Any plumbers out there?

[jseklund]

OK guys, I hope this is one of the last emails about my renovation that I ask for help with. Everyone has been helpful, and this forum is great for finding answers to these problems.

I know have my kitchen cabinets installed, sink in the countertop, faucet screwed down, and the hoses hanging just waiting to be connected. When I was installing the cabinet, I desoldered all of the plumbing pipes so that I could slide the new cabinet over the capped off pipes and not cut holes all over the place.

I now have a cabinet with (2) 1/2" supply pipes coming out of the cabinet floor directly under the sink and (1) 1 1/2" copper drain to the back right corner of the cabinet.

This 1 1/2" copper supply pipe appears to have been fed directly up a wall from the basement and comes through the floor of the kitchen under the cabinet. I went into the basement and found the other end of the pipe and pushed it up and it appears to move freely - so I don't think it's connected to anything and it appears to have been a straight shot.

The way it was all setup before, the drain came off the sink, into a trap, to a T. The T turned to the right to drain the water. To the left was a 3 foot +/- section of pipe that went to a verticle pipe on the left of the cabinet for a vent pipe.

Reconnecting the way things were should be easy - but we decided that we were going to make a spot for a stackable washer/dryer on the left of the sink cabinet. I built a wall around the vent pipe and butted the sink cabinet directly up to it. In this wall I ran a dryer vent, electrical outlets, and I am going to put a washer box (hot/cold/drain) in the wall.

My question is - how do I tie the drain from the washer into the sink pipe?

It looks like the stand pipe for the washer should be 2" - and I can conceivably replace the copper pipe to the basement with 2" PVC if needed (although I'd like to avoid that if possible). I was going to put a standpipe to a trap inside the wall, and then tie into a wye or something between the vertical pipe and the sink drain.

The issue I picture with this, though, is that I would create a flow of water past the sink drain coming off the sink trap, which I am concerned might suck the water out of the trap. Part of me thinks this is an unnecessary concern though, because drains that share a pipe would always have a setup like this - you have to put 1 drain before the other in some fashion.

Also, I'm thinking 2" pipe should be used - but I'm not sure if I can use 2" under the sink and for the washer and then just reduce it to the 1 1/2" copper pipe coming out of the floor - my thinking being that 1 1/2" copper may be similar in I.D. to the 2" PVC..but I'm not sure.

I'm going to have a plumber come and finish everything off - but if I can setup as much as possible myself so my grandmother can save some $$ that would be nice...

Thanks again for the advice guys...

[toolguy1000]

when i created a basement laundry room with the washer and slop sink on opposite walls, my friend (a licensed plumber) made me trap and vent each fixture individually. trap and vent for the washer and a separate trap and vent for the slop sink. that way, there was no chance of either trap experiencing a vacuum and draining a trap. i'd check with my local plumbing inspector, assuming that wouldn't create a problem for you.

when time came for my rough in inspection, passed on all counts.

[sweensdv]

Before you go any further I would check and make sure that the 1½" drain line will be large enough to handle the discharge from the washing machine. Today's machines pump out more water at a much faster rate than older machines. I think a 2" drain line for washing machines is pretty much standard nowadays.

[woodturner]

My question is - how do I tie the drain from the washer into the sink pipe?

From your description, it does not appear that your situation qualifies for a "wet vent" - which is what I think you are trying to describe.

You will need to check the plumbing code in your area, since plumbing codes vary widely by municipality. The first question to determine is whether you are permitted to do it - it many areas, only a licensed master plumber can legally do plumbing, and penalties for violations can be severe.

In my area, a separate vent through the roof as well as a separate connection to the main drain stack is required - and it has to be done by a licensed master plumber.

Presumably you pulled a permit before beginning work - but, if not, it may be difficult to get one now, and they may require you to remove the work already done as required for inspections.

[jseklund]

Thanks for all of the replies. Yes- it is technically not legal for an unlicensed person to perform any plumbing work in my state. I am decent with soldering and can connect things - and the plumber I work with is OK with me doing the work and him checking it. It just saves some of his time and some of the expense.

What I was explaining would have turned out to be a wet vent I believe, as woodturner said. It turns out that the two things you cannot wet vent by the code in my state are closthes washers and kitchen sinks.

As for the 1 1/2" pipe - that was one of my questions. The drain can most likely be pulled back through the wall and a 2" pipe installed which should be sufficient...but I'd like to avoid that if possible.

I may just have the plumber do it, but I was up for the challenge and wanted to try to figure it out myself...it seems like there should be a simple way around it.