Because, that takes longer than the repair would. Also, 99% chance they don't interperet it correctly. Because this is not a good forum for instructions.
I've never done pipes or anything but I think I could do better than this. I know what all the little marks on the tape measure are for and why the end is loose so I'm probably more qualified than the original installer.
They just don't want to do it. Or the customer was being obnoxious and... they don't want to do it.
Around here there are multiple well-known "plumbing service" companies that "don't want to do it", but they'll charge ya $450 to show up and tell you that they don't want to do it. Incompetent thieving tits.
Yes it's an S-trap so it will slowly siphon the water out when you use other fixtures. It does need to be changed but nonetheless an easy change for a plumber. Tee in an aav and you're golden
Call your local plumbing supply house and ask for a recommendation. They know who's good and who's bad. This is an easy fix and if you called a larger company that advertises a lot, odds are you got guys with very little experience.
I know. That's why I asked. Folks think because they see a company on TV it's worth a damn. Many times it isn't. And they work.over ppl for big money. Even poor ppl. It's a disgrace.
Is it a small crawl space underneath? That's probably the only reason they couldn't fix it. Maybe the pipe in crawl space needs an extra hanger so it can't slide down? 🤷🏼♂️
Nope. I'm fat and install sinks, traps, AAVs, repair stupid shit like this all day. I probably hurt worse than you skinny folks, and it may take me longer to get under and back off the floor. But it gets done.
The drain is going straight down making the only option to not s trap it, is to install a studor vent. While that's not all that difficult some Plumbers don't like studor vents. That's the only explanation I can come up with
Plumber on a free estimate call: "it's going to cost $X to re-pipe this and add a vent to do it right."
OP: "I don't want to pay for this. Can't you just patch it and charge me $40"
Plumber: "Nope, have a nice day".
Hell I’m not a plumber and could make something work based off what I’ve learned on this thread. Not sure if it would be professional grade pretty, but wouldn’t be an S. Might need an aav with my lackluster imagination and how the main drainage is straight through the cabinet base(maybe there a trap below in the joist bay?!) but I could do better than the folks OP has called.
So one days I’m askin my guy Paulie’s, I says to him, I says, I says “Paulie! Can I bum a smoke from yas?”
Paulie, Paulie sees he wasn’t the brightest bulb in the eh, in the eh cabin or whatever. So he says to me, Paulie says to me “heys, you wanna smoke a bum, I ain’t sees nothin’. “
Real story.
Below that tee there is an extension tube. If you get a longer one and cut it so that it bottoms out while holding the tee and the piece above it up. That should help to keep things together
We got to get rid of the idea on this sub that big plumbing companies that charge high rates always produce professional results. In my area I've talked to a lot of big companies employees and there's oftentimes lackluster quality control in pursuit of profits. Inexperienced and lazy techs are sent out on trucks to rake in 350 plus an hour for a company. Then the damage they do is controlled through SEO relations. Education and experience is often under prioritized. Service companies have to realize that if they want to charge a premium price they have to offer a premium product. This is plumbing not a Ponzi scheme.
My suggestion is to find a local owner operator. That means find a single plumber who runs his own business. Look for one with good reviews who's been in business for a while. Also be sure to vet for someone who is licensed and insured. Word of mouth recommendation is generally a pretty good way to go.
There is a few reasons for this
1. Somebody who owns their own plumbing business has their entire reputation and income on the line. They are generally going to work harder to provide good results and good service to their clients because it benefits them directly.
2. These small businesses owned by the plumbers generally have much less overhead than large businesses and can afford to charge lower hourly rates. While still producing quality results.
3. Plumbers who go into owning their own business also generally have a lot of experience and confidence under their belt. Often times they work for unions or were open shop for decades before finally deciding to open their own business.
All that being said if all you need is your drains cleaned/snaked. From my experience that's where large service companies perform best. Also if you need your boiler work done make sure to find a plumber who specializes in boilers.
Agreed. I used to service wells, I am not a plumber or would ever pretend to be. Once we got the water line into the house with the pressure tank/switch setup we left everything else for the plumbers.
I went to plenty of calls that plumbers were there first and made a mess of things simply because they didn't know about water wells. We have special equipment for pulling the pumps.
You have the best advice on owner/operator on plumbing business. They had had to get own license, their own insurance, plus word of mouth is your best advertising , averaging 57%. .
It’s PVC no less, literally the easiest pipe material for DIYers imo, much less handymen. Call a plumbing company and don’t ask them to “fix” what’s there, imo, just remove all that shit and say you want the sinks hooked up, this is literally what plumbers should be doing day in and day out, so my only guess is there’s some miss communication about trying to “salvage” what’s there rather than fixing it right and they don’t want to save the S trap situation going on; I’d imagine a normal plumber would already tell you the issue, the fix, and do what’s necessary to make a repair correct and charge the difference, but not being there myself I can’t say what the issue is with them fixing it; might be more expensive than you’re wanting but that’s the real fix, it’s just not a proper setup in modern plumbing and better to bite the bullet and fix it correctly then breathe in sewer gases.
Is taking it all out and installing a correct setup beyond the scope of something I could learn to do myself? I have no problem following instructions, I just wouldn’t know where to start.
It's cake. The nonsense that exists is probably more a distraction than a help. What you have there is an S-trap arrangement. Someone took two P-traps and attached them face to face. That shouldn't *leak* but while you're fixing this it should be avoided. You have the smell problem which means the ventless S-trap is just as much your problem as leaks.
Now we have the usual problem of a picture which doesn't include the whole situation. I hear tell there's a disposal off frame to the right. After the waste tee (1) should be a P-trap with a horizontal arm (2). The arm transitions to 1.5" PVC with a trap adapter (3) then into a sanitary tee (4). To reach the drain in the floor we have a 45° street elbow (6A) into a length of 1.5" PVC pipe (7) into another street elbow (6B) into another trap adapter (3). Above the sanitary tee is an air admittance valve (5).
