The pipes installed under the sink of your kitchen are not only the medium of water passing. If you don't install them properly, they will leak water. Most of the time these sink pipes are visible from outside. So, the choice of pipe should also match the interior design of your kitchen otherwise it will look ugly. There are several types of kitchen sink but you have to pick the best on among them.
For kitchen drains, generally, PVC pipes are preferable to metal pipes as PVC pipes don't corrode. The installation process of PVC pipe under the kitchen sink is not very tough. But you need to check some things and follow the steps properly to establish a flawless connection. We will describe the common steps of how to install PVC pipe under the kitchen sink.
Tips to Install PVC Pipe Under Kitchen Sink
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiN4gtzVBtA
Take Proper Measurement
You should notice some important rules to install Pvc pipe under the sink. Check the height and alignment of the new pipe that is going to install under your kitchen sink. It should match out and out with your sink. A slight mismatch will prevent sealing of compression fittings, and there will be leakage of water. It will be better if you take the measurement with a tape measure before you buy the sink.
Stylish deep basin sinks take more space under the countertop. So, you may need to lower your wall drain fittings to match with their lower height. Take the height of the trap arm starting from the base or floor of the cabinet. Buy the pipe by properly inspecting its configurations and size.
Unscrew The Old Pipe
If you are making a replacement of the old pipe, then you need to unscrew the old one. For this task, you don't need to have any experience of plumbing! The P-traps or curved pipes are installed under the kitchen sink drain or waste lines. These compression fittings can be unscrewed even without any tool. When you turn off the valves, any of them may run the faucet inadvertently. It is a good idea to take a bucket and put it under the P-trap's curved portions and then turn off the valves of water. Then remove the connections of P-trap with the extending pipes from the sink and drain.
It's not a very tough task, grasp the nuts one by one and turn counterclockwise against the connected pipe. You can use pliers that are adjustable according to the size of the nuts if hands are not enough. Sometimes lubricant spray is required on the metal trap nuts to make them loosen.
After unscrewing the connections, pull away from the traps. You may need to remove the tailpieces of the drain in some cases.
Test The Fittings of The New Trap
You have to make sure that the new trap arm and trap bend exactly line up with the wall pipe and the tailpiece. So, test fitting of the trap before installing it. Moreover, the diameter of the new pipe must be the same as the previous one- either 1 ½ or 1 ¼ inch. Cut the arm of the trap with a hole saw power kit if required and make it of the exact length as the old one. You can also use a pipe cutter or hacksaw for this purpose. You may need the trimming of the extension pipe or the tailpipe of the sink.
Position The Washers and Nuts
Slide a slip nut onto the new trap arm and prepare it such that the threads of the nut face down towards the connection of the trap. Now attach another nut at the other arm-end, straight from the previous one. The threads of this nut will face towards the straight end. Over this straight end, you need to attach a slip joint washer, and the end of this washer will face outward. Now make the fitting of the washer and a slip nut at the sink tailpiece end. This time the washer bevel will face downward.
Assemble all The Parts of The Pipe
Now you need to arrange all the parts properly which are essential for the kitchen sink. First of all, take the trap arm; slide it into the water drain such that it opens in the wall. Now, attach the trap-bend onto the tailpiece of the sink and also onto the end of the arm. If you need an extension of the tailpiece, you have to position it at this moment. In this case, add the tailpieces that can extend to the top level of the drain pipe.
Now thread the slip nuts loosely onto the threaded hubs after sliding them against the fittings.
Make a proper alignment of the trap bend and arm by making necessary adjustments. There should not be any awkward angles between them, and the trap arm should slightly slope down towards the wall. Generally, the recommended pitch is a 0.25 inch/foot downward slope.
Tighten the plastic slip nuts as much as possible with your hands. If the nuts are made, of metal then use channel-lock pliers after hand-tightening. Although the hand is enough for plastic nuts, metal nuts need some more pressure.
Assemble all the pipes or parts with compression fittings and tighten the nuts strongly until the P-traps get ready for installation.
Test The Compression Fittings
After completing the assembly, turn the sink faucet on at full volume. You can also fill the full sink and then let the water flow out by opening the drain. While the water is running down, you can check all the connections of slip nuts for water leakage. If you find a leak of water at any joint, use channel-lock pliers and tighten that slip nut gently until the water leak stops. But we will recommend avoiding over tightening of the plastic slip nuts.
Tools You May Need to Install PVC Pipe
· PVC pipe
· Tape measure
· Water Bucket
· Channel-lock pliers or Adjustable pliers
· Hacksaw or PVC tubing cutter
Conclusion
