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mckelveyesquire · Mar 28, 2011, 09:30 AM

I had a contractor replace a sink that had an airgap with a sink that did not. There has been at least 3 separate incidences where water has flowed out of the dishwasher and through the overflow hose and emptied right into our cabinet below the sink. The overflow hose isntconnected into anything. The contractor had told me that the water would just flow into the disposal and down the main drain. That hasn't happened and that contractor went AWOL. How can I fix?

ebaines · Mar 28, 2011, 09:50 AM

Please clarify - the plumber connected the drain hose from the dish washer directly to the disposal, right? My bet is that he forgot to remove the knock out plug that's normally in there.

massplumber2008 · Mar 28, 2011, 10:03 AM

Hi Mckelvey...

Was a building/plumbing permit pulled on the job? Sounds like there should have been, for sure!

If no permit was pulled I would call the contractor back and give him 24 hours to respond/resolve this issue by sending in a licensed plumber (that should pull a permit) or you will call the local building inspector and report him for the many violations/shortcuts he took.

If he doesn't respond then you should call the inspector and see what he thinks about this. If the inspector knows the guy, he'll call him and I'd bet the contractor resolves soon thereafter... ;)

It sounds like an air gap is code in your area, so it should have been reinstalled. In fact, it could come back and haunt you somewhere down the road when you decide to sell the home as the home inspector will definitely call you out on this if the air gap is a requirement in your area.

Let us know how you make out, OK?

Mark

joypulv · Mar 28, 2011, 10:03 AM

The new sink doesn't have a hole for an air gap? Is your disposal inlet less than 18" from the bottom of the cabinet? Is your drain hose from the dishwasher looped as high as it can go up under the top of the cab?

mckelveyesquire · Mar 29, 2011, 08:28 AM

Thank you for all the comments and questions. The job was completed about 9 months ago. The contractor won a bid on another project in the house and said he could do this one as well for no cost, so there wasn't a permit pulled to replace the sink and install a garbage disposal. The contractor who installed the sink is now in jail on missing child support payments, so he'll be no help.

Our previous stainless steel sink had the air gap coming out the top of the sink through one of the prefabricated holes. The installed 4-hole sink only had room for faucet, sprayer and hot/cold handles. Contractor told us airgap could be looped underneath and wouldn't be a problem because dishwasher hose is connected to disposal so all run-off water would go through disposal.

The diagram on one of your answers was very helpful. The disposal installed has the dishwasher inlet pipe at the top and a second pipe that flows into the main drain. The knockout was removed. If it wasn't, I presume this water problem would have been much more serious many months ago.

The dishwasher hose comes through at the base of the cabinetry and then is looped up to the top of the cabinetry and connects to the disposal hose that takes the water down to the disposal. I could remove the two clamps and the hose and see if there is an impediment/clog in the hose that is causing the water to go out the end of the air gap?

We really do not want to have to buy another new sink with five holes (instead of four) because of the money spent on this one (I don't think Lowe's will take their sink back). I guess we could remove the sprayer connection and have the air gap come through that existing prefabricated hole. That doesn't solve the current overflow problem. Perhaps if I can take the hose and clamps off, there could be a clog or obstruction that is causing the water to come out the overflow.

I've read many people who connect their airgap under their cabinetry and its never been a problem - perhaps I am the one exception.

mckelveyesquire · Mar 29, 2011, 08:33 AM

The job was completed about 9 months ago. The contractor won a bid on another project in the house and said he could do this one as well for no cost, so there wasn't a permit pulled to replace the sink and install a garbage disposal. The contractor who installed the sink is now in jail on missing child support payments, so he'll be no help. Our previous stainless steel sink had the air gap coming out the top of the sink through one of the prefabricated holes. The installed 4-hole sink only had room for faucet, sprayer and hot/cold handles. Contractor told us airgap could be looped underneath and wouldn't be a problem because dishwasher hose is connected to disposal so all run-off water would go through disposal. The diagram on one of your answers was very helpful. The disposal installed has the dishwasher inlet pipe at the top and a second pipe that flows into the main drain. The knockout was removed.

mckelveyesquire · Mar 29, 2011, 08:33 AM

The dishwasher hose comes through at the base of the cabinetry and then is looped up to the top of the cabinetry and connects to the disposal hose that takes the water down to the disposal. I could remove the two clamps and the hose and see if there is an impediment/clog in the hose that is causing the water to go out the end of the air gap?

