Plumbing Conundrum

[Gary Burnett]

Okay guys, help me out here.

Today's inspection has a homeowner installed wet bar sink. He tapped into the adjacent bathroom tub water lines for the supply and tapped into the tub's drain for drainage.

There is no P trap under the bar sink......although there is one for the bathtub that it drains into.
Jerry says the top of the p trap weir needs to be a maximum of 24" from the tailpiece. It isn't.
If he installs a P trap (like you would normally see under the sink, then the fixture would be double trapped which is not allowed.

So do I write it up as: No P trap? P trap exceeds maximum distance from tailpiece?
Or both, and say don't mess with it unless it stinks. Then do something because sewer gas is escaping to the bar.

[Jerry Peck]

Each fixture requires its own trap (except two and three compartment sinks, which are allowed to be considered as one fixture and have one trap) - there are two fixtures there (wet bar sink and bathtub) ... there is only one trap ... the trap for the bathtub ... thus the wet bar sink 'does not have a trap', and the height from the outlet of the fixture (not from the tailpiece, but from where the tailpiece attaches to at the outlet of the fixture) does not matter as ... there is no trap.

[Jim Luttrall]

The home owner installed plumbing it wrong and needs to be corrected by a competent licensed plumber.

[Gunnar Alquist]

Each fixture requires its own trap (except two and three compartment sinks, which are allowed to be considered as one fixture and have one trap) - there are two fixtures there (wet bar sink and bathtub) ... there is only one trap ... the trap for the bathtub ... thus the wet bar sink 'does not have a trap', and the height from the outlet of the fixture (not from the tailpiece, but from where the tailpiece attaches to at the outlet of the fixture) does not matter as ... there is no trap.

But, if I understand you correctly, if it is connected to the tub line above the tub trap and a trap is then installed under the sink, then it would be double-trapped.

[Jerry Peck]

But, if I understand you correctly, if it is connected to the tub line above the tub trap and a trap is then installed under the sink, then it would be double-trapped.

As we are all presuming it to be connected (connected in after the tub drain) - correct.

But ... if it is connected in before the tub drain (while unlikely, it is possible), then it would simply be "not trapped", and the tub would not be affected.

[Gary Burnett]

I couldn't see it, but when I had the bar sink running I could hear it draining in to the tub. I actually think it may be connected to the tub overflow and is in fact using the tub trap.
I agree, it was not correctly installed and there probably isn't an easy fix other than having a "real" plumber install it.
I thought it was pretty funny. The seller was also a lousy floor installer. Floors looked OK in the middle but were a little rough around the edges. No transitions from wood to tile and tile was about 1/4" higher than the wood.

[Jim Robinson]

Was it on a slab, or with a crawl space? Honestly if it was on a slab, I may have done the same thing. I know it's not right, but the job would be over and it looks like there is beer on tap waiting for someone to pull the handle.

[Jerry Peck]

Was it on a slab, or with a crawl space? Honestly if it was on a slab, I may have done the same thing. I know it's not right, but the job would be over and it looks like there is beer on tap waiting for someone to pull the handle.

Admitting that on a public forum takes guts! :D

Least we forget, that is a 120 volt receptacle, 15 or 20 amp, and if ... we don't know by the description ... if it is in a bathroom room (the wet bar may be in the bathroom), then it needs GFCI protection, and ... if it is not in a bathroom, that receptacle still requires GFCI protection because it is at the wet bar.

But, connecting the sink to the tub overflow ... really? :confused: :shocked: :yield:

[Garry Sorrells]

You are forgetting the insormoutabl wisdom of the later day profit,

"Gert-r-done"..