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Existential Angst[_2_] December 15th 11 05:22 PM

Installing a Pedestal Sink = Rocket Science???
 
Awl,

Goodgawd, another project from the Wife, who tore apart a perfectly good
bathroom. Really, a semi-nightmare.

Here's the problem:

First, a pedestal sink sits on a hollow column, with one side "slotted out"
vertically, into which fits the drain hardware.
The sink itself is then screwed to the wall, so it doesn't tip over.

The problem is access to the drain nuts. Ackshooly, there are lots of
problems, but those are surmontable. Access to these nuts is crazy hard,
bec in this case the pedestal is quite close to the wall, and the p-trap (or
j trap, or whatever) is buried perty deep into the hollow of the column.

I ackshooly saw an installation of a ped sink on TOH, but they omitted this
part! And I have other pedestal sinks in the house that I installed, but
with a lot more room.

What I thought was the answer was to drop the sink with its threaded
tailpipe (the part that screws into the sink drain hardware) straight into
the p-trap nut -- and miraculously the sink drain hole and the p-trap hole
line up!!

But because the p-trap opening is below the height of the pipe coming out of
the wall, wrench access (even hand access) is really a problem.

So now I'm about to get a tail pipe thingy with the swaged end, put that in
the p-trap, then mount a very short threaded tailpipe to the sink itself,
then drop the sink/stubby tailpipe into the "extended p-trap", where at
least the final nut tightening will be semi-accessible.

Am I missing something, ito tools, hardware, plumbing?
I don't do plumbing everyday, but I've had my concentrated share, incl.
sweating hundreds of feet of 3 and 4" copper water line, boiler
installations, sinks, gas lines, stoves, washers, etc, and never saw
something that was almost *geometrically impossible* to do. All for the
want, apparently, of some aesthetic flair.

I also thought of propping the sink up on stilts with no pedestal, plumbing
the drain, THEN sliding the pedestal in place.
Heh, nice idear, but because of lips, ledges on the basin bottom, you'd wind
up tearing apart the drain plumbing to finagle the pedestal in.

I also thought of leaving the drain assembly off the sink entirely, plumb
all the drain tube beneath first, then drop the sink on top of that, and
assemble the flange ditty (that gets puttied in to the sink basin) LAST --
but that doesn't seem too viable.

Finally, god help me if I ever have to mechanically clean this trap.....
hooboy....

Thoughts? Experiences?
--
EA



[email protected][_2_] December 15th 11 05:39 PM

Installing a Pedestal Sink = Rocket Science???
 
On Dec 15, 12:22*pm, "Existential Angst" wrote:
Awl,

Goodgawd, another project from the Wife, who tore apart a perfectly good
bathroom. *Really, a semi-nightmare.

Here's the problem:

First, a pedestal sink sits on a hollow column, with one side "slotted out"
vertically, into which fits the drain hardware.
The sink itself is then screwed to the wall, so it doesn't tip over.

The problem is access to the drain nuts. *Ackshooly, there are lots of
problems, but those are surmontable. *Access to these nuts is crazy hard,
bec in this case the pedestal is quite close to the wall, and the p-trap (or
j trap, or whatever) is buried perty deep into the hollow of the column.

I ackshooly saw an installation of a ped sink on TOH, but they omitted this
part! *And I have other pedestal sinks in the house that I installed, but
with a lot more room.

What I thought was the answer was to drop the sink with its threaded
tailpipe (the part that screws into the sink drain hardware) straight into
the p-trap nut -- and miraculously the sink drain hole and the p-trap hole
line up!!

But because the p-trap opening is below the height of the pipe coming out of
the wall, wrench access (even hand access) is really a problem.

So now I'm about to get a tail pipe thingy with the swaged end, put that in
the p-trap, then mount a very short threaded tailpipe to the sink itself,
then drop the sink/stubby tailpipe into the "extended p-trap", where at
least the final nut tightening will be semi-accessible.

Am I missing something, ito tools, hardware, plumbing?
I don't do plumbing everyday, but I've had my concentrated share, incl.
sweating hundreds of feet of 3 and 4" copper water line, boiler
installations, sinks, gas lines, stoves, washers, etc, and never saw
something that was almost *geometrically impossible* to do. *All for the
want, apparently, of some aesthetic flair.

I also thought of propping the sink up on stilts with no pedestal, plumbing
the drain, THEN sliding the pedestal in place.
Heh, nice idear, but because of lips, ledges on the basin bottom, you'd wind
up tearing apart the drain plumbing to finagle the pedestal in.