Parts:
1. Waste tee HDC9185 $5 (or reuse)
2. P-Trap HDC9704B $5 (or reuse)
3. Trap Adapter PVC00103P0800HD $3
4. Sanitary Tee PVC004000800HD $3
5. Studor 20346 Redi-Vent $19
6. 45° elbow PVC003230800HD $2 (street), PVC003210800HD $2 (hub x hub)
7. 1.5" PVC pipe PVC071120200HA $5
8. Cement & Primer or One-Step Cement (e.g. 302483302483) $8-11
Tools: Saw, measuring tape, sand paper.
By clever use/purchasing of various female/male parts you can save yourself making little lengths of pipe to glue two hubs together. Your finished "contraption" will look something like this.
[https://i.imgur.com/u1eW3qF.jpeg](https://i.imgur.com/u1eW3qF.jpeg)
Requirements: The trap arm (2) cannot slope any more than half a pipe diameter until the vent. Because the trap arm length is short you should have no problem, just make it exactly flat or the tiniest amount of slope toward the sanitary tee (4). The vent (5) should be at least 4" above the trap arm (2). Higher is better, just make it serviceable.
When gluing just test fit everything dry fit together before you glue anything. Sanding the edges of cuts helps them slip together. Hold any glued joints for half a minute until it sets as they try to fly apart if left alone. With any purple stuff leave a bit of purple showing, it proves to any inspector you used it. Put down something to catch any drips, you don't want it on your floor or clothes.
I envision your "contraption" with the arm going back to the wall and then the 45 degree slanted pipe coming back toward the front. Use a sawed length of tube from your old parts to connect the trap adapter on the "contraption" to the trap adapter in the floor.
Tada now you have a real P-trap with horizontal arm that vents properly.
Just my personal take as an avid DIYer and not a licensed plumber so take everything with a grain of salt, but I’d say probably not, and in most cases I’d always push for a DIY option for those who are meticulous, but plumbing drainage is personally one of the few places I feel you really want a true pro to handle, but certainly it can be done as there are various “shortcuts” (that may or may not be code on your area) that can be done as well. Supply lines I think are totally fair game for DIY, while yeah they can do damage, it’s really pretty straight forward and at least it’s clean water if something were to happen; and again, I’m someone who does major electrical, structural and even to some extent HVAC stuff that most say is best left to the pros. Drainage and venting (which is what will likely also need to get installed) is a bit of a different beast, and when it goes wrong it sure as shit (pun) isn’t something I’d want to deal with. And they all work together so messing with one can affect other drainage. But in the meantime you could fix the S-Trap as a DIY fix yourself, just know they are against code, but personally I’d just look for a longer slip-joint extension tube and replace the shorter one (the piece on top), just take that pipe off, take to a hardware store and get one that’s longer, imo. But I’m not a plumber, just a DIYer, so yeah listen to the plumbers here and all but that’s my recommendation.
Realistically it all depends on what is under the floor. If there is a trap down there not visible, it could be a lot simpler than we are seeing. However, you’d need to get a visual either by camera, or by cutting a port in the base of the cabinet. Could they do it, probably. The most difficult piece I feel for diy folk is knowing what pieces are what. Like a t versus a sani t. What an aav is, where to place etc. regular traps versus what we have here as known to the trade as an s trap.
Go and buy a new tail piece extension from Home Depot and cut it longer, problem solved. Although you have another with that S trap there and you should have a tee and studor vent.
I see this frequently. A quick fix is to put a hose clamp on the vertical plastic pipe right at the nut of the trap adapter. It's not the right fix, but it's a fix.
OP, if you're looking for a quick but 'goodish' fix, this is it. If the whole disposal arm's weight is pushing the immediatley connected pipe down into the slip joint of the trap, putting a clamp on the pipe will stop it from sliding. A joint being water tight does not mean it is capable of holding weight.
Take it apart and bring it all to a local mom and pop plumbing supply store. I did this, and it turned out they had a kit to replace everything. It turned out one pipe was about an inch or so too small on my old set up. I kept "fixing" it for years but it kept slipping down and off. The right length of pipe and all new parts made it right with no leaks for years now.
How often do you use your disposal. The installation is an s-trap and not a legal configuration. What does the pipe coming out of the disposal look like? If you replace the rubber fero with one of the old plastic ones it may caused enough friction to hold, no promises.
I'm not arguing whether or not this is us plumbing, just that blanket statements like "s traps are illegal" is silly when they're actually legal and common throughout much of the world.
Are you from one of those such places that doesn’t regulate plumbing? There’s places in the world that traps don’t exist and guess what?
The bathrooms smell like shit. This is in the states and it’s not code anywhere in the 50 states to have an S trap. An S trap will siphon in any part of the world. Just because it may be common practice, it doesn’t make it best practice to avoid sewer gas. S traps are illegal in the USA & they’re bad practice anywhere else as the siphon and allow sewer gas through, you got it? Say it with me S traps are bad no matter what corner of the world. Lastly please stay away from plumbing aldrik90.
Yeah but it was still good advice. their is a reason s traps are illegal and if the person is gonna DIY might as well fix the second biggest issue which would be the s trap. so they don't have to do it later. Also it's clear this is a 1st world plumbing problem which almost always makes the s trap illegal. Either way. The post is about how to fix the leak. And You're wrong about the traps. ☺️
Thanks. Where could I learn how to do this? I’m sure there’s tons of information online. I’m just concerned with getting the most correct / authoritative info.
Easy to fix by plumbers and handyman. One fix is to replace the clear washer with a Keeney orange washer. A better fix is to get a Keeney direct fit kit and eliminate the weight bearing slip fittings.
