installing new garbage disposal

August 19, 2024 12:50 PM

The pipes don't quite line up. What to do? Photo https://imgur.com/gallery/gabage-disposal-AjC33rX
posted by falsedmitri to Home & Garden (10 answers total)

The trap arm is also on a slip joint, so the inlet you’re aiming for can be moved back towards the wall.
posted by jon1270 at 1:03 PM on August 19

Response by poster: >>The trap arm is also on a slip join
Dammit man give to me in English!
posted by falsedmitri at 1:47 PM on August 19

Best answer: Can you loosen the bit where the 'P' trap connects to that 'T' and slide it up a bit? This would also probably require you to loosen the bit on the left where the other sink drain connects to the horizontal part of the 'T'.

Another picture or two showing the drain on the left and the 'P' trap might be helpful
posted by gregr at 1:57 PM on August 19 [1 favorite]

Dammit man give to me in English!

respectfully, hire a plumber (or at least handyman) if gregr’s instructions don’t immediately make sense, maybe plus some google image search. An hour of labor to prevent a pretty nasty flood and/or clog is probably worthwhile.
posted by supercres at 2:00 PM on August 19 [4 favorites]

I was just quoted $800 to replace my disposal...uh, fuck no. watch a few videos first, then go for it yourself, but WATCH THE VIDEOS.
posted by tristeza at 2:23 PM on August 19 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Photo with P trap
posted by falsedmitri at 2:28 PM on August 19

Best answer: In the second photo, both of the joints on the u-bend part of the p trap are slip joints (and it's harder to see, but I think the joint on the pipe headed back into the wall has one too). The rings on each end tighten to hold things in place, but if you loosen them, you can slide the pipes around a bit until things align. If you loosen those rings and wiggle stuff around, you might be able to move that part of the assembly up high enough that things line up with the connection on the disposal.

But the piece(s) connecting the left drain to the horizontal pipe that we can see would also need to be similarly adjustable so that that horizontal pipe coming from the left can be higher too. Can you show us that part?
posted by katieinshoes at 2:45 PM on August 19 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Another photo of sink undercarriage, now showing left drain
posted by falsedmitri at 6:38 PM on August 19

Best answer: With just the first photo I misinterpreted the direction of the misalignment. It now looks like you just need to raise the tee enough that it aligns with the disposal outlet. You’ll need to loosen 2 slip joints - one below the left bowl drain, and one between the trap and the vertical piece with the tee. Hopefully then you’ll be able to just move the tee up into place and retighten everything, but it’s possible you’ll need to cut the left bowl’s tailpiece a bit shorter, and/or entirely replace the vertical piece with the tee that you’re trying to line up with the disposal. The necessity of these extra steps will depend on how far those pieces extend past their slip joint nuts right now, which we can’t see.
posted by jon1270 at 7:45 PM on August 19 [3 favorites]

Response by poster: With the guidance and patience of @jon1270 and @katieinshoes, it is now fixed. The key being that I did not know what I slip joint was. Now I do. No need for a plumber.
posted by falsedmitri at 9:28 AM on August 20 [3 favorites]