We purchased a new home. The washer drain box is a two piece. The washer connectors and drain are in the top piece recessed into the wall and then the bottom piece is supposed to connect to the top piece. It will not connect and leaves a gap through which you can see drywall. The builder's plumber says this isn't a problem because the drain box is not supposed to prevent leaks from going into the drywall. It may not prevent leaks, but if there should be a leak, the gap between where the pieces of the box don't connect will certainly allow water to go straight down the wall of the laundry room and the connecting wall which is the Master BR wall. This has already happened. They sent a plumber out who said the two pieces could not be connected without cutting into the drywall and then having to repair that. He could not make them fit together and put some silicone over the gap which did not hold and the gap between the two pieces started again.

A picture would sure help understand your problem.

47110

Water should not show up/ back up... it's really the only way water would show up in the box. If water backs up at this time then, most likely, the stand pipe behind the wall is too short (should be minimum of 18" tall) and that would be a problem to deal with now.

Otherwise, as much as the box is not roughed in correctly, I have seen plenty of jobs where this happened and there were definitely no problems as a result of it! If you really want to pursue it, it seems to me that theses guys should fix it and repair the wallboard (and paint) as there is a minimum of a one year warranty.



Back to you...

Mark

Yes, please show a picture.


The washer connectors and drain are in the top piece

I want to see a drain that goes out the top of a box.

Hi Harold! They did post a picture... click on the "attachment"... just a regular old washing machine box with water and drain. Hopefully, they will return to discuss more!

How are you making out with the snow? We have NEVER seen anything like this in a single month! I'm parking my truck as much as 1/4 mile +/- from many jobs as I can't get my truck down the roads or can't park properly... really a mess lately?!

Hi Mark,
For some reason those attachments don't work for me.
I want to see a drain go up hill.

The washer connectors and drain are in the top piece


Snow here is nothing like what you have. It comes, it goes. Granted its been colder than usual. I try to say inside if possible. I don't like the cold. Did have to go to fix leak. Found out I was out of acetylene, on way to plumbing supply, saw road conditions. Called customer "I'll be back on Monday". Just wasn't worth the risk.

Water should not show up/ back up... it's really the only way water would show up in the box. If water backs up at this time then, most likely, the stand pipe behind the wall is too short (should be minimum of 18" tall) and that would be a problem to deal with now.

Otherwise, as much as the box is not roughed in correctly, I have seen plenty of jobs where this happened and there were definitely no problems as a result of it! If you really want to pursue it, it seems to me that theses guys should fix it and repair the wallboard (and paint) as there is a minimum of a one year warranty.



Back to you...

Mark

The water seemed to be coming from the pipe in the wall, as if it weren't connected well to the part that connects to the washer connection. The water was coming from somewhere lower down than where the connector in the wall and the washer connection are connected. The washer connection had been double checked and was very secure before we started washing clothes. The plumber they sent out the first time said he didn't know where the water was coming from, then he said it must have been the washer connection wasn't good or maybe it was from under the washer. The water went down the wall through the gap left from the drain box not being connected into the Master BR wall, carpet, and baseboard. The plumber did something, the leak stopped, and we are washing clothes without incident. The plumber could not get the two pieces of the drain box to fit together and there is still a gap. He put silicone over the gap, but it pulled apart leaving a hole again, exposing the drywall, etc. He said he could not replace the box because of the way the top piece of the box was attached to the wall. They would have to remove the wall and put in a new box and then the wall would have to be replaced and he doesn't do that. Now the plumbing company is telling us the box is just for show and the fact that the two pieces do not fit together, exposing the wall is of no concern. I understand that the box will not prevent water from running onto the wall if there should be another leak, but if it were a one piece box or the two pieces connected together and the wall was not exposed, and there were another leak, the water would first run over the side of the box onto the floor, and perhaps onto the laundry room wall, but not the Master BR Wall on the other side of the laundry room.

You have two different issues, a leak,which can occur anywhere, and must be fixed, and the washer box installation, which require a different skill set than a plumber may have. Fix your leak and test, then call a carpenter/plasterer, not a plumber to fit the box properly, and finish the job.

That' what the plumber was trying to tell you all along.


The plumber could not get the two pieces of the drain box to fit together and there is still a gap. He put silicone over the gap, but it pulled apart leaving a hole again, exposing the drywall, etc. He said he could not replace the box because of the way the top piece of the box was attached to the wall. They would have to remove the wall and put in a new box and then the wall would have to be replaced and he doesn't do that.

You have two different issues, a leak,which can occur anywhere, and must be fixed, and the washer box installation, which require a different skill set than a plumber may have. Fix your leak and test, then call a carpenter/plasterer, not a plumber to fit the box properly, and finish the job.

That' what the plumber was trying to tell you all along.


It is a new house with a one year stem to stern builder's warranty. The builder is the one that keeps sending a plumber to fix the drain box.

The box is not set properly. The box portion should be flush with the drywall and the cover snaps in. The supply can come from the bottom or the top, I have one of both, the drain always down. There should be no visible gap when the cover is properly seated

It is a new house with a one year stem to stern builder's warranty. The builder is the one that keeps sending a plumber to fix the drain box.

Now that you know what's needed, tell him directly what you want, a guy to fix the wall after proper installation of the drain box, not a plumber.