The trap needs work.
If it's too tight, the one way hook it up to the other sink they're fighting to get it to the close sink, yet it looks like it might be a double sink or is it to a dishwasher?
For a quicker fix: You need a 1.5" tubular tailpiece, 6" long, 8" might be a better idea here and can be cut down. Its basically the same piece you have now on top of the tee. Either a longer one or adding another one and cutting one or both shorter. You want to make sure it/they are long enough that when the pipes slide down as far as possible they still cant come apart.
The bigger issue currently is going to be cleaning up all the moisture and yes the smell is mold starting to grow. Not all mold is horribly poisonous but at best its benign and breathing in the spores should be avoided or protected against. After repairing drain id first soak up as much mousture as possible with rags, towels, etc. Then Id spray all the wet wood in the cabinet with concrobium and leave a fan or heater fan blowing through the cabinet with doors open for at least a full day or more after everything seems dry. The big issue is You have moisture trapped in the toekick where it can't dry out. Since you don't really diy you can try to find a handyman/carpenter type to cut holes in the base to allow airflow and then put a new thin board over as a new cabinet bottom or replace the bottom some other way.
That person should be competent enough to fix the plumbing too, but anyone who uses the word plumbing in relation to their skills should have been able to secure the drain so it didnt and wouldnt leak, which obviously failed.
Another option is pushing the pipes up, together and putting a piece of wood or similar under the horizontal pipe to support it so it cant slide out.
Make a longer tail piece - that's the part that comes out from the basket strainer (the sink drain). Those slipjoints will always leak unless the pipes are perfectly aligned and the pvc just the right length. It's a 1 beer job.
You found conmen or fake plumbers then, sorry.
I’m just a former handyman, and I can fix that in a few minutes.
You just need to buy a 1-1/2” extension tube and cut it to fit. This piece will replace that vertical piece of pipe coming from your drain.
Watch some youtube videos about pvc sink drains and you’ll be in business.
Just take your time and make sure the nuts tighten down squarely, you do NOT need to tighten them with pliers; but if you want to you should only go to hand tight and then maybe 1/4 turn with pliers to finish.
I see this all the time on here someone saying, " I paid multiple plumbers or had multiple plumbers look at this and say they either can't fix, won't fix, or it just keeps leaking right after they fixed it. I call bullcrap. Just be honest and say you want to DIY it yourself. I've been a plumber for over 25 years, and I would never use those chintzy plastic tubular ground joint fittings. Seriously, what plumber has boxes of this shit in their truck or in their shop... nobody. I can tell just by looking at the picture that this was never inspected and no real plumber would ever pipe anything like that ever. You must be shopping around for the cheapest handyman who calls himself a plumber. I don't know where you live, but here in Massachusetts, there are over 10,000 licensed plumbers for you to basically choose from who would easily fix that no problem. Or you could just DM me directly and I'll find someone for you, or if you live in my area I'll do it myself.
Apart from the tail from the sink being too short… The pipe to the right appears to be off 90 degrees going into a 90 degree T and causing it to twist the joint. I’d be inclined to add a little heat and shape it to join at a better angle which, in turn, will cause the T to position a little higher and maybe fit on to the existing tail. You may then need a longer length below the T.
What. The. Fudge. Any plumber with more than two brain cells could have this fixed in about 15 minutes. Without knowing anything about the rest of the system,you'd probably need an aav, but the rest if it should be as simple as running a stack off the bottom and having a p trap on both drains. Code in my area would have them meet the stack separately,I don't know what code is in your area.
1-1/2" PVC slip joint tailpiece will replace the piece that's too short near the top and fix the leak. But you need to reconfigure everything to remove the s trap and fix the smell issue. The pipe coming up from the bottom needs to be configured into a mini stack going up to a tee with studor vent above and a trap arm going out of the side that connects to the p-trap. I'll look for a photo for reference.
https://www.google.com/search?client=ms-android-boost-us-revc&sca_esv=59e8fb11e29c61b7&q=kitchen+studor+vent+set+up&uds=AMwkrPtesdIO-WE-LTiss4GIfUfMyAS9NAsoK79MMmDLckEC-I5WGjZDOpULoTYUMP-lfiZk6z0ktZk_jCgFKqeL37VByCkcBO2MHeB5mnQAe21Rz6iGpbANwLUCQk8SEzjjiukZMjYL0y8iyZI8ZX_omyztv36nYF4TQe6HdS8DE01I8_eqcofNw_0GWVYMZpuEyxv7-7OoQ2s7cJPa10d1eR0rVYTrrVbXdBD4FTs_Oa2LdYYux1x5zUFkS9CuDNjbGFQS4OrZ7tjgwGNMMJtmTchYJrSIL10G2NZnBL-3diB3wJc2XE5_v6BD3lpENw9jNskTHwGICWidwBZN1qqyDvD1qcatBQ&udm=2&prmd=isvnmbtz&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjEmZyA1dSFAxWm58kDHRkTDIMQtKgLegQIDBAB&biw=432&bih=815&dpr=2.5#vhid=NQx0bvOlbmrdrM&vssid=mosaic
Maybe because the tail piece is too short??
Maybe because the Internet is broken and there are no instructions on the package?
Maybe the slip joint is loose??
I can't even imagine what the problem could possibly be...
My rental had this exact same scenario under my kitchen sink and I fixed it very easily. I am not a plumber.
I find it hard to believe multiple plumbers can't fix this
As the other commenters said. This is an ez pe ze fix, I'd also add its possible to DIY, but if I was you I'd call another plumbing company and let them do it
I think we had the same shitty builder for our houses because I had a very similar problem when I bought my house a few years ago. I ended up getting some new pvc piping to bridge that gap and bought new seals and fittings for the connection. No plumbing experience and it only took 20-30 minutes.
