What you find behind the old kitchen...

Question

I'm in the middle of remodeling a 4plex.  The first unit is almost done and included a kitchen remodel which was uneventful and an excellent learning experience.  The second kitchen was designed and demo has been completed.  During demo we found a waste clean out pipe sticking out ~4" from the wall and starting right where the dishwasher was supposed to go (bottom left).  Can you weigh in on our two options (or suggest a third?):

1. Move kitchen sink plumbing and locate kitchen sink over waste pipe.  Put dishwasher to the right of the kitchen sink.  Move garbage disposal plug and switch to the new sink location

2. Move te waste pipe back a few inches to accomodate the dishwasher.

I think option 1 will be much easier and less expensive since it only involves moving pipes 1-2 ft.  There's a call out to our plumber to give us an estimate, but our electrician is starting work tomorrow so I'd like to be able to tell him what to do in terms of dishwasher outlet and whether to move the disposal outlet.  Thanks for your advice!

We also found a ton of termite damage in the kickboards; so glad we're set for tenting in a couple of weeks!

Matt Gragg · Answer

Sarah D. you can build a short wall where the base cabinets will be installed. Put a finished end panel on the end cabinet next to the fridge so you don't see the gap. Your counter top will be a little deeper then the typical 24"-25" counter top. The upper portion of the wall will stay the same so you are still able to hang the wall cabinet next to the window like you mentioned. This will however shift the connecting base cabinets the distance the wall is framed out towards the door in the picture. If it was me I would move the sink below the window and put the stove next to the fridge with a drawer base between them.

Do you have the measurements for the room?

Matt Gragg · Answer

Sarah D. Do you have a picture of the whole room? I have another idea too but need to see how the room is laid out.

Matt Gragg · Answer

Sarah D. Sometimes once the plumbing is altered or touched it will all have to be updated. As the old original plumbing was not installed with the same requirements as today's standards. Sometimes it is less of a headache with city/county, planning, permitting, inspections etc. to fir the wall out. Another option would be to install a larger sink base to eliminate the need for any plumbing being moved.

Matt Gragg · Answer

Sarah D. Another option would be to fir the wall out / build a new wall in front of it. Most areas require this to be accessible as it is a clean out for the sewer line.

Frank S. · Answer

Well, iIt looks like you will be ok if : blind cabinet is 24", DW is 24" your sink is 24", then fridge 30"/33".  Is that a small DW, 18"?  It's hard to tell.  What are the actual dimensions?

That pipe appears to be 4'-6" off the wall.  This will put it within your sink cabinet.   Then, you can install a double Y and provide a p-trap for your sink and an open sight drain for your dishwasher. Local codes may require an air gap fitting above your countertop.    I am not sure if the electrical outlet and water lines will fall within your sink cabinet, draw the dimensions on the wall and see where you land.

Your problem is the 4" cleanout by the orange bucket.  It may interfere with your fridge, it will push your fridge 3" off the wall.  In this case, you can remove the Y and add a T.  Use a Wall Cleanout at the Tee with a stainless steel round cover plate.  Optionally, you could try to rotate the cleanout so it's concealed by the wall and put an access panel.  I think those joints are lead and oakum. you will need to repack the lead after rotating the fitting.  Cross your fingers so nothing brakes.

The pipes look in good shape.  Why don't you open the drywall to confirm?  I did so on my current renovation and found corroded cast iron.  It wasn't fun, but I fixed it.

Sarah D. · Answer

@Aleks Petrov We are putting a corner cabinet there.  I realize this is difficult to envision without the new kitchen drawing, my apologies for not including it.  (the floating cabinet on the left should be above the fridge)

Aleks Petrov · Answer

what if you'll install dishwasher at right side of sink?

Sarah D. · Answer

@Matt Gragg Below are two photos of the whole room.  I realized that furring (sp?) out the wall would impede our ability to put a cabinet near the window, so that might not work.

@Brian Pulaski Based on my measurements the dishwasher would stick out 2 inches, so moving the pipes seems like the best option.

Jassem A. · Answer

I would probably put the dishwasher on the other side

Brian Pulaski · Answer

Have you confirmed the dishwasher will not fit in front of the pipe? It might not sit that close to the wall and allow the pipe clean out to stay. I would confirm this before going crazy just yet.