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ca_mom

Hole-y Marble Batman...that's a lot of stuff!

ca_mom
12 years ago

Okay...so I'll have two undermount Silgranit sinks and Carrara counters. My contractor looked at me funny when I said "yes" to a soap dispenser. At main sink I'll have faucet hole, air switch, air gap, and then a soap dispenser. At prep (it's large) I'll have faucet, air switch, and soap. Am I going overboard on holes in my pretty marble? Should I nix the prep sink dispenser? Or is it better than the bottle of Dawn on the counter?

Also...anyone with silgranits PRE-ORDER the additional holes drilled in the sink? It's the Diamond that has a lip so it can be over or under mounted. I'm thinking if they can put holes in marble they should be able to get through the sink lip, yes?

Thanks much!

Comments (13)

  • marcydc
    12 years ago

    I'm in CA and didn't have to have an air gap to pass inspection. I'm not sure if it was because of the type of DW (Miele) or not, but my plan was to buy a $3 air gap and use the soap dispenser hole if the inspector had required it. You'd think the contractor would know, but mine said he had different inspectors tell him different things so he just wasn't going to commit one way or another.

  • ca_mom
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Thanks much ak. Yeah, I'm in the California world of many codes. My contractor thought I could get away with the soap/airgap sub if I had a Miele or Bosch, but probably not with my KitchenAid. Here's the text from the KA installation guide:

    â Make sure to use an air gap if the drain hose is connected to
    house plumbing lower than 20" (50.8 cm) above subfloor or
    floor.

    Not sure how to interpret this...because doesn't the dw drain into the under-the-sink plumbing? And I'm guessing if my dishwasher produces gunky dishes I can add the airgap back in?

    Thanks too Marcy...I was leaning toward a Miele just to avoid this situation but got a pretty good price on the KA, and there's something about fresh steaming dishes that I didn't want to give up.

    Thanks so much...you probably just saved some of my marble!

  • alwaysfixin
    12 years ago

    Our KA DW came with the high-loop hose already set up, as mentioned above. Really, it's just the drain hose with a thick twist-tie that keeps it high. The high loop is a more effective means of preventing dirty water going back into the DW, more effective than the old air gap. The KA instructions that you printed are really about gravity - they are saying that if you don't make your drain hose the high loop, i.e. your hose falls lower than the sink or disposal waste pipe, you should have an air gap. Did you watch the video linked above? Watch it. They show the hose low, then they show the hose high.

    OMG, you don't need to spend the money on a Miele just for the high loop! Aack. The KA that we bought last Sept. came with the high loop, and also, even if it didn't, your installer can put the high loop in the hose with a twist tie (see video above). Not that the Miele isn't a great DW, it's just that spending $800-1500 more on a DW just for the high loop, which amounts to a $5 trip to Home Depot, doesn't make sense. As to "adding the airgap back in" as you said - again, the high loop does a better job than the air gap at solving that problem. Someone correct me, but I think only California, Maine and Oregon (?) are the only states still left which don't specify a high loop, but still specify an air gap?

  • ca_mom
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Beautiful! High loop it is. Thanks a million everyone!

  • breezygirl
    12 years ago

    I was going to suggest the very same thing! I hate air gaps and am bypassing it too. I live in WA state where it's required.

    Also, do get the soap dispensers. I use mine for hand soap, but stil...it beats a bottle floating around on your beautiful marble! Ouuhh...I wonder if that would lead to more etching also? Another good reason for a dispenser.

    I'm also doing Carrara and silgranit. What color are your sinks?

  • ca_mom
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Hey Breezy,

    Thanks to you they'll be the metallic grey. Just working on faucets this weekend. What finish are you thinking of? And wow...you sure can spend a lot on those things. I need to get expenses under control!

  • breezygirl
    12 years ago

    Hey, hey metallic gray! Cool!

    I've had my faucets picked out for about 15 months. Hansgrohe Talis High Arc. It's clean, modern, simple, and sleek. I just love it. Its probably more modern than someone else would put with shaker cabs and Carrara, but I don't care.

  • artemis78
    12 years ago

    You should check with your local inspector, but in our CA city, a high loop doesn't cut it in lieu of the air gap---the reason they exempt Miele (and I guess Bosch?) machines is because they have built-in air gaps, so adding another is duplicative. Here, you need documentation of that feature in your machine, and you need to show that the installation instructions do not specify an air gap or high loop. We splurged for the Miele to avoid the air gap while still staying within code (though I wanted the third rack too, and most of the KA and Bosch models with it were about the same price as the Miele we got anyway).

    Of course, you can do the soap dispenser sub regardless---in that case you pass inspection with the air gap installed and then uninstall it afterwards, so there's nothing to get away with since the inspector won't see it afterwards.

  • breezygirl
    12 years ago

    Sorry, I got distracted by U2 on the music awards. I was going to say that my faucets will be polished chrome. Brushed finishes have never appealed to me. Same with ORB. Good thing polished chrome goes with marble and gray silgranit! ;)

  • Circus Peanut
    12 years ago

    (alwaysfixin -- air gaps not required in Maine, or at least I've never seen one installed here and neither plumber nor inspector ever mentioned it. I thought it was just California and parts of Nevada?)

  • alwaysfixin
    12 years ago

    Circuspeanut - I thought it was required in Maine because I remember a GW poster from Maine asking about the air gap and soap dispenser switch-out for the inspector. I also mis-spoke about Oregon. It's actually Washington state that still requires the air gap. So, AFAIK, states still requiring the air gap are California, Washington and Texas, and you've added Nevada (or parts of Nevada). I can't think of any others.

  • davidro1
    12 years ago

    I've like to a plumbers' discussion that shows why air gaps are good.

    Here is a link that might be useful: DW with drain water in it.