I also thought of leaving the drain assembly off the sink entirely, plumb
all the drain tube beneath first, then drop the sink on top of that, and
assemble the flange ditty (that gets puttied in to the sink basin) LAST --
but that doesn't seem too viable.

Finally, god help me if I ever have to mechanically clean this trap.....
hooboy....

Thoughts? *Experiences?
--
EA


Just looked at mine and the side of the P trap that connects
to the waste line is easily accessible. With mine, you'd put
the P trap onto the sink, slide it into place, then connect
the other side of the P trap using the P trap nut.

willshak December 15th 11 05:53 PM

Installing a Pedestal Sink = Rocket Science???
 
Existential Angst wrote the following:
Awl,

Goodgawd, another project from the Wife, who tore apart a perfectly good
bathroom. Really, a semi-nightmare.

Here's the problem:

First, a pedestal sink sits on a hollow column, with one side "slotted out"
vertically, into which fits the drain hardware.
The sink itself is then screwed to the wall, so it doesn't tip over.

The problem is access to the drain nuts. Ackshooly, there are lots of
problems, but those are surmontable. Access to these nuts is crazy hard,
bec in this case the pedestal is quite close to the wall, and the p-trap (or
j trap, or whatever) is buried perty deep into the hollow of the column.

I ackshooly saw an installation of a ped sink on TOH, but they omitted this
part! And I have other pedestal sinks in the house that I installed, but
with a lot more room.

What I thought was the answer was to drop the sink with its threaded
tailpipe (the part that screws into the sink drain hardware) straight into
the p-trap nut -- and miraculously the sink drain hole and the p-trap hole
line up!!

But because the p-trap opening is below the height of the pipe coming out of
the wall, wrench access (even hand access) is really a problem.

So now I'm about to get a tail pipe thingy with the swaged end, put that in
the p-trap, then mount a very short threaded tailpipe to the sink itself,
then drop the sink/stubby tailpipe into the "extended p-trap", where at
least the final nut tightening will be semi-accessible.

Am I missing something, ito tools, hardware, plumbing?
I don't do plumbing everyday, but I've had my concentrated share, incl.
sweating hundreds of feet of 3 and 4" copper water line, boiler
installations, sinks, gas lines, stoves, washers, etc, and never saw
something that was almost *geometrically impossible* to do. All for the
want, apparently, of some aesthetic flair.

I also thought of propping the sink up on stilts with no pedestal, plumbing
the drain, THEN sliding the pedestal in place.
Heh, nice idear, but because of lips, ledges on the basin bottom, you'd wind
up tearing apart the drain plumbing to finagle the pedestal in.

I also thought of leaving the drain assembly off the sink entirely, plumb
all the drain tube beneath first, then drop the sink on top of that, and
assemble the flange ditty (that gets puttied in to the sink basin) LAST --
but that doesn't seem too viable.

Finally, god help me if I ever have to mechanically clean this trap.....
hooboy....

Thoughts? Experiences?


When I had my house built in 1984, my wife insisted on a pedestal sink.
It wasn't long afterwards, that she changed her mind.
No place to put anything down on the top. Nice view of the plumbing when
sitting on the john next to it. No place to put cleaning equipment,
extra soaps, extra toilet paper, etc.

--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
In the original Orange County. Est. 1683
To email, remove the double zeroes after @

Existential Angst[_2_] December 15th 11 06:08 PM

Installing a Pedestal Sink = Rocket Science???
 
wrote in message
...
On Dec 15, 12:22 pm, "Existential Angst" wrote:
Awl,

Goodgawd, another project from the Wife, who tore apart a perfectly good
bathroom. Really, a semi-nightmare.

Here's the problem:

First, a pedestal sink sits on a hollow column, with one side "slotted
out"
vertically, into which fits the drain hardware.
The sink itself is then screwed to the wall, so it doesn't tip over.

The problem is access to the drain nuts. Ackshooly, there are lots of
problems, but those are surmontable. Access to these nuts is crazy hard,
bec in this case the pedestal is quite close to the wall, and the p-trap
(or
j trap, or whatever) is buried perty deep into the hollow of the column.

I ackshooly saw an installation of a ped sink on TOH, but they omitted
this
part! And I have other pedestal sinks in the house that I installed, but
with a lot more room.

What I thought was the answer was to drop the sink with its threaded
tailpipe (the part that screws into the sink drain hardware) straight into
the p-trap nut -- and miraculously the sink drain hole and the p-trap hole
line up!!

But because the p-trap opening is below the height of the pipe coming out
of
the wall, wrench access (even hand access) is really a problem.

