Any Plumbers out there?

[redraider]

I bought a new house last summer. The porcelain kitchen sink and faucet where looking a little ragged so I decided it was time to replace them. I bought a new composite granite sink and faucet from Home Depot. They want to charge me $292 to take out the old sink and install the new one. Is that price about right? It is just a drop in sink. I know absolutely nothing about plumbing and have almost nothing for tools. I dont mind paying someone to istall it. I just dont want to take a beating on the price either. All of the plumbers I have called in my area have said they won't do estimates over the phone and there is a $35 service charge to come out and give an estimate. Anyone have a good idea?

Thanks
DE



updated with pics further down.. Thanks for all of the advice!!

 

[Ty Atkinson]

Im not a plumber but ill throw in my two cents.

Most sinks are held in with just silicone and retaining clips underneath, if you grab a flashlight and stick your head under there and look you should be able to see them.
Normally all you need to do is remove the plumbing under the sink take the clips off and pull it out worst case you will need to use a razor to try to cut away the old silicone.

you can use the drains and the old faucet to help pull it out, be careful if you plan on using something to pry it up not to mess up your counter top.
Not sure what kind of counter top you have.

Secondly a big issue could be if the sizes actually match with the new one you bought, you can always make the hole bigger but not the opposite.
I replaced counter tops and cut the hole and installed my sink about a month ago, its not hard and something you should be able to do yourself.

You can use the old pipes as a good example of what you need to buy new.

 

[redraider]

I did buy the right size sink. The main problem I am going to have is that the drains for the new sink do not match up with the old one. I am afraid I would screw something up by cutting and adding new pipe, as well as trying to reinstall the garbage disposal.

 

[Ty Atkinson]

Dont want you to think i was insinuating anything about the size of the sink comment just have run into issues before myself.
They sell a kit to install the garbage disposal to the new sink, its basically a retaining ring that keeps the thing together.

http://www.hometips.com/diy-how-to/install-garbage-disposal.html

Understand if your not comfortable installing the new plumbing but i know you could do it, only tool you really need to do all this is a hacksaw and a screwdriver.
But if you have someone install it i would definatly not be paying them to remove it.

 

[redraider]

Dont want you to think i was insinuating anything about the size of the sink comment just have run into issues before myself.
They sell a kit to install the garbage disposal to the new sink, its basically a retaining ring that keeps the thing together.

http://www.hometips.com/diy-how-to/install-garbage-disposal.html

Understand if your not comfortable installing the new plumbing but i know you could do it, only tool you really need to do all this is a hacksaw and a screwdriver.
But if you have someone install it i would definatly not be paying them to remove it.

No worries, I origionally bought the wrong size and had to return it!! :laugh: Who would have thought that all sinks where not the same size :laugh:

 

[Marine6186]

I agree with Ty. Basic plumbing is very simple. I am not a plumber by any means. But, to install a sink that mounts on top of your counter top should be a quick simple job. Biggest things are like Ty said be careful how you pull the sink off. I would think the easiest way it do your best to remove the silicon and push up from the bottom. Then all you have to do is make sure you turn the water off before you disconnect the lines.

PVC piping is really easy to work with. Make sure you put the "S" joint in there and buy some PVC cement and put the pieces together.

Good luck to you. I bought a house 2 years ago and did as much work as I possible could myself and it was a lot easier then I thought it would be. Could save yourself a couple hundred bucks.

 

[Breedy]

It should be fairly straight forward. With that being said, it will take 3 times the amount of time anyone tells you and by the time you are done the plumbing section of the hardware store will being thanking you for securing the children's college funds.

Seriously, you should be able to complete this project with tools you have (or should have) on hand. Go slow, make sure you look at your old set up for reference. Hell take pictures if it will help.

Dry fit everything, make sure you buy all the right/same sized PVC. Invest in some Plumbers Putty. Go Slow. Don't get mad, it only makes things worse. It wasn't your wife/girlfriends fault, but yelling does make you feel better in the short term. Feeling better in the short term is expensive in the long term. Two part PVC cement will stain. PVC compression fittings will leak if not tight enough of if you didn't use enough plumber's putty.

