First House/Installing Utility Sink Questions

[IloveWorts]

Hey guys, been a while since I last posted. I bought my first house and would like to begin brewing again. However I want to install a sink in garage that way I don't mess up the kitchen. Water heater is located in garage has anyone done something like this? Trying to get an idea and of cost.

 

[day_trippr]

Congrats on the first home!

The biggest cost could be the sink, depending on your desires. I do my own plumbing (and electric, and pretty much everything else ) and installed an inexpensive plastic laundry tub (Homedepot, $70 with all of the fittings including a pull-out faucet and all of the necessary supply hoses) in my brew space. Had to install a couple of slip tees and shut-offs where I tapped into the existing copper plumbing in the adjacent utility room, then the under-sink valves, and P-trap and drain setup.

I think all up it was under $200, with all the valves and slip-tees being most of that above the sink itself. It would have easily been a half-day job for a "pro" (hell, it only took me a couple of days ) but that's still going to be a big number - I'm guessing a $500 maybe for the labor.

My house was built in the mid-70s, all copper plumbing, and my brew space is inside the heated envelope, so I stuck with copper. Given you're in a frost-free zone (and then some ) I would consider PEX and crimp rings as it's easier to work with and likely cheaper than copper...

Cheers!

 

[apache_brew]

Congrats on the house!

You’re probably looking at $200-$400 for the sink/faucet itself (look for a used stainless one), $150-$300 for the plumber to connect the supply lines, and your wild card is where your drain line ties in and what’s needed to get to it (chip concrete, go under house, tie into trunk, run vent line, etc...)

 

[IloveWorts]

Thank you for the insight! Ok so sounds like its doable. I'm worried that the location of where I want to tap into the drain line wont be a good spot and then the cost will go up. If I cant install a drain to it I've heard of people just putting a large bucket under the sink. Trying to see what my plan B is. I think I just need t have a plumber come out.

 

[day_trippr]

A bucket in a garage might be doable but if you can find a way to avoid that you'll appreciate it later.
I had to get a bit creative to add a drain through the 4" sanitary clean-out port but it's a godsend not to have to lug drain water around...

Cheers!

 

[KeizerBrewr]

I have a utility sink with complete hook up from the water heater in my garage. Tying into a waste pipe is the only real task to complete.

 

[gnef]

I did it for my brew space as well. I went with the big plastic tub style that can hold a sanke keg laying down. It has come in handy for so many things now, and I am very happy that I installed it.

I sweated the copper lines for both the hot and water cold lines and added valves there as well. For the drain, you definitely want to find a way to get it to be plumbed if at all possible. I brew in the garage/basement near the laundry, and we have a sump pump to pump the wastewater from the washing machine into the waste line which is near the ceiling of the garage/basement, so I just added a Tee there and so the sink just drains into the sump pump.

The costs will vary depending on the sink you want, and how much of the work you want to do yourself (if using copper, can you sweat copper and have a torch/solder/flux?), and where is your nearest drain pipe that you could tie into?

I personally would recommend not going with the bucket route, I can see that becoming a nuisance right away. When I clean my kegs, I soak them overnight completely filled with oxiclean, and then rinse them out, and I do two at a time typically - I can't imagine how many times I would need to pause to dump out a separate drain bucket.

edit - here is an old picture I found:

You can see the sink on the right side, and the sump pump right beside it. There are two copper pipes coming down along the wall on a 2x6, those are the hot and water lines that I Teed from the rest of the house. You can also see the last bit of the waste water line going to the septic tank, it is the large white PVC pipe going into the wall. I have only made minor modifications to the setup, it is essentially the same at this point, and has worked well for me!

 

[jrgtr42]

If you're going to install it in the garage, make sure that you won't get any freezing in winter - that's no good for pipes.
(edit: Just noticed you're in Laguna Beach - don't think you have to worry about that.)
I would also say to get it plumbed to a waste pipe - it may cost more, but it's far more worth it than schlepping buckets outside all the time.
I did know a guy who had a sink jury-rigged from his hot and cold water pipes, then a hose leading out side for a drain. Very ghetto, but it worked, until he was rinsing out a fermenter full of dry-hops (not dry anymore...) and the hose clogged up. Not fun to clean up.

 

[bleme]

I did know a guy who had a sink jury-rigged from his hot and cold water pipes, then a hose leading out side for a drain. Very ghetto, but it worked, until he was rinsing out a fermenter full of dry-hops (not dry anymore...) and the hose clogged up. Not fun to clean up.

If I was going to go the hose route, I think I'd look into using something bigger. I know used 1.5" fire hose is pretty reasonable on eBay but i'm not sure if it would open up without pressure. Maybe a long shop vac hose?

 

[gnef]

If I was going to go the hose route, I think I'd look into using something bigger. I know used 1.5" fire hose is pretty reasonable on eBay but i'm not sure if it would open up without pressure. Maybe a long shop vac hose?

I would personally stay away from anything corrugated, my fear would be that stuff would get caught in the corrugations and start growing stuff as well as clog more easily. I don't know of a good smooth option other than something like large ID pvc tubing, but that tends to be fairly expensive if you need to do a long run.

 

[bleme]

I would personally stay away from anything corrugated, my fear would be that stuff would get caught in the corrugations and start growing stuff as well as clog more easily. I don't know of a good smooth option other than something like large ID pvc tubing, but that tends to be fairly expensive if you need to do a long run.

A pump on the drain should be enough to use fire hose, but then you are looking at an additional $200. It would be a lot easier if there was a washing machine drain in the area.