Kitchen Remodel Plumbing in Las Vegas: Moving a Sink, Gas Range or Dishwasher

In a Las Vegas kitchen remodel, the plumbing cost depends mostly on whether the sink, gas range and dishwasher stay where they are or move to a new spot. Keeping them in place is simple rough-in work, while moving a sink to an island or adding a gas range on a new wall means new drain, vent or gas lines, and on a slab home that can mean cutting concrete.

So before you settle on a layout, it helps to know which changes are small and which ones change the size of the job. Here is what each one involves, what to plan before the cabinets arrive, and how to compare plumbing quotes.

Start With What Stays and What Moves

Most valley homes are built on a concrete slab, with the kitchen drain running under the floor to the main sewer line. That one fact decides most of the plumbing budget.

• Same layout, new fixtures. A new sink, faucet, disposal or dishwasher in the same spot is finish work. The existing supply and drain lines are reused, and the job is usually a day or less.
• Short moves along the same wall. Sliding the sink a few feet along the same wall usually means extending the supply lines and the drain inside the wall or cabinet space. It is more work, but no concrete is cut.
• Moving to a different wall or an island. The drain has to reach the existing waste line with the right slope, and on a slab that usually means saw-cutting a trench in the floor, laying new pipe and patching the concrete before flooring goes down.

If you love a layout that needs the bigger moves, it can still be worth it. Just know that it moves the plumbing from finish work into a project of its own.

Moving the Sink to an Island

An island sink is the most common request and the most involved one. Three things have to happen:

1. A new drain under the floor. The drain runs from the island to the nearest point on the existing waste line, at a steady downward slope. On a slab, that is a trench through the concrete.
2. Venting. Every sink needs a vent so the trap keeps its water seal and sewer gas stays out of the kitchen. A sink against a wall vents up through that wall. An island has no wall, so it needs a venting method the local code accepts for island fixtures.
3. New supply lines. Hot and cold lines are run to the island, usually through the floor or the cabinet base.

Ask how your plumber plans to vent the island before you sign off on the design. It is the part that most often gets missed in a quick quote, and it is the part that causes a gurgling drain or a smell later.

Adding or Moving a Gas Range

Switching from electric to gas, or moving a gas range across the kitchen, is gas line work, not water line work. The new line has to be sized for the range's gas demand along with every other gas appliance in the home, routed safely, fitted with a shut-off valve at the appliance and pressure tested before the range is connected.

Our guide to gas line installation cost in Las Vegas covers what sets the price of a new run. If you are adding a gas cooktop and a separate wall oven, or a gas line out to a patio grill at the same time, mention it at the quote stage. One planned run is cheaper than two separate visits. We handle that work through our gas line installation and repair service.

Dishwasher, Disposal, Ice Maker and Pot Filler

These are smaller items, but each one needs a line, a drain or a connection planned before the cabinets go in:

• Dishwasher. Needs a hot water supply with its own shut-off, a drain connection at the sink, and a high loop or air gap on the drain hose, whichever the local code calls for. A dishwasher moved away from the sink needs a longer drain run.
• Garbage disposal. Needs a switched outlet under the sink and a drain layout that works with the dishwasher connection.
• Refrigerator ice maker. A small cold water line with a shut-off valve behind the fridge. Easy to add while the walls are open, harder afterwards.
• Pot filler. A cold water line run up the wall behind the range. It has to be planned at rough-in, because it goes inside the wall.

Plan for Las Vegas Hard Water

Our water is hard. The Las Vegas Valley Water District puts it at 291 parts per million, or 17 grains per gallon, which it classifies as "very hard," and notes that it can leave a chalky build-up on fixtures. In a new kitchen, that shows up as spots on a dark sink and faucet, scale in the aerator, and mineral buildup inside the dishwasher and ice maker.

A remodel is the easiest time to deal with it:

• Choose faucets with replaceable cartridges and parts that are easy to buy locally.
• If you want a softener or a whole-house filter, plan the space and the plumbing connection now. Our post on water softeners vs filtration explains the difference, and our water treatment service covers both.
• If the house still has old galvanized or failing supply pipe, replacing the kitchen branch while the walls are open costs far less than coming back later.

Permits, Inspection and the Order of Work

Moving or adding fixtures is new plumbing work, and in Clark County and the valley's cities that generally means a plumbing permit and an inspection. Replacing a fixture in the same spot usually does not. A licensed plumber pulls the permit, and the inspection is what confirms the drain slope, venting and gas connections were done to code. If one quote is much cheaper than the others, ask whether it includes the permit.

The plumbing work in a kitchen remodel usually runs in this order:

1. Planning. Final layout, appliance models and their connection requirements.
2. Rough-in. Drain, vent, supply and gas lines are run to their new positions, with any slab trenching done and patched.
3. Testing and inspection. Lines are pressure tested and inspected before walls are closed and floors go down.
4. Cabinets and countertops. The other trades work around the stubbed-out lines.
5. Finish. We come back to set the sink, faucet, disposal and dishwasher, connect the ice maker and range, and check every connection for leaks.

How to Compare Kitchen Plumbing Quotes

Two quotes for "kitchen plumbing" can describe very different jobs. Check that each one states:

• Which fixtures and appliances are being moved, and which stay put
• Whether slab cutting, trenching and concrete patching are included
• How an island sink will be vented
• Gas line size, route and the pressure test for any new gas connection
• New shut-off valves for each fixture and appliance
• Whether permits and inspections are included
• When the water will be off, and how many visits the job takes

A quote that leaves these out is not cheaper. It is less complete.

Get a Free Kitchen Plumbing Estimate

American Brothers Plumbing is a locally owned, family-operated plumbing company, licensed, bonded and insured (NV License #0082700). We handle kitchen remodel plumbing for homeowners and contractors across Las Vegas, Henderson, Summerlin and North Las Vegas, from a simple sink swap to a full island move. Estimates are free and upfront, and financing is available. See our bathroom and kitchen remodel plumbing service or call (702) 704-1776 to talk through your layout.