Granite counter tops...

[jimlj]

Ordered new granite counter tops a couple days after Thanksgiving.

The installer calls and wants to install on the 23rd of December. I'm not too sure I want to do it a couple days before Christmas, but he assures me it will be done in a couple hours. He shows up about 10:00 and sure enough he's done by shortly after noon. He tells me not to hang the garbage disposal till the next morning so the glue he attaches the under mount sink has a chance to dry. Now the fun begins.

On the morning of the 24th, I hang the garbage disposal and find the drain on the disposal is about 2.5" lower than the pipe going out the wall. I check the depth of the new sink compared to the old sink. It's 1" deeper. Why the heck am I so much lower?? Finally it dawns on me that the old sink was a rim mount on the top of the old counter, the new one sits under the new counter and adding the two to gather gets you close to 3" lower than your old plumbing. Long story short, I end up taking a couple pieces of siding off the outside of the house, cut the sheeting, pull insulation and have to cut the drain/vent piping, bore new holes through 4 studs and lower the drain line 3". Add two trips to the hardware store for parts before they close at 3:00 PM.

So the moral of the story....
Don't let anyone talk you into installing new granite counter tops two days before Christmas.
Unless you get a shallower sink than your existing one chances are your in for a surprise when you go to install it. Turns out your grade school teacher is right... water won't run up hill.
After you get over being mad you have to tear your house apart, the granite counter tops look nice.

[Plate plinker]

Cool granite is nice. Sometimes you just have to roll with it.

[white eagle]

i had granite installed as well
very nice product I did not do any of the
work myself except for the demo

[Sweetpea]

We deal with this all the time at work, jobs we do for Lowe's.

We will go and tear out, and then after the new tops are on, we go back and hook up all the plumbing, install new mosaic backsplash, etc.

We never know what is going in, until it is already there.

Fun stuff! [smilie=1:

[Bzcraig]

That's what plumbers are for! Retired tile contractor and I learned long ago when it comes to plumbing and I do the work.......it WILL leak! :drinks:

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I think I would have plumbed in the sink without the disposal, but that's just me.
I compost all my compost-able waste.

[MaryB]

Fun and joy of plumbing... I have a double bowl sink and the connecting pipe to the drain that came with is just long enough... until the house shifts when the ground freezes and it pulls back 1/16th of an inch and leaks... Being a low end sink the pipe is some weird size I can't buy a piece of so I live with it and keep a pan under it in case...

[paul h]

Famous last words...




...it's a 5 minute job

I don't think I've ever completed a plumbing job with only one trip to the store.

[smokeywolf]

Hate plumbing work, but have always done my own. And my parent's. And my in-law's. And my neighbor's.
We also don't use the disposal. Food waste goes in the trash or compost bin.

[Electric88]

I'll do most of my own plumbing, but I also know my limits. When I installed our new sink, I redid the plumbing underneath as well as it looked rather nasty. Unfortunately, the previous owner decided it would be a good idea to add a PVC S-trap into the plumbing about 2 inches from the wall, in addition to the P-trap.

I called a buddy to come help me at this point, as I got real jumpy cutting stuff that close to the wall.

[Hickory]

Plumbing is an invention of the devil!

[Wayne Smith]

Plumbing is an invention of the devil!

And when did you last use a two holer in the outdoor shed in January in Maine?!

[Parson]

When in the building trade, we often said that the only thing a plumber needed to know was that water ran down hill and payday was Friday

[MrWolf]

Fun and joy of plumbing... I have a double bowl sink and the connecting pipe to the drain that came with is just long enough... until the house shifts when the ground freezes and it pulls back 1/16th of an inch and leaks... Being a low end sink the pipe is some weird size I can't buy a piece of so I live with it and keep a pan under it in case...

Have you tried wrapping the joint with the stretch silicone tape?

[Hickory]

And when did you last use a two holer in the outdoor shed in January in Maine?!

It has to be an invention of the devil, it's the only thing I've ever seen that will make a preacher cuss.

[dragon813gt]

When in the building trade, we often said that the only thing a plumber needed to know was that water ran down hill and payday was Friday

You were kind in saying water because it's usually another term. And you forgot "don't bite your nails".

[NavyVet1959]

I replace my countertops with granite a few years ago. I subcontracted the actual granite work since I figured that it was too difficult to handle the granite slabs myself without any help. The granite didn't look that great with the existing tile backsplash, even though I had chosen that pattern to match the backsplash. So, I ripped out the backsplash and installed a tumbled travertine backsplash with some decorative stone accents. The sink that I had was cast iron and still looked new, so I kept it. There was some changes in height counter height was now a bit higher, but there was enough adjustment in the existing drain pipes that I did not need to replace them. If I remember correctly, they have a slip fit that has a couple of inches of adjustment, so even if I had an undermount sink, I could just allow the pipe to extend a bit more and it would still work.