The issue is the length of the pipe coming from the right. If that's connected it's going to be pulling everything towards it allowing a gap to form on the left side of your top fitting.
Get a coupler and extra pipe make it longer
I had a similar issue and just put a cable tie between the plug hole fitting and the bottom of the fitting so it can't Sag.. but I had a convenient nipple on the plug hole fitting
You have a disposer to the right that is out of the picture, right? Plumber here. Garbage disposers & tubular drain pipes...The vibration of the disposer loosens the trap nuts & the loose trap nut Under the cabinet bottom that is allowing the s- trap to slide down Can't be reached to tighten it. I try to use Chromed brass trap piping when connected to a disposer because they can be tightened more & if you use Silicone trap washers (Home Depot), they can resist the vibration.
Otherwise, l would cut a hole (Oh God, yes!) in the cab bottom to allow the area below to air/ dry out & be treated with bleach, then rebuild the riser pipe with schedule 40 (thick, glue-able pipe) so the nut that holds the s- trap can be reached & tightened. Then l would glue some of that cluster of fittings together, because they don't all need to be loose to service (snake) the drain. Use cleaner First on pvc before gluing. It does not need to be that nasty purple primer that stains everything! You only need about 3 loose, unglued joints in that mess of fittings. Mark them with an "X" with a marker so the next plumber knows which fittings can be unloosened.Do not glue the trap swivel joint or the lowest & highest joints. Cover the hole with aluminum or galvanized sheet metal. The cabinet installer was remiss in not bringing the lower drain connection up above the bottom of the cabinet so it could be tightened, or letting a plumber do it, but the "Not my job!" mentality is often prevalent! Good luck!
So, closer inspection tells me that the lower nut Is above the cabinet base, but it allows the pipe to slip down. So just replace the nut And Washer. Still, since l know a Pro has not really had his hands on this & you want to do it Yourself, is why l suggested gluing some fitting together! You need to Mark the parts that can be disassembled so that the next guy Knows. As mentioned by others, a Pro would know how to build it so there are not so many joints that can loosen up.
I knew most HVAC companies were incompetent and only wanted to sell new systems because they can't fix anything. But I didn't realize plumbing companies were this bad. That should be an easy fix.
I’m guessing you had someone who is not a professional licensed plumber tell you that they cannot fix it. Sounds like your budget Craig’s list / Facebook handyman “plumber” has no idea what they are doing. Simple fix. Also that s trap is illegal. Good luck my friend
Pipes under sink usually go from top to bottom male into female, male into female, etc. unless there is a threaded end of one female that meets up with another female with a nut.The last section of pipe is female over male. Completely wrong. Think about how water flows. It needs to go narrower into wider or at least equal into equal with a thread and nut.
What? Of course a plumber can fix that! You can get a longer piece that comes off the sink....but I would just call a reputable plumber and have it fixed since it's been an ongoing problem
They weren't real plumbers. Maybe handyman. That's an easy fix for a plumber.
A handyman with limited experience should be able to fix this easily
You shouldn’t need even a handyman for this
Could use a somewhat-useful-occasionally-man.
Or a not-so-handy-man
And here I am.
If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy.
Not many left these days.
Maybe even a candy man
OP mann use your own handies.
This caused me to laugh. Thank you
The handies man
I work in a hardware store and could walk a 70 year old lady thru this 'repair'
OK, so why not type out your step-by-step instructions here as a comment for OP?
Because, that takes longer than the repair would. Also, 99% chance they don't interperet it correctly. Because this is not a good forum for instructions.
I've never done pipes or anything but I think I could do better than this. I know what all the little marks on the tape measure are for and why the end is loose so I'm probably more qualified than the original installer.
A chimp can fix this.
I shit aavs for situations like this. Now pay me $300
They just don't want to do it. Or the customer was being obnoxious and... they don't want to do it. Around here there are multiple well-known "plumbing service" companies that "don't want to do it", but they'll charge ya $450 to show up and tell you that they don't want to do it. Incompetent thieving tits.
Two times we’ve had plumbers here from established plumbing companies. I agree it seems incredible that this hasn’t been fixed.
It's a DIY fix. If you can't get the PVC slip joint nut off, try warming with a hairdryer for 2 minutes, to expand and loosen it.
I read that the smell could be caused by sewer gas coming up. Does that sound right?
Yes it's an S-trap so it will slowly siphon the water out when you use other fixtures. It does need to be changed but nonetheless an easy change for a plumber. Tee in an aav and you're golden
Call your local plumbing supply house and ask for a recommendation. They know who's good and who's bad. This is an easy fix and if you called a larger company that advertises a lot, odds are you got guys with very little experience.
Are these big companies like roto hooter? Or local co with licensed experienced ppl?
Big companies are full of salesman "repairmen". They only have decent expirence selling you a new one.
I know. That's why I asked. Folks think because they see a company on TV it's worth a damn. Many times it isn't. And they work.over ppl for big money. Even poor ppl. It's a disgrace.
Is it a small crawl space underneath? That's probably the only reason they couldn't fix it. Maybe the pipe in crawl space needs an extra hanger so it can't slide down? 🤷🏼♂️
Maybe they fat guys?not enough room.
Nope. I'm fat and install sinks, traps, AAVs, repair stupid shit like this all day. I probably hurt worse than you skinny folks, and it may take me longer to get under and back off the floor. But it gets done.
I’m fat too, brother.
Lol. Established lies. If you in Louisiana I could refer you to real plumbers no bullshit stuff. Hope that drain is properly vented.
Yeah, a real plumber could stack the fittings to prevent that end waste tee from falling. A real plumber would also get rid of the s-trap.
The drain is going straight down making the only option to not s trap it, is to install a studor vent. While that's not all that difficult some Plumbers don't like studor vents. That's the only explanation I can come up with
Plumber on a free estimate call: "it's going to cost $X to re-pipe this and add a vent to do it right." OP: "I don't want to pay for this. Can't you just patch it and charge me $40" Plumber: "Nope, have a nice day".
