We recently installed a new vanity, however, we can't seem to get the P-Trap/J- Bend (are they interchangeable?) to seal. The drain from the wall is offset to the left of the sink drain about 4" and the center of the sink drain is 8" from the back of the vanity. We used a couple of elbows to connect the trap to the drain pipe coming from the wall, these elbows are now leaking considerably. My question is this...

Does using the elbows obstruct the flow of the waste water? And is there a simpler way to connect the offset sink to the trap to the wall? We are considering calling a contractor because what started as a fun team-building family project is getting frustrating. I am sure it is something simple... I hope!

BTW, you all are great on this site. We have used the answers several times... thank you, Answerers, for the help!

Each elbow does slow down the drain but you should be OK with maybe two 45s. Never install a 90 in your drain. Are you using PVC drains? Make sure the plastic washer is installed correctly, pipes line up, and the nuts is tightened by hand. My guess without a picture is that your pipes do not line up and are under a strain when you tighten the nuts. In most cases like yours you can line up with only one 45 elbow. One step down the ladder you can also buy a pipe that has a flexible length in it but plumbers probably would not be caught dead installing one.

Okay, great, we used two 90's (Duh), yes, PVC drains... we bought a J-Bend by accident, instead of P-Trap, but it appeared to be the same thing. I will get the 45s and hopefully that will fix it. PVC joints are compression fittings, right?

You should be able to rotate your trap around so that you only need one 45 and two lateral drains to line up. Yep, PVC drains are like a compression fitting.