We bought a new refrigerator, and naturally had to have one that dispensed water and ice. But we did not have a water line. So I’m going to take you along and show you how we installed one. Hopefully this will help you out if you are thinking about the process of installing a water line.
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Here’s what you will need:
A line to connect the shut off valve to the refrigerator
Shark Bite push to connect fitting
Icemaker outlet box
PVC tubing
Multipurpose pipe cutter
water meter key
spade bit
drill
utility knife
Step 1
Shut off the main water line to your house. We used a water meter key for this, which you can pick up for under $20, but you can probably also use pliers if yours isn’t stuck. Drain remaining water from the lines by turning on a faucet.
Step 2
Find a spot behind the fridge to attach the outlet box. You’ll want this to be next to a stud. We cut a small hole first because we knew there are electrical lines in that area. After locating those lines we traced an online of the outlet box and cut the sheet rock using a utility knife.
Step 3
The water line needed to run up from under the house, so we went under to locate the correct spot using those electrical lines I just mentioned. Drill a hole up through the floor using a spade bit large enough to fit the line (I think we had a 1”), and then fish the water line up through the hole.
Step 4
Back in the house, pull the water line up through and attach it to the outlet box, which has a shut off valve built in. The shark bite connectors are nice because they connect by simply pushing the two parts together.
Step 5
Screw the box into the wall and pop the cover on. The waterline connector screws onto the line at the back of the fridge and then attaches to the shut off valve.
Step 6
All that’s left is to attach that water line to a source of water down below the house. We ran the line over to a cold water supply line, cut that line with the pipe cutter, and attached a shark bite T connector that joined the cut parts and the new water line.
Step 7
Turn the water back on, check for any leaks, and enjoy nice cold water (and crushed ice) straight from your fridge.