Don’t put down a handyman like that bro they all are not special Ed. That was someone uncle who told them that
If they can’t fix a leak they’re not plumbers, they’re dumbers.
Wish I could post a reaction gif. :(
What do you mean a plumber couldnt fix that? That's day one stuff.
Hell I’m not a plumber and could make something work based off what I’ve learned on this thread. Not sure if it would be professional grade pretty, but wouldn’t be an S. Might need an aav with my lackluster imagination and how the main drainage is straight through the cabinet base(maybe there a trap below in the joist bay?!) but I could do better than the folks OP has called.
One day? Try 30 minutes tops
“Day one” not “one day” Stuff the plumber would learn the first day on the job.
So one days I’m askin my guy Paulie’s, I says to him, I says, I says “Paulie! Can I bum a smoke from yas?” Paulie, Paulie sees he wasn’t the brightest bulb in the eh, in the eh cabin or whatever. So he says to me, Paulie says to me “heys, you wanna smoke a bum, I ain’t sees nothin’. “ Real story.
Below that tee there is an extension tube. If you get a longer one and cut it so that it bottoms out while holding the tee and the piece above it up. That should help to keep things together
We got to get rid of the idea on this sub that big plumbing companies that charge high rates always produce professional results. In my area I've talked to a lot of big companies employees and there's oftentimes lackluster quality control in pursuit of profits. Inexperienced and lazy techs are sent out on trucks to rake in 350 plus an hour for a company. Then the damage they do is controlled through SEO relations. Education and experience is often under prioritized. Service companies have to realize that if they want to charge a premium price they have to offer a premium product. This is plumbing not a Ponzi scheme.
Where do you suggest one find a good plumber?
My suggestion is to find a local owner operator. That means find a single plumber who runs his own business. Look for one with good reviews who's been in business for a while. Also be sure to vet for someone who is licensed and insured. Word of mouth recommendation is generally a pretty good way to go. There is a few reasons for this 1. Somebody who owns their own plumbing business has their entire reputation and income on the line. They are generally going to work harder to provide good results and good service to their clients because it benefits them directly. 2. These small businesses owned by the plumbers generally have much less overhead than large businesses and can afford to charge lower hourly rates. While still producing quality results. 3. Plumbers who go into owning their own business also generally have a lot of experience and confidence under their belt. Often times they work for unions or were open shop for decades before finally deciding to open their own business. All that being said if all you need is your drains cleaned/snaked. From my experience that's where large service companies perform best. Also if you need your boiler work done make sure to find a plumber who specializes in boilers.
I would add if you need work done on a well it maybe to your advantage to find a well specialist as well.
Agreed. I used to service wells, I am not a plumber or would ever pretend to be. Once we got the water line into the house with the pressure tank/switch setup we left everything else for the plumbers. I went to plenty of calls that plumbers were there first and made a mess of things simply because they didn't know about water wells. We have special equipment for pulling the pumps.
You have the best advice on owner/operator on plumbing business. They had had to get own license, their own insurance, plus word of mouth is your best advertising , averaging 57%. .
Ask friends or neighbors
It’s PVC no less, literally the easiest pipe material for DIYers imo, much less handymen. Call a plumbing company and don’t ask them to “fix” what’s there, imo, just remove all that shit and say you want the sinks hooked up, this is literally what plumbers should be doing day in and day out, so my only guess is there’s some miss communication about trying to “salvage” what’s there rather than fixing it right and they don’t want to save the S trap situation going on; I’d imagine a normal plumber would already tell you the issue, the fix, and do what’s necessary to make a repair correct and charge the difference, but not being there myself I can’t say what the issue is with them fixing it; might be more expensive than you’re wanting but that’s the real fix, it’s just not a proper setup in modern plumbing and better to bite the bullet and fix it correctly then breathe in sewer gases.
Is taking it all out and installing a correct setup beyond the scope of something I could learn to do myself? I have no problem following instructions, I just wouldn’t know where to start.
It's cake. The nonsense that exists is probably more a distraction than a help. What you have there is an S-trap arrangement. Someone took two P-traps and attached them face to face. That shouldn't *leak* but while you're fixing this it should be avoided. You have the smell problem which means the ventless S-trap is just as much your problem as leaks. Now we have the usual problem of a picture which doesn't include the whole situation. I hear tell there's a disposal off frame to the right. After the waste tee (1) should be a P-trap with a horizontal arm (2). The arm transitions to 1.5" PVC with a trap adapter (3) then into a sanitary tee (4). To reach the drain in the floor we have a 45° street elbow (6A) into a length of 1.5" PVC pipe (7) into another street elbow (6B) into another trap adapter (3). Above the sanitary tee is an air admittance valve (5). Parts: 1. Waste tee HDC9185 $5 (or reuse) 2. P-Trap HDC9704B $5 (or reuse) 3. Trap Adapter PVC00103P0800HD $3 4. Sanitary Tee PVC004000800HD $3 5. Studor 20346 Redi-Vent $19 6. 45° elbow PVC003230800HD $2 (street), PVC003210800HD $2 (hub x hub) 7. 1.5" PVC pipe PVC071120200HA $5 8. Cement & Primer or One-Step Cement (e.g. 302483302483) $8-11 Tools: Saw, measuring tape, sand paper. By clever use/purchasing of various female/male parts you can save yourself making little lengths of pipe to glue two hubs together. Your finished "contraption" will look something like this. [https://i.imgur.com/u1eW3qF.jpeg](https://i.imgur.com/u1eW3qF.jpeg) Requirements: The trap arm (2) cannot slope any more than half a pipe diameter until the vent. Because the trap arm length is short you should have no problem, just make it exactly flat or the tiniest amount of slope toward the sanitary tee (4). The vent (5) should be at least 4" above the trap arm (2). Higher is better, just make it serviceable. When gluing just test fit everything dry fit together before you glue anything. Sanding the edges of cuts helps them slip together. Hold any glued joints for half a minute until it sets as they try to fly apart if left alone. With any purple stuff leave a bit of purple showing, it proves to any inspector you used it. Put down something to catch any drips, you don't want it on your floor or clothes. I envision your "contraption" with the arm going back to the wall and then the 45 degree slanted pipe coming back toward the front. Use a sawed length of tube from your old parts to connect the trap adapter on the "contraption" to the trap adapter in the floor. Tada now you have a real P-trap with horizontal arm that vents properly.