So now I'm about to get a tail pipe thingy with the swaged end, put that
in
the p-trap, then mount a very short threaded tailpipe to the sink itself,
then drop the sink/stubby tailpipe into the "extended p-trap", where at
least the final nut tightening will be semi-accessible.

Am I missing something, ito tools, hardware, plumbing?
I don't do plumbing everyday, but I've had my concentrated share, incl.
sweating hundreds of feet of 3 and 4" copper water line, boiler
installations, sinks, gas lines, stoves, washers, etc, and never saw
something that was almost *geometrically impossible* to do. All for the
want, apparently, of some aesthetic flair.

I also thought of propping the sink up on stilts with no pedestal,
plumbing
the drain, THEN sliding the pedestal in place.
Heh, nice idear, but because of lips, ledges on the basin bottom, you'd
wind
up tearing apart the drain plumbing to finagle the pedestal in.

I also thought of leaving the drain assembly off the sink entirely, plumb
all the drain tube beneath first, then drop the sink on top of that, and
assemble the flange ditty (that gets puttied in to the sink basin) LAST --
but that doesn't seem too viable.

Finally, god help me if I ever have to mechanically clean this trap.....
hooboy....

Thoughts? Experiences?
--
EA


Just looked at mine and the side of the P trap that connects
to the waste line is easily accessible. With mine, you'd put
the P trap onto the sink, slide it into place, then connect
the other side of the P trap using the P trap nut.
================================================== =

That is a very insightful solution!! It solves the fundamental
"geometry/topology" problem of the installation.

BUT, the p-trap that is there is the old kind, that threads on, like a
fitting.
I'd have to muck around quite a bit more, to employ this solution, and I
think I can bull my way through with a vertical extension pc as above, as
I'm almost done.

Hopefully I can get the tailpipe nuts etc tight enough for zero leaks, but
if not, I will proly have to consider your solution.
Also, if there is ever a blockage later on, I'll proly change the p-trap
then.
--
EA




Existential Angst[_2_] December 15th 11 06:27 PM

Installing a Pedestal Sink = Rocket Science???
 
"Existential Angst" wrote in message
...
wrote in message
...
On Dec 15, 12:22 pm, "Existential Angst" wrote:
Awl,

Goodgawd, another project from the Wife, who tore apart a perfectly good
bathroom. Really, a semi-nightmare.

Here's the problem:

First, a pedestal sink sits on a hollow column, with one side "slotted
out"
vertically, into which fits the drain hardware.
The sink itself is then screwed to the wall, so it doesn't tip over.

The problem is access to the drain nuts. Ackshooly, there are lots of
problems, but those are surmontable. Access to these nuts is crazy hard,
bec in this case the pedestal is quite close to the wall, and the p-trap
(or
j trap, or whatever) is buried perty deep into the hollow of the column.

I ackshooly saw an installation of a ped sink on TOH, but they omitted
this
part! And I have other pedestal sinks in the house that I installed, but
with a lot more room.

What I thought was the answer was to drop the sink with its threaded
tailpipe (the part that screws into the sink drain hardware) straight
into
the p-trap nut -- and miraculously the sink drain hole and the p-trap
hole
line up!!

But because the p-trap opening is below the height of the pipe coming out
of
the wall, wrench access (even hand access) is really a problem.

So now I'm about to get a tail pipe thingy with the swaged end, put that
in
the p-trap, then mount a very short threaded tailpipe to the sink itself,
then drop the sink/stubby tailpipe into the "extended p-trap", where at
least the final nut tightening will be semi-accessible.

Am I missing something, ito tools, hardware, plumbing?
I don't do plumbing everyday, but I've had my concentrated share, incl.
sweating hundreds of feet of 3 and 4" copper water line, boiler
installations, sinks, gas lines, stoves, washers, etc, and never saw
something that was almost *geometrically impossible* to do. All for the
want, apparently, of some aesthetic flair.

I also thought of propping the sink up on stilts with no pedestal,
plumbing
the drain, THEN sliding the pedestal in place.
Heh, nice idear, but because of lips, ledges on the basin bottom, you'd
wind
up tearing apart the drain plumbing to finagle the pedestal in.

I also thought of leaving the drain assembly off the sink entirely, plumb
all the drain tube beneath first, then drop the sink on top of that, and
assemble the flange ditty (that gets puttied in to the sink basin)
LAST --
but that doesn't seem too viable.

Finally, god help me if I ever have to mechanically clean this trap.....
hooboy....

