# Moving Kitchen Plumbing From One Side of an Apartment To the Other **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 7, 2018, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-kitchen-plumbing-from-one-side-of-an-apartment-to-the-other/820935 "2018-09-07T09:51:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MorrisCody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/91b2a8/32.png) [@MorrisCody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MorrisCody)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2018, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-kitchen-plumbing-from-one-side-of-an-apartment-to-the-other/820935/1 "2018-09-07T09:51:47Z")
I’m looking to buy a small loft in a converted industrial building. The walls are brick, and all the plumbing, electrical and ducts are exposed. I would like to move the kitchen from one side of the space about ~35’ to 40’ to the other side. (There is no issue with keeping wet over wet.) How difficult will that be? Can I simply run pipes horizontally from where the sink and dishwasher currently are to where I want them to be? Can I only run them straight along the wall they’re currently on, or, can they turn the corner onto a perpendicular wall? ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2018, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-kitchen-plumbing-from-one-side-of-an-apartment-to-the-other/820935/2 "2018-09-07T10:05:54Z")
In general, water supply pipes can go anywhere you want; up, down, sideways… It’s the waste pipes that are the problem as they generally need a downward slope or horizontal at best. ---
**Author:** ![MorrisCody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/91b2a8/32.png) [@MorrisCody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MorrisCody)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2018, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-kitchen-plumbing-from-one-side-of-an-apartment-to-the-other/820935/3 "2018-09-07T10:15:25Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > In general, water supply pipes can go anywhere you want; up, down, sideways… It’s the waste pipes that are the problem as they generally need a downward slope or horizontal at best. So as long as the waste pipes can slope 1" per foot back to their original location, they should be fine? ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2018, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-kitchen-plumbing-from-one-side-of-an-apartment-to-the-other/820935/4 "2018-09-07T12:43:03Z")
Three things you need to know as a plumber: Hot’s on the Left Cold’s on the Right SH\*T runs downhill If the waste line makes a lot of turns a little steeper slope is advisable as it loses energy in the turns. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2018, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-kitchen-plumbing-from-one-side-of-an-apartment-to-the-other/820935/5 "2018-09-07T14:21:10Z")
I don’t have an answer but I am curious about this type of renovation: Do you have water main shutoff valves for your apartment, or in an industrial building are they more centralized? That is, can you do this work without shutting off the water for everyone in the building? ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2018, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-kitchen-plumbing-from-one-side-of-an-apartment-to-the-other/820935/6 "2018-09-07T14:29:46Z")
Tell us what kind of pipes you have and your estimates of their age. Since for example old galvanized iron pipes are going to rust/rot out after several decades–and you are better off replacing the lines completely–rather than connect to from where they currently are. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2018, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-kitchen-plumbing-from-one-side-of-an-apartment-to-the-other/820935/7 "2018-09-07T17:15:19Z")
Venting may be an issue. Depending on how far the new kitchen is from the old, the vent stack may be too far from the new fixtures to be code compliant. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2018, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-kitchen-plumbing-from-one-side-of-an-apartment-to-the-other/820935/8 "2018-09-07T17:29:30Z")
Avoid running pipes over electrical lines. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2018, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-kitchen-plumbing-from-one-side-of-an-apartment-to-the-other/820935/9 "2018-09-08T17:38:30Z")
Moving the plumbing is a big job. Access to the floor is crucial. A house on a slab would require cutting or jack hammering a path and then patching afterwards. That’s a major expense. Wood floors are easier but you have to consider what’s underneath it. Tearing out a finished ceiling and patching gets expensive. Getting the slope correct can be tricky. The drain line may not fit into the floor joists. You can’t drill out too much material without compromising the joist. That means dropping down below them and building a bulkhead to hide the pipes. ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2018, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-kitchen-plumbing-from-one-side-of-an-apartment-to-the-other/820935/10 "2018-09-09T18:22:09Z")
The basics seem to be covered. The only thing that I can add is a suggestion that you try to route the drains in a direct path under the floor and not along the walls. This may be obvious to you, but it seemed worth mentioning. ---
**Author:** ![MorrisCody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/91b2a8/32.png) [@MorrisCody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MorrisCody)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2018, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-kitchen-plumbing-from-one-side-of-an-apartment-to-the-other/820935/11 "2018-09-10T05:17:51Z")
> [@cornflakes](#): > > The basics seem to be covered. The only thing that I can add is a suggestion that you try to route the drains in a direct path under the floor and not along the walls. This may be obvious to you, but it seemed worth mentioning. This is not obvious to me. Why? What difference does it make? ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2018, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moving-kitchen-plumbing-from-one-side-of-an-apartment-to-the-other/820935/12 "2018-09-10T08:50:31Z")
Assuming that all drain pipe is at or below floor level, it may be easier to keep the 1:12 drain slope due to the shorter runs. It may reduce the number of bends (and would probably make some 90 degree bends into 45 degree bends which may drain more easily), and it would reduce materials costs slightly. Basically, you don’t have to run everything at right angles, and it may make more sense not to.