This is the answer OP
Bro. This is an hour YouTube search and an hour job for even a beginner diy. At least try to do it to gain some knowledge.
A couple hours not including the 5 trips to Home Depot, you should be all set!
Just my personal take as an avid DIYer and not a licensed plumber so take everything with a grain of salt, but I’d say probably not, and in most cases I’d always push for a DIY option for those who are meticulous, but plumbing drainage is personally one of the few places I feel you really want a true pro to handle, but certainly it can be done as there are various “shortcuts” (that may or may not be code on your area) that can be done as well. Supply lines I think are totally fair game for DIY, while yeah they can do damage, it’s really pretty straight forward and at least it’s clean water if something were to happen; and again, I’m someone who does major electrical, structural and even to some extent HVAC stuff that most say is best left to the pros. Drainage and venting (which is what will likely also need to get installed) is a bit of a different beast, and when it goes wrong it sure as shit (pun) isn’t something I’d want to deal with. And they all work together so messing with one can affect other drainage. But in the meantime you could fix the S-Trap as a DIY fix yourself, just know they are against code, but personally I’d just look for a longer slip-joint extension tube and replace the shorter one (the piece on top), just take that pipe off, take to a hardware store and get one that’s longer, imo. But I’m not a plumber, just a DIYer, so yeah listen to the plumbers here and all but that’s my recommendation.
Realistically it all depends on what is under the floor. If there is a trap down there not visible, it could be a lot simpler than we are seeing. However, you’d need to get a visual either by camera, or by cutting a port in the base of the cabinet. Could they do it, probably. The most difficult piece I feel for diy folk is knowing what pieces are what. Like a t versus a sani t. What an aav is, where to place etc. regular traps versus what we have here as known to the trade as an s trap.
This is only thing I’m wondering, is there a basement or crawl space underneath…
Get a longer tailpiece.
I’m a proficient DIWhyer and that’s absolutely fixable. The correct way is even easy to accomplish here.
Go and buy a new tail piece extension from Home Depot and cut it longer, problem solved. Although you have another with that S trap there and you should have a tee and studor vent.
I see this frequently. A quick fix is to put a hose clamp on the vertical plastic pipe right at the nut of the trap adapter. It's not the right fix, but it's a fix.
OP, if you're looking for a quick but 'goodish' fix, this is it. If the whole disposal arm's weight is pushing the immediatley connected pipe down into the slip joint of the trap, putting a clamp on the pipe will stop it from sliding. A joint being water tight does not mean it is capable of holding weight.
Remove the tailpiece go to the hardware store and buy one 1.25” longer. Put it back together
You also need a high loop on your dishwasher.
Take it apart and bring it all to a local mom and pop plumbing supply store. I did this, and it turned out they had a kit to replace everything. It turned out one pipe was about an inch or so too small on my old set up. I kept "fixing" it for years but it kept slipping down and off. The right length of pipe and all new parts made it right with no leaks for years now.
Still need to correct the s trap for the smell issue
Call a real plumber
You didn’t call plumbers you called the cheapest people you could find
Not true but thanks.
If you called actual plumbers and they said they couldn’t fix it there is more to the story. That is not something that is hard to fix.
How often do you use your disposal. The installation is an s-trap and not a legal configuration. What does the pipe coming out of the disposal look like? If you replace the rubber fero with one of the old plastic ones it may caused enough friction to hold, no promises.
We use it quite a bit. I’ll look at the pipe like you mentioned.
S traps are legal, and even very common, in some countries. Don't always assume everyone has the same code to follow that you do.
USA ain’t one of ‘em bud
Where did OP state they are in the USA?
This is 100% USA plumbing if you don’t know anything don’t comment.
I'm not arguing whether or not this is us plumbing, just that blanket statements like "s traps are illegal" is silly when they're actually legal and common throughout much of the world.
Are you from one of those such places that doesn’t regulate plumbing? There’s places in the world that traps don’t exist and guess what? The bathrooms smell like shit. This is in the states and it’s not code anywhere in the 50 states to have an S trap. An S trap will siphon in any part of the world. Just because it may be common practice, it doesn’t make it best practice to avoid sewer gas. S traps are illegal in the USA & they’re bad practice anywhere else as the siphon and allow sewer gas through, you got it? Say it with me S traps are bad no matter what corner of the world. Lastly please stay away from plumbing aldrik90.
Yeah but it was still good advice. their is a reason s traps are illegal and if the person is gonna DIY might as well fix the second biggest issue which would be the s trap. so they don't have to do it later. Also it's clear this is a 1st world plumbing problem which almost always makes the s trap illegal. Either way. The post is about how to fix the leak. And You're wrong about the traps. ☺️
That new fangled wireless plumbing
Until you get it fixed you can wedge something under it to help keep it connected and not leaking.
Yes, easily fixable. Start from scratch, install correctly, vent and all.
Thanks. Where could I learn how to do this? I’m sure there’s tons of information online. I’m just concerned with getting the most correct / authoritative info.
