Dishwasher fit - too much pipework?

Joy_12345

I'd like to buy a dishwasher but there's a lot of pipework, at considerable depth, in its slot (see photos). This is where the previous owner had a dishwasher - which looks like a standard size based on its height and width (seen in my photos from house-viewing) and it didn't stick out.

Without the pipework, the dishwasher I like would fit perfectly based on the dimensions. Customer services are unable to tell me the dimensions for any 'empty space' at the back of that particular model, so there's no way for me to check if it would fit around the pipework. At its furthest point, the pipework is about 6 inches deep.

Any advice? I have no experience with dishwashers so don't know what their behinds look like. Would most dishwashers out there fit this space fine based on empty space at their backs? Or is it going to be harder to find, in which case I should visit shops to measure up? 

Or if no standard-size dishwasher would fit, what are my options? Thank you!

Alanp

Unclip the long pipe that’s secured to the cabinet, loosen the two connectors on the tee, and turn it up above the horizontal pipe, you might gain a bit that way, if you find a particular dishwasher, you can usually go on the manufacturer website and get the dimensions and measurements, or consider a slimline dishwasher..

Nearlyold

Is the tall waste pipe on the right hand side that takes up a lot of space used for anything? Is there a sink in either of the cabinets on the left or right?

EssexExile

Most dishwashers are almost 600mm deep above the first few inches (nice mix of metric and imperial) so how deep is the hole back to those pipes?

grumpy_codger

My old integrated dishwasher that I installed 25 years ago happily accommodated pipework behind it:

My new integrated dishwasher (new house) has to be right next to the wall without any gap. 'Behind' is flat at the top with 5x15cm (DxH) gap at the bottom, i.e. there is some place for water pipe (yours is too high for this gap), but definitely absolutely no space for a standpipe. At ao.com I see all three dimensions, and the depth varies from 55 to 60cm (mine is 55 without the extra door panel). I see even an installation chart with all dimensions, otherwise you can google for it.

Your standpipe can easily be adjusted to take less space, but I don't see how it cant take 5cm or less. Probably, if 5cm gap is big enough for your new dishwasher, you can get rid of the vertical standpipe and, if needed, use a slimmer joint for horizontal pipe. 

Can you reach your sink with an extended waste hose? 

With a freestanding dishwasher you'll have more flexibility as it doesn't have to be flash with the cabinet doors.

Joy_12345

Nearlyold said:

Is the tall waste pipe on the right hand side that takes up a lot of space used for anything? Is there a sink in either of the cabinets on the left or right?

Good question - no, that tall pipe isn't used for anything (presumably it was there for the dishwasher before). Any idea why it might have been there, rather than the dishwasher waste going straight into the T joint or the black/grey bits? 

No sink in the cabinets directly to the left or right.

Joy_12345

grumpy_codger said:

'Behind' is flat at the top with 5x15cm (DxH) gap at the bottom, i.e. there is some place for water pipe (yours is too high for this gap), but definitely absolutely no space for a standpipe. At ao.com I see all three dimensions, and the depth varies from 55 to 60cm (mine is 55 without the extra door panel). I see even an installation chart with all dimensions, otherwise you can google for it.

Your standpipe can easily be adjusted to take less space, but I don't see how it cant take 5cm or less. Probably, if 5cm gap is big enough for your new dishwasher, you can get rid of the vertical standpipe and, if needed, use a slimmer joint for horizontal pipe. 

Can you reach your sink with an extended waste hose? 

With a freestanding dishwasher you'll have more flexibility as it doesn't have to be flash with the cabinet doors.

Thank you. Before I remove the vertical standpipe, could there have been a good reason for it, rather than the waste going straight into the T pipe? e.g. Might it have been tall to prevent other waste water entering the dishwasher from elsewhere? And if so, is there an alternative workaround?

Also, would I remove the black and grey bits too, or is there a reason for those?

Joy_12345

EssexExile said:

Most dishwashers are almost 600mm deep above the first few inches (nice mix of metric and imperial) so how deep is the hole back to those pipes?