Thoughts? Experiences?
--
EA


Just looked at mine and the side of the P trap that connects
to the waste line is easily accessible. With mine, you'd put
the P trap onto the sink, slide it into place, then connect
the other side of the P trap using the P trap nut.
================================================== =

That is a very insightful solution!! It solves the fundamental
"geometry/topology" problem of the installation.


But even this solution seems to be pushing the envelope of a "reasonable
installation", eh?
Again, the price of aesthetics, I suppose.
Off to the hardware store -- I hope my li'l tailpipe modification works....
--
EA



BUT, the p-trap that is there is the old kind, that threads on, like a
fitting.
I'd have to muck around quite a bit more, to employ this solution, and I
think I can bull my way through with a vertical extension pc as above, as
I'm almost done.

Hopefully I can get the tailpipe nuts etc tight enough for zero leaks, but
if not, I will proly have to consider your solution.
Also, if there is ever a blockage later on, I'll proly change the p-trap
then.
--
EA






[email protected][_2_] December 15th 11 06:38 PM

Installing a Pedestal Sink = Rocket Science???
 
On Dec 15, 1:08*pm, "Existential Angst" wrote:
wrote in message

...
On Dec 15, 12:22 pm, "Existential Angst" wrote:





Awl,


Goodgawd, another project from the Wife, who tore apart a perfectly good
bathroom. Really, a semi-nightmare.


Here's the problem:


First, a pedestal sink sits on a hollow column, with one side "slotted
out"
vertically, into which fits the drain hardware.
The sink itself is then screwed to the wall, so it doesn't tip over.


The problem is access to the drain nuts. Ackshooly, there are lots of
problems, but those are surmontable. Access to these nuts is crazy hard,
bec in this case the pedestal is quite close to the wall, and the p-trap
(or
j trap, or whatever) is buried perty deep into the hollow of the column..


I ackshooly saw an installation of a ped sink on TOH, but they omitted
this
part! And I have other pedestal sinks in the house that I installed, but
with a lot more room.


What I thought was the answer was to drop the sink with its threaded
tailpipe (the part that screws into the sink drain hardware) straight into
the p-trap nut -- and miraculously the sink drain hole and the p-trap hole
line up!!


But because the p-trap opening is below the height of the pipe coming out
of
the wall, wrench access (even hand access) is really a problem.


So now I'm about to get a tail pipe thingy with the swaged end, put that
in
the p-trap, then mount a very short threaded tailpipe to the sink itself,
then drop the sink/stubby tailpipe into the "extended p-trap", where at
least the final nut tightening will be semi-accessible.


Am I missing something, ito tools, hardware, plumbing?
I don't do plumbing everyday, but I've had my concentrated share, incl.
sweating hundreds of feet of 3 and 4" copper water line, boiler
installations, sinks, gas lines, stoves, washers, etc, and never saw
something that was almost *geometrically impossible* to do. All for the
want, apparently, of some aesthetic flair.


I also thought of propping the sink up on stilts with no pedestal,
plumbing
the drain, THEN sliding the pedestal in place.
Heh, nice idear, but because of lips, ledges on the basin bottom, you'd
wind
up tearing apart the drain plumbing to finagle the pedestal in.


I also thought of leaving the drain assembly off the sink entirely, plumb
all the drain tube beneath first, then drop the sink on top of that, and
assemble the flange ditty (that gets puttied in to the sink basin) LAST --
but that doesn't seem too viable.


Finally, god help me if I ever have to mechanically clean this trap......
hooboy....


Thoughts? Experiences?
--
EA


Just looked at mine and the side of the P trap that connects
to the waste line is easily accessible. *With mine, you'd put
the P trap onto the sink, slide it into place, then connect
the other side of the P trap using the P trap nut.
================================================== =

That is a very insightful solution!! *It solves the fundamental
"geometry/topology" problem of the installation.

BUT, the p-trap that is there is the old kind, that threads on, like a
fitting.
I'd have to muck around quite a bit more, to employ this solution, and I
think I can bull my way through with a vertical extension pc as above, as
I'm almost done.

Hopefully I can get the tailpipe nuts etc tight enough for zero leaks, but
if not, I will proly have to consider your solution.
Also, if there is ever a blockage later on, I'll proly change the p-trap
then.
--
EA- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -


I wouldn't be using an old P trap with a new sink. Especially
if it's metal.