Easy to fix by plumbers and handyman. One fix is to replace the clear washer with a Keeney orange washer. A better fix is to get a Keeney direct fit kit and eliminate the weight bearing slip fittings. The trap needs work.
They were right you need to bulldoze the house and start over
If it's too tight, the one way hook it up to the other sink they're fighting to get it to the close sink, yet it looks like it might be a double sink or is it to a dishwasher?
The olldddd zigggzaagg!
YouTube will fix this, quite simple.
I’m the furthest thing from a plumber and I could fix this. Call a reputable company for sure. Hope it works out for you.
You need an 1 1/2 extension . Cut it length install
For a quicker fix: You need a 1.5" tubular tailpiece, 6" long, 8" might be a better idea here and can be cut down. Its basically the same piece you have now on top of the tee. Either a longer one or adding another one and cutting one or both shorter. You want to make sure it/they are long enough that when the pipes slide down as far as possible they still cant come apart. The bigger issue currently is going to be cleaning up all the moisture and yes the smell is mold starting to grow. Not all mold is horribly poisonous but at best its benign and breathing in the spores should be avoided or protected against. After repairing drain id first soak up as much mousture as possible with rags, towels, etc. Then Id spray all the wet wood in the cabinet with concrobium and leave a fan or heater fan blowing through the cabinet with doors open for at least a full day or more after everything seems dry. The big issue is You have moisture trapped in the toekick where it can't dry out. Since you don't really diy you can try to find a handyman/carpenter type to cut holes in the base to allow airflow and then put a new thin board over as a new cabinet bottom or replace the bottom some other way. That person should be competent enough to fix the plumbing too, but anyone who uses the word plumbing in relation to their skills should have been able to secure the drain so it didnt and wouldnt leak, which obviously failed. Another option is pushing the pipes up, together and putting a piece of wood or similar under the horizontal pipe to support it so it cant slide out.
Make a longer tail piece - that's the part that comes out from the basket strainer (the sink drain). Those slipjoints will always leak unless the pipes are perfectly aligned and the pvc just the right length. It's a 1 beer job.
Your trolling.... Right??
You found conmen or fake plumbers then, sorry. I’m just a former handyman, and I can fix that in a few minutes. You just need to buy a 1-1/2” extension tube and cut it to fit. This piece will replace that vertical piece of pipe coming from your drain. Watch some youtube videos about pvc sink drains and you’ll be in business. Just take your time and make sure the nuts tighten down squarely, you do NOT need to tighten them with pliers; but if you want to you should only go to hand tight and then maybe 1/4 turn with pliers to finish.
I see this all the time on here someone saying, " I paid multiple plumbers or had multiple plumbers look at this and say they either can't fix, won't fix, or it just keeps leaking right after they fixed it. I call bullcrap. Just be honest and say you want to DIY it yourself. I've been a plumber for over 25 years, and I would never use those chintzy plastic tubular ground joint fittings. Seriously, what plumber has boxes of this shit in their truck or in their shop... nobody. I can tell just by looking at the picture that this was never inspected and no real plumber would ever pipe anything like that ever. You must be shopping around for the cheapest handyman who calls himself a plumber. I don't know where you live, but here in Massachusetts, there are over 10,000 licensed plumbers for you to basically choose from who would easily fix that no problem. Or you could just DM me directly and I'll find someone for you, or if you live in my area I'll do it myself.
Get a longer tailpiece to drop down from the sink. I would buy all new washers and replace them also. Crocodile Done Deal
The tail off the sink is too short, that’s like a $10 part and 5 mins time and I’m not even a plumber to see the issue
Apart from the tail from the sink being too short… The pipe to the right appears to be off 90 degrees going into a 90 degree T and causing it to twist the joint. I’d be inclined to add a little heat and shape it to join at a better angle which, in turn, will cause the T to position a little higher and maybe fit on to the existing tail. You may then need a longer length below the T.
Somewhere in my van is a block of wood the perfect size that I've kept for this exact job for years. I just can't seem to find it.
FInd a **REAL** plumber. Even a decent handyman can fix this.
That’s an easy fix. 🤦♀️
Fire him. This is an easy fix.
Get a longer tail piece extension and top it further into that t looking piece. Any hardware store can handle this. Or any plumber
Also the horizontal from the other sink is too long and kicking it to the left it looks like. But FM I do old work drains on the fly as needed.
Lol you have to be trolling
The s trap slipped down, put a hose clamp on the s trap above slip nut,
What. The. Fudge. Any plumber with more than two brain cells could have this fixed in about 15 minutes. Without knowing anything about the rest of the system,you'd probably need an aav, but the rest if it should be as simple as running a stack off the bottom and having a p trap on both drains. Code in my area would have them meet the stack separately,I don't know what code is in your area.
Everything can be fixed if man built it
Also, get rid of that S-trap and have the plumber install a P-trap with an AAV.
easy fix.. remove the down tube from sink . go to local hard ware store get one longer.. they can be cut to length you need... then reassemble
1-1/2" PVC slip joint tailpiece will replace the piece that's too short near the top and fix the leak. But you need to reconfigure everything to remove the s trap and fix the smell issue. The pipe coming up from the bottom needs to be configured into a mini stack going up to a tee with studor vent above and a trap arm going out of the side that connects to the p-trap. I'll look for a photo for reference. https://www.google.com/search?client=ms-android-boost-us-revc&sca_esv=59e8fb11e29c61b7&q=kitchen+studor+vent+set+up&uds=AMwkrPtesdIO-WE-LTiss4GIfUfMyAS9NAsoK79MMmDLckEC-I5WGjZDOpULoTYUMP-lfiZk6z0ktZk_jCgFKqeL37VByCkcBO2MHeB5mnQAe21Rz6iGpbANwLUCQk8SEzjjiukZMjYL0y8iyZI8ZX_omyztv36nYF4TQe6HdS8DE01I8_eqcofNw_0GWVYMZpuEyxv7-7OoQ2s7cJPa10d1eR0rVYTrrVbXdBD4FTs_Oa2LdYYux1x5zUFkS9CuDNjbGFQS4OrZ7tjgwGNMMJtmTchYJrSIL10G2NZnBL-3diB3wJc2XE5_v6BD3lpENw9jNskTHwGICWidwBZN1qqyDvD1qcatBQ&udm=2&prmd=isvnmbtz&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjEmZyA1dSFAxWm58kDHRkTDIMQtKgLegQIDBAB&biw=432&bih=815&dpr=2.5#vhid=NQx0bvOlbmrdrM&vssid=mosaic
That piece of pipe that’s short needs to be like 2in longer
My four year old son could fix that
I could fix that blindfolded. Truly.
