Classic scenario where laundry and kitchen share a drain. I hate it. Usually causes problems, typically when sink is draining and washing machine is draining at the same time. Washing machine water ends up all over (unless draining into a utility basin first where it would sit till the sink was done draining).

For starters the kitchen and laundry should have their own drain lines. Secondly, I question how these are vented, and I am sure the plumbers are suspicious about it as well. Proper venting needs to be confirmed before just hooking up to something that someone put in 50 years ago. Neither drain line should be wet vented as well.

Too bad they assume people wont understand and just say they don't want to. Might get more business if they explain why it needs to be done.

Have you considered hiring a handyman, with you providing direction?

Handymen are impossible to come by here. IMPOSSIBLE. As in they don't even bother to return calls.

@Vith - this is NOT the kitchen sink drain. That is totally separate and on the opposite side of the room.

This is for a UTILITY sink. I will not be running the washing machine and using this sink at the same time. The main purpose for it is so that I can put in a clay trap and use it for my pottery studio. This house is on a slab; there is no possibility of putting in a new drain for the washing machine in the garage, that's why they ran the drain through the closet.

Venting has been checked and there are no problems there. The only thing not currently properly vented is the water heater (also in the garage), which is mostly an issue of improper sealing if I recall correctly. Or a loose part. Fairly minor, whatever it was. It's one of the things I would like a plumber to fix - if they would come out for anything less than a full tear-down of the bathroom, LOL! But that's an entirely different issue.

Without being able to install a utility sink, I am once again unable to set up my pottery wheel and all. I'm getting kind of antsy - its been 5 years since I've been able to get it all set up and work.

Have you gone to your local hardware store and asked about a handyman that does plumbing?

Of all the trades,plumbers are by far the most resistant to following scopes of work,they want a blank check and permission to do as they please. I would follow geoffrey's tip on asking about handymen at local retailers.

If the kitchen sink is '' all the way across the room'' and the garage laundry tied into that without jackhammering the slab, then it is not done correctly. No plumber wants deal with a kludge. It's his name on it as the last person to touch it.

Also, a line can only serve so many DFU's. Exceeding that capacity is never wise.

Oh for heaven's sake, Sophie. You need to work on your reading comprehension.

Again.

There was a washer/dryer and laundry tub installed in the kitchen -

ACROSS the room from the actual kitchen sink, which is still there.

About 10 years ago a former owner moved the washer/dryer and water heater to the garage, and dispensed with the laundry tub altogether.

Leaving the original drain that was built into the slab when the house was built and is still being used for the washing machine via additional drain lines that were run in from the garage and into the original, still existing, laundry tub drain that is NOT the same as the kitchen sink drain which is on the opposite wall.

There is not a thing wrong with the way the drain was installed from the garage. It is up to code and fully functional. No jackhammering required.

And none SHOULD be required for putting the laundry tub right back exactly where it used to be. The hot and cold water spigots are still there, and still functional. The drain is still there, also still functional.

I have since had a plumber out who had no issues with installing a utility sink back there. I have no idea what was wrong with the first couple of plumbers we had out. Well, I have a good idea with the one who told us he only came out because he was "curious about the house" and wanted to look around. He's a creeper.

But the other plumber, it turns out, bid NONE of the small jobs we needed done, and only gave us a bid for ripping out the entire bathroom, which we TOLD them we couldn't afford. So pretty sure those guys were only interested in the high-dollar bathroom remodel and had no interest in doing ANY utility work, since they didn't bid on any of it.

Hey Bruce. Thanks for the comment but that's not really what I'm trying to do. I'm trying to hook a utility sink back up to the existing drain and plumbing where it was originally installed. All the plumbing and vents are still there and the drain is still being used for the washing machine via a sloped PVC drain line through the closet behind the wall where the utility sink used to be.

So its kitchen wall then closet then bedroom. On the kitchen side of that wall is the (plugged) drain line and the faucets. Coming in from the garage through the closet side of that wall is the drain from the washing machine. It's all 2" or better already.

I need a clay trap installed so I can do my pottery stuff. I can't really use the kitchen sink for that even if it were big enough. I really need a separate utility sink. Plus, there's a "portable" dishwasher that I can't even use right now because it has one of those proprietary snap-connectors that's supposed to "snap" onto a specially made kitchen sink faucet aerator. It's done lost its "snap". So I'd like to just chop that proprietary attachment off, run the dishwasher drain line directly into the utility sink, and clamp on a hose fitting so I can directly connect the hot water line to the dishwasher.

However we may be moving again next spring. So maybe I won't get my utility tub after all - again. *sigh*