Existential Angst[_2_] December 15th 11 06:48 PM

Installing a Pedestal Sink = Rocket Science???
 
wrote in message
...
On Dec 15, 1:08 pm, "Existential Angst" wrote:
wrote in message

...
On Dec 15, 12:22 pm, "Existential Angst" wrote:





Awl,


Goodgawd, another project from the Wife, who tore apart a perfectly good
bathroom. Really, a semi-nightmare.


Here's the problem:


First, a pedestal sink sits on a hollow column, with one side "slotted
out"
vertically, into which fits the drain hardware.
The sink itself is then screwed to the wall, so it doesn't tip over.


The problem is access to the drain nuts. Ackshooly, there are lots of
problems, but those are surmontable. Access to these nuts is crazy hard,
bec in this case the pedestal is quite close to the wall, and the p-trap
(or
j trap, or whatever) is buried perty deep into the hollow of the column.


I ackshooly saw an installation of a ped sink on TOH, but they omitted
this
part! And I have other pedestal sinks in the house that I installed, but
with a lot more room.


What I thought was the answer was to drop the sink with its threaded
tailpipe (the part that screws into the sink drain hardware) straight
into
the p-trap nut -- and miraculously the sink drain hole and the p-trap
hole
line up!!


But because the p-trap opening is below the height of the pipe coming
out
of
the wall, wrench access (even hand access) is really a problem.


So now I'm about to get a tail pipe thingy with the swaged end, put that
in
the p-trap, then mount a very short threaded tailpipe to the sink
itself,
then drop the sink/stubby tailpipe into the "extended p-trap", where at
least the final nut tightening will be semi-accessible.


Am I missing something, ito tools, hardware, plumbing?
I don't do plumbing everyday, but I've had my concentrated share, incl.
sweating hundreds of feet of 3 and 4" copper water line, boiler
installations, sinks, gas lines, stoves, washers, etc, and never saw
something that was almost *geometrically impossible* to do. All for the
want, apparently, of some aesthetic flair.


I also thought of propping the sink up on stilts with no pedestal,
plumbing
the drain, THEN sliding the pedestal in place.
Heh, nice idear, but because of lips, ledges on the basin bottom, you'd
wind
up tearing apart the drain plumbing to finagle the pedestal in.


I also thought of leaving the drain assembly off the sink entirely,
plumb
all the drain tube beneath first, then drop the sink on top of that, and
assemble the flange ditty (that gets puttied in to the sink basin)
LAST --
but that doesn't seem too viable.


Finally, god help me if I ever have to mechanically clean this trap.....
hooboy....


Thoughts? Experiences?
--
EA


Just looked at mine and the side of the P trap that connects
to the waste line is easily accessible. With mine, you'd put
the P trap onto the sink, slide it into place, then connect
the other side of the P trap using the P trap nut.
================================================== =

That is a very insightful solution!! It solves the fundamental
"geometry/topology" problem of the installation.

BUT, the p-trap that is there is the old kind, that threads on, like a
fitting.
I'd have to muck around quite a bit more, to employ this solution, and I
think I can bull my way through with a vertical extension pc as above, as
I'm almost done.

Hopefully I can get the tailpipe nuts etc tight enough for zero leaks, but
if not, I will proly have to consider your solution.
Also, if there is ever a blockage later on, I'll proly change the p-trap
then.
--
EA- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -


I wouldn't be using an old P trap with a new sink. Especially
if it's metal.
================================================== =

This is a *real old* p-trap, proly will last another 100 years, heavily
chrome plated, etc.
I'm sort of on momentum from my initial push, but if need be, I'll change
it.
But as you proly know, the fewer things you "touch" in old plumbing (and old
everything else), the better off/simpler yer life will be.

Good solution, tho, nice to have a plan B.
--
EA



DerbyDad03 December 15th 11 06:53 PM

Installing a Pedestal Sink = Rocket Science???
 
On Dec 15, 12:22*pm, "Existential Angst" wrote:
Awl,

Goodgawd, another project from the Wife, who tore apart a perfectly good
bathroom. *Really, a semi-nightmare.

Here's the problem:

First, a pedestal sink sits on a hollow column, with one side "slotted out"
vertically, into which fits the drain hardware.
The sink itself is then screwed to the wall, so it doesn't tip over.

The problem is access to the drain nuts. *Ackshooly, there are lots of
problems, but those are surmontable. *Access to these nuts is crazy hard,
bec in this case the pedestal is quite close to the wall, and the p-trap (or
j trap, or whatever) is buried perty deep into the hollow of the column.

I ackshooly saw an installation of a ped sink on TOH, but they omitted this
part! *And I have other pedestal sinks in the house that I installed, but
with a lot more room.

