has 2 hose clamps on it and can be slid up the vent pipe until you get the lower pipe in line, then slide it down and tighten the 2 clamps (its called a stainless steel fernco clamp).

I'm proud of you for knowing you need a P-trap between the drain and the wall. You can also look around at The Depot or Lowes and find a Continous waste pipe set for hooking up the sink and disposer. BTW, the disposer has a plastic plug in the dishwasher hose connector that you will need to break out with a screwdriver before you connect the hose.

I know, it sounds like a major undertaking but give yourself time and take a break now and then to gather your thoughts and plans and you'll be just fine.

Glenn


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## hondadrv24 (May 10, 2008)

you can also get a repair coupling that doesnt have the ridge in the center, so it will slide up the vent pipe till you get the other piece in underneath it.  Just be sure to mark where you need the coupling to come down to on the pipe before you go sticking it together as once you glue its done, and you want the joint in the center.  You can do it, you're kitchen is looking great.


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## shan2themax (May 10, 2008)

so.... with all the plumbing peices I had laying around... I came up with a temporary fix... I looked to the side of the main drain and it appears to have an electrical line running beside it... so.. I am going to have a plumber come out on Monday and fix it correctly..... Part of me feels defeated but then the other part of me enjoys breathing without a ventilator.... so... I think I did an okay job with the temporary fix (it does have a small leak in it.... but I can at least wash a few dishes) and I feel better just being able to watch water run down the pipe and out of the house.....


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## glennjanie (May 11, 2008)

Congratulations!!!!
You did a fine job. Now, if the tee in the wall would just slide down 3 or 4 inches it would be nice.
Way to go Shan!!
Glenn


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## majakdragon (May 12, 2008)

3" is a bit of overkill for slope on your drain. Most codes state 1/8 to 1/4" per foot. I'll bet the plumber you called will not have that much drop. Only problem I see with your hook-up is that flexible connector. You will have stuff get hung-up in the ridges.


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## kok328 (May 12, 2008)

The temporary fix looks fine as long as it drains.  Trust me, nobody is going to look under your sink and say "_hey, that's not code_".  You could drill a hole in the bottom of the cabinet and reroute your pipes down thru that hole and meet up w/the drain pipe on the other side of the floor.  Simply abandon the pipe in the wall.


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## beachguy005 (Jan 26, 2015)

I don't know if this applies to your case, but I was told that all connections down stream of the p-trap need to be welded, rather than compression fittings. It prevents any sewer gasses.


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## frodo (Jan 26, 2015)

cut the back out of the cabinet,  lower the tee that is in the wall.  what you have will last a week or 2,  then clog up every time you use it


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## nealtw (Jan 26, 2015)

7 years ago.................


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## oldognewtrick (Jan 26, 2015)

nealtw said:


> 7 years ago.................



Spammer brought it back yesterday......


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## beachguy005 (Jan 26, 2015)

Geez....I usually check the dates......My bad!


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## frodo (Jan 27, 2015)

I wonder if he lowered the tee or if he is still pulling gooey hair balls out of the drain every month??


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## frodo (Jan 27, 2015)

oldognewtrick said:


> Spammer brought it back yesterday......




maybe the spammer was trying to learn something?  or has the same probablem


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## nealtw (Jan 27, 2015)

frodo said:


> maybe the spammer was trying to learn something?  or has the same probablem



That's the fun part.:


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## shan2themax (Mar 11, 2018)

Im a she...... its still works just as well as it did that day... lol


3 more years later.......


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## tuffy (Mar 11, 2018)

Glad to hear it still works.


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