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Clever way to create access panel in this kitchen unit?

Some_randomer

So I have a kitchen unit in the corner underneath the sink, and under the unit are some 4 inch pipes, and to the right of it a space with more piping and an ensuite bedroom on the other side.

I need to get access to the pipework underneath and at the side of the unit, so what's the best way to do this? Is there a clever way of cutting out the bottom and side panels and have them so they can clip back into place, without having to remove the whole unit? Any thoughts appreciated 👍️

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10-10-20

Hi. So the piece up against the rear wall is retaining the whole unit due to the depth of the sink.

What I'd do is firstly support the sink and worktop using wooden supports. The supports need to be both sides of the sink to prevent a slip. Then drop the cabinet by slackening off the legs (turn the foot anti-clockwise). Then I'd use a hammer to break the bond between the left-hand panel and that horizontal piece against the rear wall. Then once loose from the left side, tear out that horizontal piece altogether. That should free-up the cabinet for withdrawal from under the sink.

smuggler.ie

How handy you are and what tools you have at disposal? Do you have router? If so you could:

1.Introduce additional support to keep cabinet shape at the back bottom - heavy-duty angle brackets affixed to the wall and cabinet, providing cabinet R side is right against the wall - screws to the stud/block-work(yellow), you want v-good support on the both sides as your sink seem heavy.
Front L leg seem to far from the edge that it should support(does that bottom bowing under wight or its picture at the angle distortion?) - see if can be moved to the left as close under cabinet left wall for better support.

2.Pre-drill pilot holes for router-bit to go in(just to the depth of panel thickness+0.1mm) and trim-out red outlined sections(pat-saw the bits at the corners that router cant get), keeping 4-5 inch of the bottom panel to allow cabinet legs to stay as they are(loosing one leg far right, unclear if there is one at all…).

3.To cover up, you will require new bottom and some side panel(navy). Few screws to the original bottom(whats left of it) and perhaps some support at the far R corner.

See if this would work for you

BTW: what is this?!?

Some_randomer

- See if this would work for you

Sounds great, when can you start?😋

- BTW: what is this?!?

Well, how long have you got? The reason I need access to this pipework is that I recently had a new en suite installed in the bedroom on the other side of the kitchen wall. Unfortunately, the plumber that did the job botched it and there's a leak in the new en suite shower, which I discovered when the floorboards were sopping wet the morning after using it the first time. As well as that, the new toilet and shower start backing up when the kitchen tap runs or the dishwasher drains, and the washing machine leaks all over the floor when it's used.

The 4-inch pipes that are visible under the kitchen unit were needed for the new toilet and shower. The dishwasher used to be in that corner of the kitchen, but as the new pipes are jutting so far into the kitchen, it was necessary to swap around the kitchen sink and dishwasher. So that blank plate that you highlighted used to be an electrical socket.

To make matters worse, the plumber stopped answering my calls and messages and has gone awol, so now I have to start taking this apart and find another plumber to sort it. I have a post about it here if you fancy some light reading:

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058367669/leak-in-new-ensuite-should-i-have-to-pay-to-fix-it

I found the plumber on the aam forum, he answers a fair few plumbing questions there and he's also on here.

awec

@Some_randomer he's asking about the blanking plate behind the tap, which looks like a blanking late for a double socket.

If it is electrical, having that this close to a sink is against regs, this is definitely not safe.

con747

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122703821#Comment_122703821

He said what it used to be. "So that blank plate that you highlighted used to be an electrical socket"

Some_randomer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122703821#Comment_122703821

Thanks @awec, yes I said in my reply that it's a blanking plate for an electrical socket. It was done by an electrician that the plumber got to do the wiring for the en suite, so I assumed it was safe if it was done by a qualified electrician?

con747

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122703845#Comment_122703845

If the plumber got the electrician maybe double check he wasn't as bad as the plumber and didn't just put a blank on the live socket!

ted1

I’m not a Plumber but I can’t imagine that the soil pipe was ever going to work

IMG_3218.png

to many bends and not enough of a slope

awec

Doh, I'm blind!

I guess blanking plate is all you can really do here.

Some_randomer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122703860#Comment_122703860

Fair point, I don't know though as I didn't get any completion certs for the electrical work, those are gone awol along with the plumber.

Some_randomer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122703863#Comment_122703863

I think you're right. I now have to figure out a solution for it.

con747

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122703946#Comment_122703946

Unscrew the two screws and see whats behind it. If there are terminated wires test to be sure there not live.

Some_randomer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122703863#Comment_122703863

Can you think of an alternative approach?

awec

Looking at those pics I'm confused as to why there is a soil pipe under the kitchen at all? I'm not a plumber either though.