What I thought was the answer was to drop the sink with its threaded
tailpipe (the part that screws into the sink drain hardware) straight into
the p-trap nut -- and miraculously the sink drain hole and the p-trap hole
line up!!

But because the p-trap opening is below the height of the pipe coming out of
the wall, wrench access (even hand access) is really a problem.

So now I'm about to get a tail pipe thingy with the swaged end, put that in
the p-trap, then mount a very short threaded tailpipe to the sink itself,
then drop the sink/stubby tailpipe into the "extended p-trap", where at
least the final nut tightening will be semi-accessible.

Am I missing something, ito tools, hardware, plumbing?
I don't do plumbing everyday, but I've had my concentrated share, incl.
sweating hundreds of feet of 3 and 4" copper water line, boiler
installations, sinks, gas lines, stoves, washers, etc, and never saw
something that was almost *geometrically impossible* to do. *All for the
want, apparently, of some aesthetic flair.

I also thought of propping the sink up on stilts with no pedestal, plumbing
the drain, THEN sliding the pedestal in place.
Heh, nice idear, but because of lips, ledges on the basin bottom, you'd wind
up tearing apart the drain plumbing to finagle the pedestal in.

I also thought of leaving the drain assembly off the sink entirely, plumb
all the drain tube beneath first, then drop the sink on top of that, and
assemble the flange ditty (that gets puttied in to the sink basin) LAST --
but that doesn't seem too viable.

Finally, god help me if I ever have to mechanically clean this trap.....
hooboy....

Thoughts? *Experiences?
--
EA


Maybe not Rocket Science, but certainly beyond an undergraduate
degree. Even Rich Trethewey of This Old House acknowledges that fact:

"This is the graduate school of do-it-yourself projects."

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/how-...221693,00.html

While I like the look of the sink SWMBO chose, I cringe every time she
announces "The drain is running slow again".

First I remind her (for the gazillionth time) "If you girls would wipe
the hair out of the sink instead of rinsing it down the drain, I
wouldn't have to take it apart - again."

My drain consists of a tail pipe that houses the pop-up, which sits
down into a tail pipe extension which in turn fits into the top of the
p-trap. It sounds like I have en extra section of pipe between the
sink's tail pipe and the p-trap.

I can just get to the p-trap nut with a pair of channel locks, but it
is next to impossible to get to the upper nut. I recall that when I
first installed the sink, I spent way too much time with tiny turns
getting that nut snug. I then spent way too much time getting it loose
the first time the drain stopped up and I had to drop the trap.

Ever since then (and it's been years and a bunch of disassemblies) I
have left the upper nut for the tail pipe un-attached.

The tail pipe just sits inside the extension. I've never had a leak,
even when pulling the stopper completely out and letting a full sink
drain at a very rapid pace. The tail pipe sits deep enough into the
extension that it's never been a problem.


Existential Angst[_2_] December 15th 11 07:02 PM

Installing a Pedestal Sink = Rocket Science???
 
"DerbyDad03" wrote in message
...
On Dec 15, 12:22 pm, "Existential Angst" wrote:
Awl,

Goodgawd, another project from the Wife, who tore apart a perfectly good
bathroom. Really, a semi-nightmare.

Here's the problem:

First, a pedestal sink sits on a hollow column, with one side "slotted
out"
vertically, into which fits the drain hardware.
The sink itself is then screwed to the wall, so it doesn't tip over.

The problem is access to the drain nuts. Ackshooly, there are lots of
problems, but those are surmontable. Access to these nuts is crazy hard,
bec in this case the pedestal is quite close to the wall, and the p-trap
(or
j trap, or whatever) is buried perty deep into the hollow of the column.

I ackshooly saw an installation of a ped sink on TOH, but they omitted
this
part! And I have other pedestal sinks in the house that I installed, but
with a lot more room.

What I thought was the answer was to drop the sink with its threaded
tailpipe (the part that screws into the sink drain hardware) straight into
the p-trap nut -- and miraculously the sink drain hole and the p-trap hole
line up!!

But because the p-trap opening is below the height of the pipe coming out
of
the wall, wrench access (even hand access) is really a problem.

So now I'm about to get a tail pipe thingy with the swaged end, put that
in
the p-trap, then mount a very short threaded tailpipe to the sink itself,
then drop the sink/stubby tailpipe into the "extended p-trap", where at
least the final nut tightening will be semi-accessible.

Am I missing something, ito tools, hardware, plumbing?
I don't do plumbing everyday, but I've had my concentrated share, incl.
sweating hundreds of feet of 3 and 4" copper water line, boiler
installations, sinks, gas lines, stoves, washers, etc, and never saw
something that was almost *geometrically impossible* to do. All for the
want, apparently, of some aesthetic flair.