We really do not want to have to buy another new sink with five holes (instead of four) because of the money spent on this one (I don't think Lowe's will take their sink back). I guess we could remove the sprayer connection and have the air gap come through that existing prefabricated hole. That doesn't solve the current overflow problem. Perhaps if I can take the hose and clamps off, there could be a clog or obstruction that is causing the water to come out the overflow.

I've read many people who connect their airgap under their cabinetry and its never been a problem - perhaps I am the one exception.

mckelveyesquire · Mar 29, 2011, 08:34 AM

The job was completed about 9 months ago. The contractor won a bid on another project in the house and said he could do this one as well for no cost, so there wasn't a permit pulled to replace the sink and install a garbage disposal. The contractor who installed the sink is now in jail on missing child support payments, so he'll be no help. Our previous stainless steel sink had the air gap coming out the top of the sink through one of the prefabricated holes. The installed 4-hole sink only had room for faucet, sprayer and hot/cold handles. Contractor told us airgap could be looped underneath and wouldn't be a problem because dishwasher hose is connected to disposal so all run-off water would go through disposal. The diagram on one of your answers was very helpful. The disposal installed has the dishwasher inlet pipe at the top and a second pipe that flows into the main drain. The knockout was removed.

mckelveyesquire · Mar 29, 2011, 08:34 AM

The dishwasher hose comes through at the base of the cabinetry and then is looped up to the top of the cabinetry and connects to the disposal hose that takes the water down to the disposal. I could remove the two clamps and the hose and see if there is an impediment/clog in the hose that is causing the water to go out the end of the air gap?

We really do not want to have to buy another new sink with five holes (instead of four) because of the money spent on this one (I don't think Lowe's will take their sink back). I guess we could remove the sprayer connection and have the air gap come through that existing prefabricated hole. That doesn't solve the current overflow problem. Perhaps if I can take the hose and clamps off, there could be a clog or obstruction that is causing the water to come out the overflow.

I've read many people who connect their airgap under their cabinetry and its never been a problem - perhaps I am the one exception.

mckelveyesquire · Mar 29, 2011, 08:34 AM

The job was completed about 9 months ago. The contractor won a bid on another project in the house and said he could do this one as well for no cost, so there wasn't a permit pulled to replace the sink and install a garbage disposal. The contractor who installed the sink is now in jail on missing child support payments, so he'll be no help. Our previous stainless steel sink had the air gap coming out the top of the sink through one of the prefabricated holes. The installed 4-hole sink only had room for faucet, sprayer and hot/cold handles. Contractor told us airgap could be looped underneath and wouldn't be a problem because dishwasher hose is connected to disposal so all run-off water would go through disposal. The diagram on one of your answers was very helpful. The disposal installed has the dishwasher inlet pipe at the top and a second pipe that flows into the main drain. The knockout was removed.

mckelveyesquire · Mar 29, 2011, 08:34 AM

The dishwasher hose comes through at the base of the cabinetry and then is looped up to the top of the cabinetry and connects to the disposal hose that takes the water down to the disposal. I could remove the two clamps and the hose and see if there is an impediment/clog in the hose that is causing the water to go out the end of the air gap?

We really do not want to have to buy another new sink with five holes (instead of four) because of the money spent on this one (I don't think Lowe's will take their sink back). I guess we could remove the sprayer connection and have the air gap come through that existing prefabricated hole. That doesn't solve the current overflow problem. Perhaps if I can take the hose and clamps off, there could be a clog or obstruction that is causing the water to come out the overflow.

I've read many people who connect their airgap under their cabinetry and its never been a problem - perhaps I am the one exception.

ebaines · Mar 29, 2011, 08:42 AM

The issue may be that the flow rate through the disposal and drain is not sufficient to keep up with the flow out of the dishwasher, thus causing a back up that causes water to come out of the air gap. The result is a mess, and is the reason why putting an air gap in the cabinet is not recommended. Do you know whether your local code requires an air gap? It would be nice if you could eliminate it and simply use a "high loop" to connect the dishwasher directly to the disposal.