Sink w/ Hot & Cold water in the garage?

bfourney · 03-20-07, 01:36

I'm looking at adding a sink to the garage and would like to get some opinions. Ideally I'd like to rig something where it has a hose bibb and fittings for a sink at the same location so you can use the sink, or attach a hose to the hot or cold water via quick disconnect underneath. Has anyone done anything like this? Any general advice on isntalling water hookups inside the garage? Recommendations on sink types/models? How about the fittings needed to make this work?

Thanks.

Accumulator · 03-20-07, 09:42

I dunno if I'd try to combine the sink with the hookups for the hose like that. I'd at least have the water supply pipes branch off and go over to the side for the hose and then up to the faucet on the sink.

I have a separate water heater in the shop/garage, and that way I only had to run cold water over from the house. The other, attached garage has hot and cold piped from the house as it was a short run and no big deal to do.

My sink is just a Utilitub fiberglass job, same kind of thing I have in the basement.

I trust you've given some thought to how the sink will drain...to be done right it'll have to go into a sanitary sewer as it's not just "gray water" as far as most regulations are concerned (at least in my area).

dpsorg · 03-20-07, 05:59

I was lucky that I already had a floor drain that was easy to tap into. My sink is just one of the inexpensive double basin plastic jobs. Underneath it is a 5 gallon electric hot water heater that uses 120v so it was an easy hookup. Paid $25 used for it 10 years ago, still going. The faucet set has a hose thread on the spigot so I can attach the hose when I want to use warm or hot water. Next to the sink is a standard hose bib which is what the hose is normally connected to. That's mounted chest high; much more convenient than if it were lower.

The only thing I'd change would be to have a faucet set that included the side sprayer which would be convenient from time-to-time.

10 years ago I paid a plumber to put it all in because I was swamped with a big job and needed the sink. He charged $100 for the sink, $25 for the hwh, and $150 to run about 50 feet of copper pipe and install everything. It was a bargain for the luxury!

bfourney · 03-23-07, 01:44

The hot, cold & drain are all piped through the main house. I was looking to do one central place under the sink that has both connections for the sink and a hookup for the hose/pressure washer. It would be a treat to have hot water especially, and I've even been looking for ways to do some kind of mixing setup for the hose so I can switch from hot to cold on the fly without disconnecting and reconnecting the hose.

Does your sink look like one of these?

I was thinking that route might be the simplist but I'd really like to have a cabinet style drop-in sink where the cabinets would match whatever gets put in the rest of the garage.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Accumulator

I dunno if I'd try to combine the sink with the hookups for the hose like that. I'd at least have the water supply pipes branch off and go over to the side for the hose and then up to the faucet on the sink.

I have a separate water heater in the shop/garage, and that way I only had to run cold water over from the house. The other, attached garage has hot and cold piped from the house as it was a short run and no big deal to do.

My sink is just a Utilitub fiberglass job, same kind of thing I have in the basement.

I trust you've given some thought to how the sink will drain...to be done right it'll have to go into a sanitary sewer as it's not just "gray water" as far as most regulations are concerned (at least in my area).

kompressornsc · 03-23-07, 04:59

You can get H/C mixing spigots for outside now. I'm going to have one installed at the faucet nearest the driveway. If you're just trying to figure out how to get hot water to a hose, that might be an option.

tom p. · 03-23-07, 05:44

I've got a double-wide sink in the basement like the one posted above and I can connect a hose to the faucet. We have two access points to our basement: thru the house and from the garage. I dunno, I rarely have a call for "hot" water outside. I generally do a luke warm wash mix in the basement and can walk straight to the garage. b, do you have a specific need for hot water outside? Are you using a steamer or something like that?

I've seen some very neat boxes that can house a hot/cold spigot that would mount on a wall. I think they were in the Home Improvements mail order catalog. Getting the sink installed, specifically the drain system, may turn into a project. Are we talking new construction or adding on?

Accumulator · 03-23-07, 08:27

bfourney- My sink looks a lot like that only it's mounted to the wall.

I wouldn't like having to bend down under the sink (where I tend to store stuff). I'd rather have the hose hook ups mounted over to the side a little and up where they're convenient. IMO it'd just be a little more plumbing and not a big deal to do it that way. Might look a little industrial (exposed pipes/etc. on wall) but I go by form-follows-function and IMO it looks OK.

My hoses hook up to a hot/cold mixing bibs/faucets/spigots so I can always mix up whatever temp I want. You're right, it's very handy.

dpsorg · 03-24-07, 07:09

I would rather have a "utility" sink than a kitchen-type sink, I think the deep tub is much handier, though it admittedly doesn't look as nice as a built in sink would. And if you have the space, a double tub utility sink is even better. I have a dirty side for cleaning stuff, rinsing paintbrushes, etc. and a clean side for washing hand washable stuff, mf cloths, etc.

Like the others, I agree that you should mount your hose control(s) at a convenient height, and maybe a hose reel underneath that.

bfourney · 03-27-07, 01:34

Are you talking about the Woodford ones like this?

I was looking at these but they're for freezing conditions and the supply lines would have to be on the other side of the wall rather than inside it. I wonder if the long pipes can be cut or substituted for shorter ones, really don't need the freezing feature anyway...

Quote:

Originally Posted by kompressornsc

You can get H/C mixing spigots for outside now. I'm going to have one installed at the faucet nearest the driveway. If you're just trying to figure out how to get hot water to a hose, that might be an option.

bfourney · 03-27-07, 01:42

Well, I usually use REALLY hot water to wash - it makes it so much easier to clean, especially when it's cool outside. It makes a huge difference in the amount of time and scrubbing I have to do to get things clean. Right now I have to fill the bucket up in the bathroom tub (the sink takes forever) and doing things like a hot rinse or hot pressure wash are out of the question.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tom p.

I've got a double-wide sink in the basement like the one posted above and I can connect a hose to the faucet. We have two access points to our basement: thru the house and from the garage. I dunno, I rarely have a call for "hot" water outside. I generally do a luke warm wash mix in the basement and can walk straight to the garage. b, do you have a specific need for hot water outside? Are you using a steamer or something like that?

It would be new construction. There's an outdoor room that adjoins the garage that's getting a full bath so hot/cold lines and sewage are now very easy to access while the wall is open and exposed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tom p.

I've seen some very neat boxes that can house a hot/cold spigot that would mount on a wall. I think they were in the Home Improvements mail order catalog. Getting the sink installed, specifically the drain system, may turn into a project. Are we talking new construction or adding on?

bfourney · 03-27-07, 01:57

They do make stainless steel drop-in sinks that are deep, but not as deep as the tub pictured above.

I was also looking at these heavy duty but expensive stainless ones

Quote:

Originally Posted by dpsorg

I would rather have a "utility" sink than a kitchen-type sink, I think the deep tub is much handier, though it admittedly doesn't look as nice as a built in sink would. And if you have the space, a double tub utility sink is even better. I have a dirty side for cleaning stuff, rinsing paintbrushes, etc. and a clean side for washing hand washable stuff, mf cloths, etc.

I really hadn't thought of mounting them up high, but I think it would be easier to fill buckets, etc. down low and not worry about splashing? I already have an auto-winding type hose reel that sits on the ground hooked up outside that I may use:

The only problem is that it spews water when it rewinds so it really needs a way to drain if I do it inside the garage.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dpsorg

Like the others, I agree that you should mount your hose control(s) at a convenient height, and maybe a hose reel underneath that.

ultgar · 03-29-07, 08:37