I also thought of propping the sink up on stilts with no pedestal,
plumbing
the drain, THEN sliding the pedestal in place.
Heh, nice idear, but because of lips, ledges on the basin bottom, you'd
wind
up tearing apart the drain plumbing to finagle the pedestal in.

I also thought of leaving the drain assembly off the sink entirely, plumb
all the drain tube beneath first, then drop the sink on top of that, and
assemble the flange ditty (that gets puttied in to the sink basin) LAST --
but that doesn't seem too viable.

Finally, god help me if I ever have to mechanically clean this trap.....
hooboy....

Thoughts? Experiences?
--
EA


Maybe not Rocket Science, but certainly beyond an undergraduate
degree. Even Rich Trethewey of This Old House acknowledges that fact:

"This is the graduate school of do-it-yourself projects."

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/how-...221693,00.html

While I like the look of the sink SWMBO chose, I cringe every time she
announces "The drain is running slow again".

First I remind her (for the gazillionth time) "If you girls would wipe
the hair out of the sink instead of rinsing it down the drain, I
wouldn't have to take it apart - again."

My drain consists of a tail pipe that houses the pop-up, which sits
down into a tail pipe extension which in turn fits into the top of the
p-trap. It sounds like I have en extra section of pipe between the
sink's tail pipe and the p-trap.

I can just get to the p-trap nut with a pair of channel locks, but it
is next to impossible to get to the upper nut. I recall that when I
first installed the sink, I spent way too much time with tiny turns
getting that nut snug. I then spent way too much time getting it loose
the first time the drain stopped up and I had to drop the trap.

Ever since then (and it's been years and a bunch of disassemblies) I
have left the upper nut for the tail pipe un-attached.

The tail pipe just sits inside the extension. I've never had a leak,
even when pulling the stopper completely out and letting a full sink
drain at a very rapid pace. The tail pipe sits deep enough into the
extension that it's never been a problem.
==================================================

This is good to know, makes me feel better -- sort of.

I was thinking, if there are any leaks, if they are small enough, to just
wrap a g-d rag around the drain, and change it every once in a while!!! Or
maybe put the pedestal in a basin, and just scoop out the water as
necessary?? LOL

So actually, this IS rocket science!!! LOL
--
EA





[email protected][_2_] December 15th 11 07:09 PM

Installing a Pedestal Sink = Rocket Science???
 
On Dec 15, 1:53*pm, DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Dec 15, 12:22*pm, "Existential Angst" wrote:





Awl,


Goodgawd, another project from the Wife, who tore apart a perfectly good
bathroom. *Really, a semi-nightmare.


Here's the problem:


First, a pedestal sink sits on a hollow column, with one side "slotted out"
vertically, into which fits the drain hardware.
The sink itself is then screwed to the wall, so it doesn't tip over.


The problem is access to the drain nuts. *Ackshooly, there are lots of
problems, but those are surmontable. *Access to these nuts is crazy hard,
bec in this case the pedestal is quite close to the wall, and the p-trap (or
j trap, or whatever) is buried perty deep into the hollow of the column..


I ackshooly saw an installation of a ped sink on TOH, but they omitted this
part! *And I have other pedestal sinks in the house that I installed, but
with a lot more room.


What I thought was the answer was to drop the sink with its threaded
tailpipe (the part that screws into the sink drain hardware) straight into
the p-trap nut -- and miraculously the sink drain hole and the p-trap hole
line up!!


But because the p-trap opening is below the height of the pipe coming out of
the wall, wrench access (even hand access) is really a problem.


So now I'm about to get a tail pipe thingy with the swaged end, put that in
the p-trap, then mount a very short threaded tailpipe to the sink itself,
then drop the sink/stubby tailpipe into the "extended p-trap", where at
least the final nut tightening will be semi-accessible.


Am I missing something, ito tools, hardware, plumbing?
I don't do plumbing everyday, but I've had my concentrated share, incl.
sweating hundreds of feet of 3 and 4" copper water line, boiler
installations, sinks, gas lines, stoves, washers, etc, and never saw
something that was almost *geometrically impossible* to do. *All for the
want, apparently, of some aesthetic flair.


I also thought of propping the sink up on stilts with no pedestal, plumbing
the drain, THEN sliding the pedestal in place.
Heh, nice idear, but because of lips, ledges on the basin bottom, you'd wind
up tearing apart the drain plumbing to finagle the pedestal in.


