# Granite countertop companies are the devil!!



## hroark2112 (Apr 16, 2011)

Do these guys even look at the drain height before selling e job?? Don't answer, I know they don't. 

I just finished up connecting a kitchen sink & 2 vanities. The kitchen drain is just level, it drains but I don't like it. 1 lav was OK, the other was so bad I couldn't connect the popup. She didn't want to cut the wall, the only way I could hook it up was to install a grid drain. I'll be back to lower those 2 drains later. 

Makes me want to slap them!!


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## ibeplumber (Sep 20, 2011)

I hear ya, drives me nuts.


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## Qball415 (Nov 20, 2010)

Coming from h/o pov, I don't recall the last time I pulled the pop-up to fill any of my bath sinks. Grid drain will suit me with appropiate faucet.


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

Qball415 said:


> Coming from h/o pov, I don't recall the last time I pulled the pop-up to fill any of my bath sinks. Grid drain will suit me with appropiate faucet.


Except they drain slow...


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

hroark2112 said:


> Do these guys even look at the drain height before selling e job?? Don't answer, I know they don't.
> 
> Makes me want to slap them!!


They will tell the customer after they install everything that all the customer needs to do is have a plumber hook up the drain and it shouldn't be more than $150 to do the job....


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## Turd Chaser (Dec 1, 2011)

We do some "reconnects" for a countertop company through the Depot. A basic reconnect is $385 from the home depot. We have 2 hours to do it and the only material approved are faucet supplies, 2 p traps. If for some reason the customer did not purchase a basket strainer or dw air-gap. We have to call the countertop people who take our price and mark it up, they then call home depot who marks it up and then call the customer and tell them that the cost of a basket strainer is going to be $75.

Most of these jobs require us to travel over 1 hour. This account was one of the last accounts that my late service manager aquired. I would not be sad to see this one go.


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## GREENPLUM (Jul 27, 2008)

hroark2112 said:


> Do these guys even look at the drain height before selling e job?? Don't answer, I know they don't.
> 
> I just finished up connecting a kitchen sink & 2 vanities. The kitchen drain is just level, it drains but I don't like it. 1 lav was OK, the other was so bad I couldn't connect the popup. She didn't want to cut the wall, the only way I could hook it up was to install a grid drain. I'll be back to lower those 2 drains later.
> 
> Makes me want to slap them!!


 
Slap them? :no:

Because they dont look it increases your bottom line. :yes:

Give them a hug. you cant fix stupid


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## Tommy plumber (Feb 19, 2010)

None of these genius granite guys realise what is involved. When they install a stainless steel sink which is much deeper than original sink and the drain is set further back in the new sink (new drain is closer to faucet), the drain doesn't line up correctly, especially the height of the waste arm, particularly if there is a garbage disposal.


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## Widdershins (Feb 5, 2011)

Redwood said:


> Except they drain slow...


 Mountain sells a grid drain with a raised top that seems to drain better than most of the flat topped grid drains.

My personal choice is the roll top -- Much more surface area.


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## Widdershins (Feb 5, 2011)

Tommy plumber said:


> None of these genius granite guys realise what is involved. When they install a stainless steel sink which is much deeper than original sink and the drain is set further back in the new sink (new drain is closer to faucet), the drain doesn't line up correctly, especially the height of the waste arm, particularly if there is a garbage disposal.


 I run in to this all the time on remodels -- I cut out the back of the cabinet, re-rough in the water and waste and put in a new cabinet back.

It isn't always that simple, but most of the time it is.


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## beachplumber (Feb 7, 2010)

I prefer the push vesel drains over a grid strainer. I get several " clogged sink" calls a year do to slow draining grid drains


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## smellslike$tome (Jun 16, 2008)

Redwood said:


> They will tell the customer after they install everything that all the customer needs to do is have a plumber hook up the drain and it shouldn't be more than $150 to do the job....


$150 must be the magic number because that's what all the appliance stores say too. "Dishwasher installed? Oh, call a plumber, it shouldn't be more than $150.00." "Gas log set? Oh call a plumber. It won't cost more than about $150.00". 

Then we get the call and people are shocked when it costs as much or more than what they paid for the appliance.

I must have gotten a half dozen calls over the last couple of weeks from some "appliance installation company" looking for installers for some contract they won from HH Gregg. I usually just hang up because I know it's a waste of time but I talked to the guy briefly one day. He wanted to know if we were interested in installing dishwashers so I asked "how much are you paying" he responded "$80.00", ... I burst out laughing. So he says "how much do you normally charge" to which I respond " 4 to 5 times that much". "Oh, I see, ... that was funny to you then wasn't it?"

