Hey everyone.

Just a few questions before I go getting full of drywall dust, etc... while installing the water line for our forthcoming fridge w/ water and icemaker.

1. Since the fridge is located against a wall but the sink and dishwasher are located in the island, I can't easily tap into the water lines for the sink because A: ceramic tile doesn't allow easy running of lines under the floor, B: it's likely one floor joist over making a fishing expedition a possible headache, and C: I have another option --> use the water line that feeds the garden tap in the garage which basically backs right onto the fridge wall. Is it OK to tap into the line that feeds a garden hose, considering possible bacteria/mildew problems?

2. Using the saddle valves on rigid plastic piping -- is this OK? Most places online say its OK as long as you pre-drill the hole the same as if you were tapping into an iron (not copper) pipe, to avoid crushing the line. What are the drawbacks to tapping into plastic piping?

Thanks!
Eric

 

OK here's a floorplan:
http://www.mintohomes.com/Ottawa/our..._ID=70&CO_ID=3


As you can see, the fridge backs onto the common wall with the garage. The garage is fully drywalled but I have no problem cutting into that drywall vs. the nice drywall inside the house, to do this job. The exterior tap would be roughly between the centre of the MW and the fridge.

Any options I might have not thought of, or any opinions on the task?

 

does your new fridge have a water filter??? if so i really don't see a reason why this should be an issue... in my house it is all a common pipe that is just branched out on the way from the main...

 

It has a filter, yes, but you never want to leave removing bacteria to a cheap filter in a fridge, know what I mean?

Its all a common supply, but I was more concerned with it being exposed from the garden hose end fo things, to bacteria, etc. Probably a false concern though --> I drank from the garden hose all the time as a kid and I turned out sorta fine. LOL!

 

I'm curious as to why the fridge spot in your kitchen doesn't already have a water line there? Or are you putting this fridge somewhere else?

 

To be honest I've never seen kitchens have water lines for fridges (at least not on the friendly side of the drywall).

Maybe it's a local or national thing? Do the ones you know of always have the connection on the friendly side or are they just coiled up behind the drywall, hidden from view until you pull out a drywall knife?

 

There is usually a line coming from the wall that just connects up to the fridge. I tried finding a picture but no luck. I have seen this in my house that is from the 80s, my parents new house, and my gfs place at college. I thought this was the common thing?

 

I don't think tying into the garage water line would be a problem at all. The saddle valves, though, I don't really know. If it's rigid plastic (PVC?) pipe, then you should be ablle to cut out a short (~1") section and install a "T" to branch off to the fridge.

 

You can buy a back flow preventer that goes on the outlet where the hose connects to keep anything comming back into the supply line, they are common when hooking up a camper. Should be able to find them at a "big box" hardware store or a camper place.

 

Your floor plan shows stairs down, does this mean there is a basement under the kitchen? Is it unfinished? If so you can run a water line to the area under the fridge and come up through the floor instead of a wall.

Which ever way you go make sure you have a separate shutoff for the line going to the fridge.

 

Good eye, but no, the basement is 100% finished with drywalled ceilings (here's the one time I'd WANT a drop-ceiling!).

I measured the tap in the garage today and it's about 18-20" from the back corner of the fridge. I'll probably come out through the wall behind the cabinet, put a shutoff valve there, and run the line itself from the cabinet to behind the fridge.

 

Personally I'd never use a saddle valve. They tend to leak. Install a t fitting and use copper tubing with compression fittings and you'll never have to worry about leaks.

 

the garage line is fine, all the water in your house is the same. toilet water is the same as tap water. hose spicket water is the same as sink water, it all comes from the same city feed.

 

I found out they're required by Canadian building Code and my house has them on all exterior taps (built-in, looks like a bulge near the threads for the garden hose). So that's great!

 

Yeah, I talked to some old grey-haired guy in the plumbing section of Home Depot last night and he suggested these twist-on (?) fittings that splice a T into the plastic line with only a hacksaw to cut the water line. From there just step down to 3/8" and attach PLASTIC tubing. He suggested plastic over copper because copper can kink behind the fridge or around corners, even with minimal force, and cause leaks. Plastic made for this task is more than sufficient he said.

 

OK, this sucks... I spent a few minutes hacking the drywall in the garage to get behind the tap, and its a joist. No getting through that without way too much work.

So my options are, in no particular order:
A: Cut a hole in the drywall behind the fridge and *hope* that I can see a water line from either the sink or the garage tap
B: Call the previous owner and ask him to tell me exactly where the damn shutoff valve is for the garage tap and at the same time hopefully I'll see the line and a way I can access it from the basement.
C: Wait a few weeks until my dad (electrician) or father in law (handyman extraordinaire) get here to have them try.
D: Wait until my friend closes on a house in 1.5 weeks, as his unit is identical to mine (but mirror-imaged), and has a drop-ceiling in the basement. Hopefully I'll be able to get a clearer view of the water lines from his and apply that to mine. HOWEVER, his home was built 2 years after mine, so things may have changed. Hard to know for sure.

What option should I go with?

 

The tap in the garage has to connect to a pipe somewhere. If you broke the drywall around the garage spout, you should find something - unless the faucet looks like this:

 

It connects, but RIGHT behind the drywall is a joist, which the tap pipe goes through. Below the joist is concrete for the foundation of the garage, and above the joist is a 2x4 that I don't want to remove unless its my only option.

 

I would wait for the handyman. Info from your friends house will most likely not be identical to yours, they seldom are even when built at the same time with the same plumbers.

There has to be an access panel somewhere along the kitchen wall or in the basement in the vicinity of the garage spigot. If not, the shutoff is most likely under your kitchen sink, which won't help you much. There has to be access to the shutoff somewhere.

The finished basement sucks (in this case only!). This is another reason not to use the saddle valve and to use plastic tubing to connect to the fridge, you don't want a leak over the basement ceiling.

 

I understand what you're saying, and I wish it were this simple, but it ain't. When the guy finished the basement, he drywalled over the shutoff. He gave me the general area where it is but I forgot amongst the mess of other moving-related stuff in my head. I might call him and ask him exactly where it is in relation to a light fixture I know is really close, so that I can cut the hole in the drywalled ceiling and be bang-on, and able to cover it with a nice cold air return grate or ready-made pop-in cover, for quick access next time.

BTW: The tap is currently "off" so its definitely not connected to the same supply shutoff as the kitchen tap.

 

Can you post a picture?

If the there is a joist right behind the drywall and the pipe goes through it, then shouldn't you be able to break the drywall on the other side (in the kitchen) and the other end of the pipe - where it likely turns in some direction.

 

My camera is still packed in a box somewhere. It literally comes out of a hole in the middle of a joist.

I would probably be able to measure from there to a common point, and break through the kitchen side, yes. HOWEVER, I know for a fact that I'd have to go through my kitchen cabinet backing to do this exploration -- something I don't want to do just yet until its a latter option. It might be about 6" or more below the level of the cabinet bottoms as well, making accessing nearly impossible on that tap/line altogether.