There are certainly plumbing jobs in your Sydney home that you should leave to the professionals, but you don’t always need to call a plumber out. One of the easiest and most common plumbing jobs a homeowner can do is replacing their kitchen sink trap. Here’s how to do it without calling a plumbing contractor:

The first thing you need to know when it comes to changing your kitchen sink trap, is what sort of pipe you want to use. This will be determined by where your main drain is under the sink: if it’s in the centre, you’ll want a centre outlet, but if it was off to one side, you’d want an end outlet. Once you know which pipe outlet you need, you can begin the job.

Start by attaching a tail piece of piping to the bottom of your sink (the basket) – remember to use a special sink basket washer, and if you’re attaching to a metal basket, you’ll need to use a metal nut, but the rest of the piping can be plastic. When your tail piece is firmly connected to the basket, get another washer and nut so that you can put connect your tail piece to the rest of the pipes. This is where your choice of centre or end outlet comes into play – grab your outlet piping, slip your washers on to it so that it all connects up, and fit it to your kitchen sink tail pieces up, cutting part of it if the pipes are too long.

Once you’ve got your outlet connected up, it’s time to work on the wall tube. Using a J-bend piece is a great way to save you time and hassle when it comes to making sure that all your pipes line up and work fluidly together.

And there you have it, it might sound and look a little tricky at first, but it’s no more complex than putting together some Lego. It’s all about measuring twice, cutting once, and making sure that everything fits perfectly before you screw it all in tight.