Since that time, I've also changed out the garbage disposal and the pipes adjusted to any changes without any issues.

I don't really use the garbage disposal much though. I believe in the old fashioned form of garbage disposals -- dogs.

[OS OK]

Plumbing is an invention of the devil!

Then...ole Beezelbub thought it was a good idea to have China make our replacement parts we use...there's icing on the cake for-ya!

[Smoke4320]

You were kind in saying water because it's usually another term. And you forgot "don't bite your nails".

and it will go uphill with a pump (which I will kindly sell you says the plumber)

[Multigunner]

First thing I thought of when I saw Granite counter tops was a dig in Ireland where they uncovered a stone age dwelling they dubbed Fred Flintstone's house. The furnishings, such as they were , were made of slabs of stone, a sort of counter top and stools and such.

[Hardcast416taylor]

Fun and joy of plumbing... I have a double bowl sink and the connecting pipe to the drain that came with is just long enough... until the house shifts when the ground freezes and it pulls back 1/16th of an inch and leaks... Being a low end sink the pipe is some weird size I can't buy a piece of so I live with it and keep a pan under it in case...

Most pipeing is either 1 1/8" or 1 1/4". If your pipe
ing is either larger or smaller than this, then you really do have one made by a rice eater. I retired after using a pipe wrench for 35 1/2 years. I would occasionally help a friend or relative with a project requiring a plumber. It got to the point of almost having a job again but for free now, so I sold most of my plumbers tools and decline to `help` with projects anymore. The #1 thing all plumbers must learn and remember is that HOT is always on the left side of a faucet!Robert

[blackthorn]

It took me years to accept that when it comes to plumbing ---- I NEED to Call The Guy!

[dragon813gt]

It took me years to accept that when it comes to plumbing ---- I NEED to Call The Guy!

I only call when it's something I don't want to do or don't have the tools to do. Otherwise all the basics are easy. I don't mind replacing toilets in my own home. I replaced to many for other people at work and won't do it anymore. Scraping off the old ring is completely disgusting when it's not your......

[paul h]

BTW, love our granite counter tops

http://forums.accuratereloading.com/evefiles/photo_albums/3/4/4/344100033/1461040012_B1DECDACBB6CFBC485CC2EA0B4B5A745.jpg

[MaryB]

Won't fit in the compression coupling if I do, and wrapping the outside is a disaster in waiting... I can hear when it leaks and drips in the pan so I fix it right away. I need to swap both sink drains for something higher quality than the chinese made junk...


Have you tried wrapping the joint with the stretch silicone tape?

[MaryB]

It is smaller than 1 1/8th... I need to get a new double drain kit that is American made...


Most pipeing is either 1 1/8" or 1 1/4". If your pipe
ing is either larger or smaller than this, then you really do have one made by a rice eater. I retired after using a pipe wrench for 35 1/2 years. I would occasionally help a friend or relative with a project requiring a plumber. It got to the point of almost having a job again but for free now, so I sold most of my plumbers tools and decline to `help` with projects anymore. The #1 thing all plumbers must learn and remember is that HOT is always on the left side of a faucet!Robert

[Plate plinker]

Won't fit in the compression coupling if I do, and wrapping the outside is a disaster in waiting... I can hear when it leaks and drips in the pan so I fix it right away. I need to swap both sink drains for something higher quality than the chinese made junk...


Not sure what your exact problem is but you should look at how the log cabin people do slip joints.

[NavyVet1959]

The #1 thing all plumbers must learn and remember is that HOT is always on the left side of a faucet!

That seems like it should be a pretty basic concept and easy to remember, but I have to wonder why some hotels that I've encountered (both here in the US and out-of-country) have it backwards, even though the faucets have red and blue marks on them.

[jonp]

I think I would have plumbed in the sink without the disposal, but that's just me.
I compost all my compost-able waste.

yeah, me too. No disposal v tearing the side of the house off. Easy choice in my book.

[jonp]

BTW, love our granite counter tops

http://forums.accuratereloading.com/evefiles/photo_albums/3/4/4/344100033/1461040012_B1DECDACBB6CFBC485CC2EA0B4B5A745.jpg

Nice cabinets, i had some in a house a few years ago like that which were mahogany.