Didn't mean to highjack but the countertop people are the same way.


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## mccmech (Jul 6, 2011)

I have found that some supply houses in South Jersey now carry bagged p-traps where the joint on the j-bend that the trap arm threads onto actually has a deeper cup molded into it, thus allowing the trap to be reversed & the tailpiece has a little bit of cup to sit in. It's not so good for garbage disposals since the water level sits in the bottom of them. I do tell the customer these issues though when I go in to do a hook-up after my granite contractor.


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## hroark2112 (Apr 16, 2011)

beachplumber said:


> I prefer the push vesel drains over a grid strainer. I get several " clogged sink" calls a year do to slow draining grid drains


Dammit. I didn't even think about those. I had one on my truck. 

[email protected]&)&+*%** now I feel dumb. Great idea.


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## Dun' Right (Sep 27, 2010)

I've had a few grid strainers that were draining really, really slow. I wound up taking a drill bit that was just a little bit bigger then the holes in the strainer, and drilling each little hole out. It worked, and the sink drained great. 

Next time your getting ready to replace a grid strainer, because it's draining too slow, give this a try first. It works.


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

Widdershins said:


> Mountain sells a grid drain with a raised top that seems to drain better than most of the flat topped grid drains.
> 
> My personal choice is the roll top -- Much more surface area.


Thank's Widders... That info is much appreciated... :thumbup:

I've been avoiding them and pushing lift and turn, nice to have options...




Widdershins said:


> I run in to this all the time on remodels -- I cut out the back of the cabinet, re-rough in the water and waste and put in a new cabinet back.
> 
> It isn't always that simple, but most of the time it is.


But do you do that for the $150 that the Home Deepthroat Countertop Installer said you would?

It's not too bad if you were the second plumber telling them it is a little more work than what he said because they didn't let you in there before the new cabinets were in place and $150 isn't even close...




Dun' Right said:


> I've had a few grid strainers that were draining really, really slow. I wound up taking a drill bit that was just a little bit bigger then the holes in the strainer, and drilling each little hole out. It worked, and the sink drained great.
> 
> Next time your getting ready to replace a grid strainer, because it's draining too slow, give this a try first. It works.


Having that brass peeking up out of the holes where there should be plating looks good in that new vessel sink... :laughing:


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## MikeS (Oct 3, 2011)

hroark2112 said:


> Do these guys even look at the drain height before selling e job?? Don't answer, I know they don't.
> 
> I just finished up connecting a kitchen sink & 2 vanities. The kitchen drain is just level, it drains but I don't like it. 1 lav was OK, the other was so bad I couldn't connect the popup. She didn't want to cut the wall, the only way I could hook it up was to install a grid drain. I'll be back to lower those 2 drains later.
> 
> Makes me want to slap them!!


ok. this is second post I saw regarding too high drains. Too frickin bad is my attitude when it comes to this situation, and I tell the customers so. even better when they don't want to open walls to fix it. I can send my drywall guy out to fix it, and make a little extra from him. Seriously, when did we become such pussies. I know we want to make the customer happy and all, but, when they go all custom, and then let some countertop installer tell us how to do our jobs, and we are like, ok, wtf? Its simple math, folks. You need so much distance from the bottom of the sink to the outlet of the trap. If it isn't there, then correct it, at the appropriate price to the customer. Never let some old lady tell you how to do your job. you know what is right the second you see it. Be upfront, tell her or him what it takes to make it right. Tell them you are a pro, not a hack, not a countertop installer. You know plumbing. Be proud of your trade. Accept no NO's for an answer. Charge for your extra work. And go home feeling fine because you did it right, you won't get callbacks, and maybe you'll get more work.


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## damnplumber (Jan 22, 2012)

It helps to have a cabinet shop at my disposal but open the wall and drop the supplies and waste and be done with it. If the customer can afford a granite top and big dollar deep sink....you are gonna need the plumber. I like to do it this way because when the next plumber has to repair a drain or replace the disposal keep things "normal"


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## Widdershins (Feb 5, 2011)

damnplumber said:


> It helps to have a cabinet shop at my disposal but open the wall and drop the supplies and waste and be done with it.


 Dropping isn't always an option.

Sometimes the waste comes in horizontally and way too high..


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## cityplumbing (Jun 12, 2010)

There is so much plumbing work lost to granite guys in my area. Then the home owner only finds out they should have called a plumber when there's a problem..


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