My kids are 1, 3, and 5. I’ve witnessed a few too many close calls in the bathroom, usually involving stools at toothbrushing time. The one room in the house with the hardest surfaces has all the wet, slippery surfaces too!
I want to make an adjustable height sink for the kids’ new bathroom in the upstairs addition. Here’s the general scheme: I had the rough-in put in a bit low to allow extra room. Also, it’s about 8″ off center from where the taps will be. I made a sink cabinet with a big, ovalized hole in the back. The cabinet will be sitting on top of a car jack, a scissor jack with a big, easy-to-use handle welded to it, like a handwheel from a table saw. I want the kids to be able to crank the whole cabinet and sink up and down at will, whenever they want. The sink cabinet will be mounted to the wall on heavy duty drawer slides, to allow it to glide up and down but to keep it from pulling away from the wall.
The question is, how do I do the plumbing and have it meet code? I think the flexible stainless steel tubing for the supply would work fine, but what about the P-trap? To have it somehow be telescoping seems like it wouldn’t work. Maybe I could have a rigid P-trap up close to the underside of the basin, then have some sort of flexible tube carry the waste away… right? Or am I nuts? Can anybody suggest a material that might be appropriate for that? And am I on the right track with the stainless steel tubing- is that approved for potable water, or just things like washing machines? I just can’t imagine what the inspector is going to say, no matter what I come up with. Are there any precedents for this? Motor homes, boats, other lunatics with clumsy kids? Thanks.
Replies
Do you have room to put in two sinks at different heights?
buic
nope, no room for two sinks. good idea though. where were you when i started this whole thing? the kids like waterfalls though- maybe have it start at one height, drain down to the next level. not that i want to promote using more water than they already do...
I am not a plumber
Another way of adressing this is a pull out drawer step at the toe-kick level with custom cabinetry.
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Interesting problem. Don't know if it'd want supply/drain lines to flex much, as it may lead to supply leaks with more water on the floor than you want.
Since you're building your own cab, how about doing away with the undercab storage and putting a fold out stool that can't slip. You could rig it so the one leg could be adjustable. Don't forget to put a lip on the top so the water can't run over from the sink.
I don't see any way you can accomplish what you want to do, the kids will probably be grown when you figure it out; plus the cost may be sky high. Like the other post said, different heights, thats what they do in schools. Your best bet may to keep the sink low and raise it up when the kids get older, luck.
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I've seen adjustable height sinks designed for use by people in wheelchairs. There has to be several companies selling them, maybe you could do a search online and see how they do it.