[lightman]

Those look nice! New Granite counter tops are on my short list. The Wife and I have been looking. I'm another that does minor plumbing and hates it! Nothing that a few trips to the store can't fix!

[William Yanda]

When in the building trade, we often said that the only thing a plumber needed to know was that water ran down hill and payday was Friday

Its 3 things! Those two, and wash your hands before you eat.

[Down South]

BTW, love our granite counter tops

http://forums.accuratereloading.com/evefiles/photo_albums/3/4/4/344100033/1461040012_B1DECDACBB6CFBC485CC2EA0B4B5A745.jpg
Your Granite looks almost identical to mine but I have an island about 4 times the size of yours.
I still do all my own plumbing. It wasn't a problem with the under the granite sink.

[Teddy (punchie)]

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[MaryB]

Part of my house has basement, part doesn't. So it shifts as the ground freezes(1880's construction). With the double sink I have a Tee between the 2 sink bowls that feeds the main drain line. That line likes to shift to one side and it pulls one side of the Tee apart. Pipe that came with the drain kit was 1/4 inch longer than needed so 1/8 into each fitting... Cheap chinese junk!


Not sure what your exact problem is but you should look at how the log cabin people do slip joints.

[MT Gianni]

That seems like it should be a pretty basic concept and easy to remember, but I have to wonder why some hotels that I've encountered (both here in the US and out-of-country) have it backwards, even though the faucets have red and blue marks on them.
It is easy to put a MOEN cartridge in backward sand reverse them. Often maintenance people are too busy or lazy to reverse them.

[blackthorn]

Quote "That seems like it should be a pretty basic concept and easy to remember, but I have to wonder why some hotels that I've encountered (both here in the US and out-of-country) have it backwards, even though the faucets have red and blue marks on them."

Perhaps they were built by the lowest bidder who used the cheapest labor he could find and they could not read or understand English.

[jimlj]

yeah, me too. No disposal v tearing the side of the house off. Easy choice in my book.

Lucky for me, you are not married to my wife. No disposal was not an option.

[NavyVet1959]

Quote "That seems like it should be a pretty basic concept and easy to remember, but I have to wonder why some hotels that I've encountered (both here in the US and out-of-country) have it backwards, even though the faucets have red and blue marks on them."

Perhaps they were built by the lowest bidder who used the cheapest labor he could find and they could not read or understand English.

Well, considering that many of those places were places where English was only spoken by a minority of the people there who had reason to deal with tourists, it's not surprising that the construction workers could not read English. For the ones in the US, well, I guess you would need to convince them that it was important to read the instructions first.

Hell, I'm guilty of unpacking a product, installing it or putting it together, and *then* looking at the instructions to see *if* I did it right. :)

[rr2241tx]

All the Chinese plumbing parts I've seen lately have transliterated Spanish/French/Chinglish instructions in type so small anyone who needed to read the instructions wouldn't be able to read them anyway. Dealing with 1900 plumbing really gets to be a challenge. Nothing is the same size as anything currently available but most of it can be fixed if necessary and dare I say so?... it might be 118 years old but it still works better than the new stuff you can buy at the big box today. It really helps to have the Habitat Re-Store on speed dial though.

[MT Gianni]

Part of my house has basement, part doesn't. So it shifts as the ground freezes(1880's construction). With the double sink I have a Tee between the 2 sink bowls that feeds the main drain line. That line likes to shift to one side and it pulls one side of the Tee apart. Pipe that came with the drain kit was 1/4 inch longer than needed so 1/8 into each fitting... Cheap chinese junk!
Mary, you should be able to change the drain baskets out of the sink to 1 1/2" drains which is the US standard for kitchens. I would run one side to a tee coming straight down from the other and trap both then run to the drain outlet. Unless you have something that the bottom baskets are built in it shouldn't cost over $30.

[MaryB]

Yup, matter of time and money... money being the issue the last month... some medical issues that have had me burning 3 times the fuel in my truck running back and forth twice a week put a massive dent in my budget.

[NavyVet1959]

Those look nice! New Granite counter tops are on my short list. The Wife and I have been looking. I'm another that does minor plumbing and hates it! Nothing that a few trips to the store can't fix!

It wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't that it seems to always be in cramped spaces. Under a double door sink with a divider and the bottom with an edge that is situated just right to dig into the more painful spot in your rib cage... Having to do contortions to get behind the commode to access the water supply pipes... Having to do contortions to get around all the drainage pipes around a sink so that you can access the supply pipes... Hell, it's nearly as bad as working under the panel on an aircraft. With an aircraft, you get to do all that while hanging upside down. :(