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Homeowners often choose to install a utility sink in their garage. While the garage doesn’t always have straightforward plumbing like a bathroom or laundry room, it is a simple access point to various supply lines and hookups in your home.
If you don’t want to tromp through your whole house to reach the sink, this setup might be for you.
You’ll need access to drain pipes with both cold water and hot water. In addition, a drain line needs to remove the wastewater.
If you want to DIY this project, it’s best to have some knowledge of plumbing beforehand. Otherwise, you’ll be more likely to damage your piping and your garage.
The step-by-step instructions to install a new utility garage sink is to connect the water supply lines, install the drain pipe, and then install the new sink. Here’s what you’ll need to do for each.
How To Connect The Water Lines
What you’ll need:
- A crescent wrench
- Compression couplings
- Compression fittings
- Copper clips
- Soft copper tubing
Make sure you shut off your main water supply lines prior to doing any DIY plumbing work.
1. Measure how far it is from your water pipes to the sink.
Once you know where you want to place the sink, you’ll need to determine how far your cold water pipes and hot water pipes are.
After you’ve done this, cut two long pieces of copper tubing to the correct measurement. Make them slightly longer than you need so you can adjust the length later.
It’s best for the distance to be under ten feet. As the pipes get farther away, there are more chances of leaks or the water flow being interrupted.
2. Use your wrench to screw a coupling to the ends of both your hot and cold piping.
Double-check that the coupling is tight enough.
3. Attach both copper tubes to the pipes with a compression fitting.
Once you have tubes on the hot and cold pipes, use your wrench to tighten them so they don’t leak.
4. Mark which tube is attached to the hot water pipe and which is attached to the cold water pipe.
You can do this by using a marker or different colored tape. Alternatively, use a paper label on the outside of the tube.
5. Run your tubing along the wall.
Use the copper clips to attach the pipes to the wall so they don’t sag. It’s best to keep them close together to make your plumbing appear more uniform.
The tubing should run along the wall until you get to the place where you’re going to install your faucet and sink.
It’s very important that you don’t bend the tubes. Copper tubes do not have the same flexibility as some other piping materials.
If you bend them, they can break and leak.
How To Install The Drain Pipe
What you’ll need:
- Plumber’s putty
- A large wrench
- PVC piping
- Y PVC pipe fitting
- A drain assembly
1. Install the Y fitting.
Your garage should have a vent pipe to let you hook up the drain. This is typically located somewhere on the wall close to the floor.
Use your plumber’s putty to coat the pipe.
Then take your Y fitting and screw it on so one of the ‘Y’ ends points at the ceiling. The other should point at the floor.
The plumber’s putty will dry around the fitting, which will make a watertight seal. Make sure that you coat the fitting thoroughly enough to avoid any cracks.
2. Attach the drain assembly to the Y pipe.
Find the flange portion of the assembly. Screw this into the part of the pipe that points at the ceiling.
You should also have the strainer attached at this point.
Depending on the assembly, there might be a faucet already included. If yours doesn’t have one, you can purchase a faucet separately.
If you want a garbage disposal attached to your sink, a flange extender might be necessary to make up the distance.
3. Install the P-trap on the remaining part of the Y.
This bit of PVC piping will keep contaminants from moving through the pipe and making your garage smell.
As with any connection, you should use a liberal amount of plumber’s putty and ensure that the seal is airtight.
4. Attach the Y piece to the drain line.
Now that you’ve put all your pieces together, you can attach the Y piece to the drain line. Like the other connections, you should screw it in and use the plumber’s putty to secure it.
Make sure that you place the pipe at an angle that allows the water to drain, instead of placing it levelly.
How To Install The Garage Sink
What you’ll need:
- The sink
- A handsaw
- Silicone sealant
- Nails
- Plywood
- Level
1. Measure your sink and create a plywood countertop.
In order to make sure the sink is not freestanding, you’ll need to clean out a space for a countertop. You don’t always need a fancy stainless steel countertop for your sink.
In fact, plywood materials are available at home improvement stores or online through sites like Amazon.
The sink might also come with a template that shows you the size. Use your measurements to cut a matching hole in your plywood.
Create a countertop with the plywood, using nails to reinforce it and support the sink’s weight.
If you’re really interested in handiwork, you can make a cabinet beneath it.
2. Mount the garage sink on the countertop.
Seal the garage sink’s edges using plumber’s putty around the countertop.
3. Install your faucets.
Attach your water lines to the faucets using the hot and cold tubing from earlier.
For those with separate sprayers, connect your sprayer to the line using an extended coupling. This isn’t necessary if there’s already a sprayer in the spout.
4. Connect your drain pipe to your garage sink drain.
You can do this with your drain assembly, plumber’s putty, and silicone glue.
Once you’ve done this, clear away the excess materials. Turn your mainline water back on. The sink is ready to go.
5. Run the water for a minute to check for leaks.
Make sure you check your P-trap, faucet couplings, and the drain. Everything should stay dry as the water runs.
Conclusion
Installing a utility sink in your garage isn’t always easy. But if you’re handy with tools and plumbing, you can DIY it without needing to worry about the cost of a plumber.
Just make sure that you have all of your tools prepared before you get started. As long as you understand how to make the machinery fit together, you shouldn’t run into any problems.
As with any home improvement job, use caution and consult with your plumber if need be.