10-10-20

I'd suggest that the toilet needs to be raised.

Some_randomer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122704031#Comment_122704031

This is what the plumber said: "I used 2 45 fittings because the angle was too acute to fit a 90 degree."

So the new pipework had to loop around in order to connect to the soil stack. Along with the new shower and toilet, there's also a sink, washing machine, and dishwasher connecting to the stack.

standardg60

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122704031#Comment_122704031

Reading the other thread I can't get my head around it, there was already a 4 inch T off the soil stack that the sink fed into. It should have been straightforward to connect the new toilet pipe directly into it, but instead they needlessly ran a pipe into the kitchen leading to a bizarre series of turns for the toilet pipe.

OP that all needs to come out and be re-done properly, and it seems the shower tray connection is leaking too so that will have to be checked. All in all looks like you've been badly had here, all cash, no certs, no receipts, no invoice, and all communication over Whatsapp.

standardg60

I should add them cracking the sink and telling you to buy a new one is the icing on the cake.

awec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122704266#Comment_122704266

I don't understand why there needs to be any 4" soil pipe in the kitchen there at all. What am I missing?

Why isn't there just 40mm pipe coming from the dishwasher and the new shower and the sink running into a soil pipe somewhere nearer the down pipe?

Some_randomer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122704711#Comment_122704711

There's only one connection to the main soil stack in the apartment. This already had the wm, sink, and dishwasher. So to get the new 4-inch waste for the toilet and new 1 inch for the shower, this is how the plumber did it. This pic shows the hopper / connection to the soil stack before the en suite was added:

awec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122704818#Comment_122704818

So as you stand looking at your kitchen sink, is this photo taken down and to the right?

Where does the soil pipe coming out of the toilet join onto this new pipework? Does that new soil pipe looping around under your sink already have the toilet outflow on it somewhere upstream?

standardg60

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122704711#Comment_122704711

I've no idea either, running the soil pipe straight over and then connecting the others to it is what should have been done.

Doubt there should have been any need to move the sink and dishwasher then. This should be on the WTF plumbing thread.

Some_randomer

- So as you stand looking at your kitchen sink, is this photo taken down and to the right?

Yes exactly, that's the cavity between the kitchen and the bedroom where the new en suite was added.

- Where does the soil pipe coming out of the toilet join onto this new pipework? Does that new soil pipe looping around under your sink already have the toilet outflow on it somewhere upstream?

The new toilet coming from the en suite connects to the new chicane pipework and loops back to the soil stack. The plumber said the angle was too tight to go direct, so this was why he did it this way. These pics might give a better idea - the first one shows the soil stack from the new bedroom en suite side, and then the pipes as they come in to the kitchen:

Some_randomer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122704266#Comment_122704266

Ya he explained why he needed to do this new chicane pipework but to me it seems overly complicated. Now I've got a leaking shower and water backing up into the shower and toilet whenever the kitchen tap or dishwasher are run. Not to mention a flood from the washing machine when I did a wash, that seems to be backing up also. It's a complete dog's dinner tbh.

Some_randomer

This is a pic taken from behind the corner unit in the kitchen, and looking back into the bedroom / en suite corner:

standardg60

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122704818#Comment_122704818

Right there is where the soil pipe from the toilet should have gone directly. The 40ml pipe should have been connected to the soil pipe exactly where you see it!

The mind boggles.

10-10-20

How long is that flex-pipe from the back of the toilet? Is it really around 3 or so feet?

Some_randomer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122705046#Comment_122705046

Squeezing a camera in behind the toilet and taking a video, I'm guesstimating that it's between 3 and 4 feet.

Vfrtgb

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122705078#Comment_122705078

The guy that did your plumbing work, does he post here with a username with the initials "p a"? If so, I don't know what due diligence you did but from reading his posts here he doesn't seem to be a plumber.

awec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122704912#Comment_122704912

I don't see how this would ever work? That flex pipe will literally fill with shite. The last foot of it at least looks to be completely horizontal, and I bet the point where it connects to the solid soil pipe is slightly uphill too.

And that soil pipe under the kitchen is going to fill with shite too due to the lack of a sufficient drop.

I think the thing with soil pipes is if they have to be at a particular gradient if they are not a vertical drop. If they are too shallow (like yours) they will just back up. If they are too steep, the liquid will run too fast and leave the solids behind.

Look, I am not a plumber at all, but looking at these pictures it looks like there's a real chance you will eventually get the waste from your toilet backflowing to your en-suite shower and your washing machine.