Hello, I am wanting to fix a leak in the drainage pipes below kitchen sink. When you look under the corner kitchen sink, it appears that there was never a p-trap installed. We noticed years ago that our finished basement wall below the kitchen area had brown streaks of liquid coming down and that the ceiling was stained there, so we had a plumber come out and had to cut an access panel to that area in the basement. First plumber said that he tightened things up and added "something" to help it to not leak. The plumber did seem to think that the p-trap that was found after the access was made was in a strange place, but he did not decide to do anything about it. We thought all was good.
We don't go in the basement much so not sure how long the first "fix" lasted. Went down in the basement one day and noticed the brown streaks coming down the wall again. Called a different plumber to come look at it and he said that the trap shouldn't be where it is, but he didn't seem to think it was important enough to move it either. He stated that he used his wrench to tighten the nut and that it should be fine. He said people usually hand tighten and that in this case it just needed to be tightened with a wrench. He said to give him a call if this didn't work. Well, it didn't work and we feel like we are wasting money on having plumbers come out and not fixing the problem.
I think the leak is coming from a coupler under the sink area. I notice when we use the garbage disposal that it sometimes causes a great deal of vibration and perhaps that has caused a joint to leak. I am also wondering if there should be some kind of venting because the double sink sometimes drains slow, usually have to push the rubber disposal baffle in to help the drain work better. I'm attaching pictures of the pipes below the cabinet and then from in the basement looking up. Since this is a corner, and there seems to be a tight working area in the basement, I'm wondering it that is why the previous plumbers didn't want to mess with it.
I would appreciate feedback on the best way to deal with this. I am planning on tackling this myself since I have had two plumbers that have failed. I'm planning on taking all of the pipes out from under the sink and redoing that, my concern is how to deal with the below the cabinet area that is in the basement. I see that I can remove the p-trap nut there, but after that the pipes are cemented and it looks like that joint before the p-trap is leaking as well, or it could just be where the liquid has drained down the pipes from above.
We don't go in the basement much so not sure how long the first "fix" lasted. Went down in the basement one day and noticed the brown streaks coming down the wall again. Called a different plumber to come look at it and he said that the trap shouldn't be where it is, but he didn't seem to think it was important enough to move it either. He stated that he used his wrench to tighten the nut and that it should be fine. He said people usually hand tighten and that in this case it just needed to be tightened with a wrench. He said to give him a call if this didn't work. Well, it didn't work and we feel like we are wasting money on having plumbers come out and not fixing the problem.
I think the leak is coming from a coupler under the sink area. I notice when we use the garbage disposal that it sometimes causes a great deal of vibration and perhaps that has caused a joint to leak. I am also wondering if there should be some kind of venting because the double sink sometimes drains slow, usually have to push the rubber disposal baffle in to help the drain work better. I'm attaching pictures of the pipes below the cabinet and then from in the basement looking up. Since this is a corner, and there seems to be a tight working area in the basement, I'm wondering it that is why the previous plumbers didn't want to mess with it.
I would appreciate feedback on the best way to deal with this. I am planning on tackling this myself since I have had two plumbers that have failed. I'm planning on taking all of the pipes out from under the sink and redoing that, my concern is how to deal with the below the cabinet area that is in the basement. I see that I can remove the p-trap nut there, but after that the pipes are cemented and it looks like that joint before the p-trap is leaking as well, or it could just be where the liquid has drained down the pipes from above.