I also thought of leaving the drain assembly off the sink entirely, plumb
all the drain tube beneath first, then drop the sink on top of that, and
assemble the flange ditty (that gets puttied in to the sink basin) LAST --
but that doesn't seem too viable.


Finally, god help me if I ever have to mechanically clean this trap......
hooboy....


Thoughts? *Experiences?
--
EA


Maybe not Rocket Science, but certainly beyond an undergraduate
degree. *Even Rich Trethewey of This Old House acknowledges that fact:

"This is the graduate school of do-it-yourself projects."


Actually, looking at the pics, it doesn't look much more
difficult than doing a regular sink. In some ways it's
actually easier. No vanity to crawl into to connect the
water lines and drain for example.

I agree with him that the rough in is obviously critical.
You can't have an oversize hole or pipes going at
some crazy angle. If your stuck with existing lines
instead of new work, that could be a problem. But,
if you're ripping out a vanity and switching to a pedestal,
then you're likely going to have work to do with the
wall anyway. So, opening it up to get the pipes right
doesn't seem like that big of a deal.




Vic Smith December 15th 11 09:26 PM

Installing a Pedestal Sink = Rocket Science???
 
On Thu, 15 Dec 2011 12:22:22 -0500, "Existential Angst"
wrote:



Thoughts? Experiences?


A strap wrench might help.
If you can't get a real good bite with the wrench, don't be afraid to
use liquid rubber or silicone sealer before you assemble, and even
slather some on the gaps afterwards. Let it cute some.
Works for drains, and easily peels off later.

--Vic


N8N December 15th 11 09:38 PM

Installing a Pedestal Sink = Rocket Science???
 
On Dec 15, 2:02*pm, "Existential Angst" wrote:

I can just get to the p-trap nut with a pair of channel locks, but it
is next to impossible to get to the upper nut. I recall that when I
first installed the sink, I spent way too much time with tiny turns
getting that nut snug. I then spent way too much time getting it loose
the first time the drain stopped up and I had to drop the trap.


Would a strap wrench help? A real one, not one of those rubber-strap
deals from Harbor Freight.

nate

Oren[_2_] December 17th 11 08:50 PM

Installing a Pedestal Sink = Rocket Science???
 
On Thu, 15 Dec 2011 13:38:01 -0800 (PST), N8N
wrote:

On Dec 15, 2:02*pm, "Existential Angst" wrote:

I can just get to the p-trap nut with a pair of channel locks, but it
is next to impossible to get to the upper nut. I recall that when I
first installed the sink, I spent way too much time with tiny turns
getting that nut snug. I then spent way too much time getting it loose
the first time the drain stopped up and I had to drop the trap.


Would a strap wrench help? A real one, not one of those rubber-strap
deals from Harbor Freight.

nate


A Basin Wrench works is difficult places...

- Swivel head operates from either right or left side
- Use on hard-to-reach basin nuts, ballcocks and flush valves

http://www.plumbest.com/tools/basin-wrenches-15-large-jaw-telescoping-basin-wrench.html

....I know I know.. "channel locks"..

DerbyDad03 December 17th 11 10:39 PM

Installing a Pedestal Sink = Rocket Science???
 
On Dec 17, 3:50*pm, Oren wrote:
On Thu, 15 Dec 2011 13:38:01 -0800 (PST), N8N
wrote:

On Dec 15, 2:02*pm, "Existential Angst" wrote:


I can just get to the p-trap nut with a pair of channel locks, but it
is next to impossible to get to the upper nut. I recall that when I
first installed the sink, I spent way too much time with tiny turns
getting that nut snug. I then spent way too much time getting it loose
the first time the drain stopped up and I had to drop the trap.


Would a strap wrench help? *A real one, not one of those rubber-strap
deals from Harbor Freight.


nate


A Basin Wrench works is difficult places...

- *Swivel head operates from either right or left side
- Use on hard-to-reach basin nuts, ballcocks and flush valves

http://www.plumbest.com/tools/basin-wrenches-15-large-jaw-telescoping...

...I know I know.. "channel locks"..


Having dealt with a pedestal sink for years, I pretty sure that a
basin wrench won't work for the large nuts on the drain pipes.

Note the size of the basin nuts in this picture. I don't think a basin
wrench opens far enough for a drain pipe nut. If it did, I don't think
it would fit inside the pedestal.

http://hostedmedia.reimanpub.com/TFH..._FAUCET_06.JPG

Channel locks have been my preferred wrench when working on my
pedestal sink drain.


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