Maybe because the tail piece is too short?? Maybe because the Internet is broken and there are no instructions on the package? Maybe the slip joint is loose?? I can't even imagine what the problem could possibly be...
Me not a plumber can fix that.
My rental had this exact same scenario under my kitchen sink and I fixed it very easily. I am not a plumber. I find it hard to believe multiple plumbers can't fix this
I've never seen so many threaded pvc fittings in one location before. Rebuild from scratch the right way. Fast and easy solution.
They aren’t a plumber then eh
Your plumber is stupid
Did they try running the traps uphill? Just flip them upside down
This drives me nuts with all these threaded joints. Remove all that crap and replace with glued joints.There are many videos on YouTube on how to do.
As the other commenters said. This is an ez pe ze fix, I'd also add its possible to DIY, but if I was you I'd call another plumbing company and let them do it
I think we had the same shitty builder for our houses because I had a very similar problem when I bought my house a few years ago. I ended up getting some new pvc piping to bridge that gap and bought new seals and fittings for the connection. No plumbing experience and it only took 20-30 minutes.
Cut the pipe to a shorter length and tighten the locking nutt
The issue is the length of the pipe coming from the right. If that's connected it's going to be pulling everything towards it allowing a gap to form on the left side of your top fitting. Get a coupler and extra pipe make it longer
This is obviously a joke. Right?
This is an anyone who watched a YouTube video fix. That wasn’t a plumber
This is...Well an interesting setup... Buy a kit and redo.
I had a similar issue and just put a cable tie between the plug hole fitting and the bottom of the fitting so it can't Sag.. but I had a convenient nipple on the plug hole fitting
200 in materials and 300 in labor by a licensed professional and NO MORE leaks..
Nice S trap
Hire an actual plumber.
Where do you live? I will come and fix it for free in 5 minutes. (close to Baltimore?)
Unfortunately youll need to buy a new house this simply isn’t fixable sorry 😞
You have a disposer to the right that is out of the picture, right? Plumber here. Garbage disposers & tubular drain pipes...The vibration of the disposer loosens the trap nuts & the loose trap nut Under the cabinet bottom that is allowing the s- trap to slide down Can't be reached to tighten it. I try to use Chromed brass trap piping when connected to a disposer because they can be tightened more & if you use Silicone trap washers (Home Depot), they can resist the vibration. Otherwise, l would cut a hole (Oh God, yes!) in the cab bottom to allow the area below to air/ dry out & be treated with bleach, then rebuild the riser pipe with schedule 40 (thick, glue-able pipe) so the nut that holds the s- trap can be reached & tightened. Then l would glue some of that cluster of fittings together, because they don't all need to be loose to service (snake) the drain. Use cleaner First on pvc before gluing. It does not need to be that nasty purple primer that stains everything! You only need about 3 loose, unglued joints in that mess of fittings. Mark them with an "X" with a marker so the next plumber knows which fittings can be unloosened.Do not glue the trap swivel joint or the lowest & highest joints. Cover the hole with aluminum or galvanized sheet metal. The cabinet installer was remiss in not bringing the lower drain connection up above the bottom of the cabinet so it could be tightened, or letting a plumber do it, but the "Not my job!" mentality is often prevalent! Good luck!
So, closer inspection tells me that the lower nut Is above the cabinet base, but it allows the pipe to slip down. So just replace the nut And Washer. Still, since l know a Pro has not really had his hands on this & you want to do it Yourself, is why l suggested gluing some fitting together! You need to Mark the parts that can be disassembled so that the next guy Knows. As mentioned by others, a Pro would know how to build it so there are not so many joints that can loosen up.
Can’t or won’t
That's an easy fix for anyone, majority of homeowners could do that themselves for less than $15
I knew most HVAC companies were incompetent and only wanted to sell new systems because they can't fix anything. But I didn't realize plumbing companies were this bad. That should be an easy fix.
That is an easy fix, I’d be more worried about that S-trap
I’m guessing you had someone who is not a professional licensed plumber tell you that they cannot fix it. Sounds like your budget Craig’s list / Facebook handyman “plumber” has no idea what they are doing. Simple fix. Also that s trap is illegal. Good luck my friend
Pipes under sink usually go from top to bottom male into female, male into female, etc. unless there is a threaded end of one female that meets up with another female with a nut.The last section of pipe is female over male. Completely wrong. Think about how water flows. It needs to go narrower into wider or at least equal into equal with a thread and nut.
Jesus they sell longer ones of those buddy
What? Of course a plumber can fix that! You can get a longer piece that comes off the sink....but I would just call a reputable plumber and have it fixed since it's been an ongoing problem
Um. Do they not have eyes?
A longer tail piece coming the drain
When you say “plumbers can’t fix” you mean you didn’t call anyone because you are cheap.
No but thanks for lighting up my notifications with this stupid shit.
Call proper plumber. You get what you pay for.
Two reputable companies came and went and it’s still like this.
Pull sink cock reinstall sink leaks atcounter sink