Triple threat in the kitchen - three-bowl sink

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Triple threat in the kitchen - three-bowl sink
By ED DEL GRANDE
HGTVPRO.COM

Q: Hi, Ed - I'm remodeling my kitchen and the counterman installed a beautiful "three-bowl" kitchen sink for me in the new countertop.

However, I'm completely lost as to how you hook up a three-bowl sink. This looks like a very complicated job, and I was hoping you could help me understand it a little better before I call my plumber.
Richard

A: Richard, this is a very good question. Simply put, if you can hook up a one-bowl sink you can hook up a three-bowl sink.

First of all, a three-bowl sink will usually require only one faucet, just like a single- or double-bowl sink, so the faucet installation should not change at all.

However, it is a good idea to get a special-order faucet with a longer spout that will easily reach all three bowls. Speaking of the bowls, in a triple-basin sink, the smaller middle bowl is usually for the garbage disposer and each end bowl will have a basket strainer for normal sink use. Once you mount the disposer and basket strainers to the sink you should hook each drain hole up with its own p-trap. This will leave you with three separate traps to hook up to the main sink drain under the sink.

The job now is the same as hooking up three "single" sinks. The trick is to tap into that main sink drain with "Y" fittings that will branch off the main sink drain to each trap under the sink and still leave you with a "clean-out" plug for future drain access if needed.

Sometimes things can be a tight fit and there are always local plumbing codes to follow, so calling your plumber is a good idea. But at least now you know it's not a very complicated job, it's just basically three times the work as a standard kitchen sink to install.

So the bottom line is the reason why most homeowners install just a single- or double-bowl sink is to keep the labor costs out of "triple" digits.

Q: Ed, I'm having a big problem with the water system in my house.

I have a well and somehow air got into my water lines. This makes a lot of noise and I can't get it out no matter how long I run the faucets. How do you purge out a water system? Thanks for any advice.
Rob

A: Rob, you're going to have to look deeper into your problem, and I mean deeper. You need to have a licensed well company check the intake line of your well pump for leaks.

Remember, a well-intake line to the pump is usually a suction line that creates a vacuum and pulls the water out of the well. If you have any tiny leaks that are not submerged in water, they may actually allow some air to be sucked into the system and that could be the reason you have all that air in your water lines. This is not good for the pump, either.

Under normal conditions, running the fixtures in the house should purge small air pockets out of the system. Constant air in the system usually points to air somehow mixing in with the water supply. If you are on a city system you need to call your water department. In your case Rob, contact the repair company that works in your well.