The only hang-up is the garbage disposal. If one is already in place and working then it shouldn't be that big of a deal. However, if you have to run electrical for it I suggest getting a licensed electrician. Not that electrical is all that difficult either, but you don't want to over load a circuit and leaks in the drain don't burn your house down. Shoddy electrical work can. Other than the electrical the disposal has a couple of rings and some screws, nothing to it.

At the end of the day on you can decide if this will be to much for you. My advice would be to try it. Go Slow. Think things thru, DON'T yell at your wife/girlfriend.

 

[redraider]

It should be fairly straight forward. With that being said, it will take 3 times the amount of time anyone tells you and by the time you are done the plumbing section of the hardware store will being thanking you for securing the children's college funds.

Seriously, you should be able to complete this project with tools you have (or should have) on hand. Go slow, make sure you look at your old set up for reference. Hell take pictures if it will help.

Dry fit everything, make sure you buy all the right/same sized PVC. Invest in some Plumbers Putty. Go Slow. Don't get mad, it only makes things worse. It wasn't your wife/girlfriends fault, but yelling does make you feel better in the short term. Feeling better in the short term is expensive in the long term. Two part PVC cement will stain. PVC compression fittings will leak if not tight enough of if you didn't use enough plumber's putty.

The only hang-up is the garbage disposal. If one is already in place and working then it shouldn't be that big of a deal. However, if you have to run electrical for it I suggest getting a licensed electrician. Not that electrical is all that difficult either, but you don't want to over load a circuit and leaks in the drain don't burn your house down. Shoddy electrical work can. Other than the electrical the disposal has a couple of rings and some screws, nothing to it.

At the end of the day on you can decide if this will be to much for you. My advice would be to try it. Go Slow. Think things thru, DON'T yell at your wife/girlfriend.

I think I might give it a shot, Worse case scenario I have to call someone in to fix all of my mistakes!! I will tell the wife to hit the road for half the day though

 

[Breedy]

Don't blame me when you drop a pipe wrench on your face!

 

[Rural Guy]

Only thing I'd say is regardless if you do it or you pay someone to do it, have shut offs installed at the sink. You may already have that done. Might take a few extra minutes or cost a couple extra bucks (but shouldn't be much) but it is well worth it. Next time you want to change the sink or faucets no cutting off water to the house, just to that sink.

 

[Marine6186]

Only thing I'd say is regardless if you do it or you pay someone to do it, have shut offs installed at the sink. You may already have that done. Might take a few extra minutes or cost a couple extra bucks (but shouldn't be much) but it is well worth it. Next time you want to change the sink or faucets no cutting off water to the house, just to that sink.

Very good advice. I put shutoffs on all my sinks and toilets and then have a couple more in the basement to isolate kitchen and baths separately, in case I do another major remodel.

 

[Shamrocker]

Not a plumber here, but my dad and I re-ran the drainpipe for my bathroom sink when we changed from a pedestal to a sink with a storage cabinet. The advice he gave me was: dry fit all your connections before you start using any of the PVC cement. Once you have the pieces in place, use a grease pencil, or even masking tape with a pen mark at each joint to help identify which piece goes where and how they orient with each other. If you aren't familiar with the way the PVC cement sets, play with a few scraps and get the feel of making the joins.

I did install a new kitchen faucet by myself 6 months ago and it went smoothly. Read and re-read the instructions, and mentally plan the steps to ensure you have all you need before you tear things apart. Starting earlier in the day is best, that way if you are missing something... the hardware store is still open!

 

[redraider]

Well I finally got her done!!
I went from this...

To this..

I splurged a little on the faucet and got this one.

Delta Touch 2.0

It only took me 4 hours and a 6 pack for a buddy and myself. The faucet is pretty kick ass. With it being touch activated the wiring took us a little longer to get right. Thanks for all of the advice!!

 

[Marine6186]

Looks great man. Glad you went with every ones advice and did it yourself. Saved you enough to get that fancy faucet huh! :thumbs:

 

[JonDot]

Well I finally got her done!!
I went from this...

To this..

I splurged a little on the faucet and got this one.

Delta Touch 2.0

It only took me 4 hours and a 6 pack for a buddy and myself. The faucet is pretty kick ass. With it being touch activated the wiring took us a little longer to get right. Thanks for all of the advice!!

Nice looking job and cool faucet!

 

[redraider]

Yup, doing it my self I did splurge on the faucet. It is amazing how a fairly small improvement to the kitchen makes such a big difference asthetically...