Without the pipework, the hole is about 610mm deep (which is the same depth as the dishwasher I have my eye on), and the pipework runs to about 6 inches from the wall. So the remaining space is 610mm minus 6 inches (again, nice mix of metric and imperial!), i.e. the dishwasher would stick out 6 inches unless part of the pipework can nestle into any empty space at the back. 

grumpy_codger

Joy_12345 said:

grumpy_codger said:

My old integrated dishwasher that I installed 25 years ago happily accommodated pipework behind it:

My new integrated dishwasher (new house) has to be right next to the wall without any gap. 'Behind' is flat at the top with 5x15cm (DxH) gap at the bottom, i.e. there is some place for water pipe (yours is too high for this gap), but definitely absolutely no space for a standpipe. At ao.com I see all three dimensions, and the depth varies from 55 to 60cm (mine is 55 without the extra door panel). I see even an installation chart with all dimensions, otherwise you can google for it.

Your standpipe can easily be adjusted to take less space, but I don't see how it cant take 5cm or less. Probably, if 5cm gap is big enough for your new dishwasher, you can get rid of the vertical standpipe and, if needed, use a slimmer joint for horizontal pipe. 

Can you reach your sink with an extended waste hose? 

With a freestanding dishwasher you'll have more flexibility as it doesn't have to be flash with the cabinet doors.

Thank you. Before I remove the vertical standpipe, could there have been a good reason for it, rather than the waste going straight into the T pipe? e.g. Might it have been tall to prevent other waste water entering the dishwasher from elsewhere? And if so, is there an alternative workaround?

Also, would I remove the black and grey bits too, or is there a reason for those?

Several reasons: 

• the U/P trap
• with a standpipe the hose could be loosely inserted into it, without it the connection has to be tight and sealed

You can possibly create something similar to a trap by fixing the hose to the wall.

How far away is the sink? I see up to 4m extension hose kits available.

WIAWSNB

Joy_12345 said:

grumpy_codger said:

My old integrated dishwasher that I installed 25 years ago happily accommodated pipework behind it:

My new integrated dishwasher (new house) has to be right next to the wall without any gap. 'Behind' is flat at the top with 5x15cm (DxH) gap at the bottom, i.e. there is some place for water pipe (yours is too high for this gap), but definitely absolutely no space for a standpipe. At ao.com I see all three dimensions, and the depth varies from 55 to 60cm (mine is 55 without the extra door panel). I see even an installation chart with all dimensions, otherwise you can google for it.

Your standpipe can easily be adjusted to take less space, but I don't see how it cant take 5cm or less. Probably, if 5cm gap is big enough for your new dishwasher, you can get rid of the vertical standpipe and, if needed, use a slimmer joint for horizontal pipe. 

Can you reach your sink with an extended waste hose? 

With a freestanding dishwasher you'll have more flexibility as it doesn't have to be flash with the cabinet doors.

Thank you. Before I remove the vertical standpipe, could there have been a good reason for it, rather than the waste going straight into the T pipe? e.g. Might it have been tall to prevent other waste water entering the dishwasher from elsewhere? And if so, is there an alternative workaround?

Also, would I remove the black and grey bits too, or is there a reason for those?

The vertical pipe is the standard way to take a dishwasher or washing machine waste.
The outlet hose from the appliance sits loosely inside that pipe, and allows air to be drawn in around it along with the ejected water - this prevents the DW/WM from being continually 'sucked' empty by the water flow. The air gap is necessary.
The alternative, which is why you have been asked whether there's a sink adjacent to that space, is to take the DW hose directly to the sink waste, to a connector immediately below the sinktop.
You have three options, afaIcs;
1) adjust that vertical pipe as described by Alan above. Do you understand what he means? In essence, that vertical pipe is moved from the unit side to the back wall, so saving you its thickness.
2) provided the sinktop isn't too far away, it should be possible to completely remove that vertical pipe and U-bend, and cap it off at the 'tee'. The DW outlet hose can then be extended with a kit, passed through a small hole in the unit side at the back, taken to the sink unit, and connected via an adaptor directly to the sink's plumbing. So, where is the sinktop?
3) the vertical pipe and U-bend can be moved to the adjacent unit and mounted there instead. The white horizontal waste pipe clearly runs behind both side units, so you'd have a choice! Ie, the existing 'tee' is either capped or replaced by a straight connector, and a new tee and the vertical pipe fitted at the back of one of the side units. The hose is then taken via a small hole through the side at the back to the new vertical pipe location.
Option 1 is by far the easiest, provided it gives you the required depth?

QrizB

FWIW, I mostly agree with grumpy_codger - that all looks normal to me, it'll probably be fine as it is.