I've read lots of the plumbing advice threads, but this applies more specifically to those that have custom built or remodeled a kitchen to include plumbing in and out your espresso machine.

I am in the process of building a new home, and one of the things I included was a custom espresso bar! It will be plumbed in and out, but wanted some ideas an input from this knowledgeable community. The project manager initially wanted to stub out the plumbing lines like running a faucet and sink, but that takes up quite a bit of cabinet space. My suggestion was running the plumbing line through the wall and a box/drain similar to a washing machine hookup. This way it is flush mounted to the wall and allows plenty of room for filtration and other storage.

Has anyone else been in this situation? If so please offer any and all suggestions!

If you do the washing-machine-style box, make sure it's low enough for the drain to be gravity fed from your machine. Remember that clothes washers can supply energy to the drain function through various means.

Beyond that if you're intending to stand your machine on a solid countertop (rather than a mobile piece of furniture) you'll likely need a penetration through the counter. The actual feed and water lines aren't very big and could share a single finished hole.

Lastly, consider whether the water running to the feed line will be pre-treated somewhere via filtering, reverse osmosis, etc. You'll need to account for that in the plumbing, but the good news is if you do it right you can feed the same water to an ice maker and a drinking water faucet by your sink.

Thanks for the advice. This will be on a granite counter and will have a hole drilled to accommodate supply and drain lines. Water will be filtered using either Clive's or Chris Coffee system.

As for mounting it low enough to allow gravity draining, how low below the machine and under the counter should the box be? There will be no other sink or anything using this water - just the espresso machine.

Be sure to test your water if you haven't already. I put in a Clive filtration system, and was about to drill the countertop, when I learned I have too much chloride in my water and it would require a different kind of system. On top of that, RO+remin systems are quite a bit bigger than the Clive/Chris filter, so you might need more space than you think, if you end up needing a system like that.

For the drain, La Marzocco recommends a minimum of 1/4 inch of drop per foot of drain line to maintain adequate draining...

I've tested for hardness and it comes in around 150ppm. What kit would you recommend to test for chloride and other undesirable compounds?

If possible, I would recommend, as we did, to have the direct plumb & drain lines come up from the basement (mechanical room in our case) where the proper cut off fittings are installed to install a water filtration system that can be easily maintained and serviced along with a dedicated 20amp electrical supply line.

As always, when renovating or building I recommend 'Whole House Surge Protection' installed at the Load Center (Breaker Panel) so that all 110v & 220v equipment has some protection from internal and external voltage spikes and fluctuations.

Where water, heat and electricity converge - always hire well-qualified, licensed and insured plumbers and electricians!

I am in the process of building a new home, and one of the things I included was a custom espresso bar! It will be plumbed in and out <snip>. The project manager initially wanted to stub out the plumbing lines like running a faucet and sink, but that takes up quite a bit of cabinet space. My suggestion was running the plumbing line through the wall and a box/drain similar to a washing machine hookup. This way it is flush mounted to the wall and allows plenty of room for filtration and other storage. Has anyone else been in this situation? If so please offer any and all suggestions!

Been there, done that. Here are my suggestions:
- If you have room for one put in a bar sink. Mine is in the middle of the counter, between the grinders and the espresso machine; I use it all the time. Yes, this will take some cabinet space, but that's where I installed a tiny vacuum cleaner with a longish hose; I use that often for cleaning my roaster and any mess from the grinders.
- Go with conventional plumbing. In the wall is good (as opposed to the floor) if you or a subsequent owner want to remove the bar.
You can use a washing machine plumbing box on the wall above the counter to feed your water to the espresso machine, but not for the drain, unless you include a pump to get the effluent up to it (needless complication IMHO). A better solution for the drain is to buy a dish washer drain kit and plumb the espresso machine drain to it (no uphill slopes).
- If you put in top cabinets or shelves, be sure the spacing is greater than the usual 18-inches.
- In another post I see you have moderately hard water. I have really hard water and put in a RO filter (any of the DIY store brands is fine...they all work about the same). Mine is in the unfinished basement, with plumbing to all the bathrooms, the kitchen and the espresso bar. You could put one in the cabinet under the bar sink if you don't need RO everywhere. BUT, add a bypass line with a needle valve. Use this to adjust the TDS of your feed water to somewhere around 50 to 75 PPM. Good idea to get a water report from your town and see if there are other undesirables in it, but usually a RO with a bypass valve is more than enough.
- put in plenty of lighting so yu can see what you're doing. I put LED strip lighting under the first shelf...looks cool and makes it easy to see things. But, I also have a ceiling spot light pointed down at the espresso machine (actually covers most of the counter).
- Other than under the sink, where I put doors, most of the rest of my base cabinets have drawers, including a nice tall one to take my Quest roaster. one above that for my greens, and one above that for all the little things I need now and then.
- Think about your work flow. I had to put mine in right to left (grinders to espresso machine) due to the way the room is laid out, but would have preferred left to right, which was what I was used to. Took me a year to get over the 'backwards' routine.

Do have a look at all the neat photos here on the H-B thread where people post photos of their set-ups. Lots of good ideas there!

Thanks for all the advice - keep it coming!

House is being built on a crawl - no basement for them to run plumbing up. The in wall washer box will be mounted below the counter and in the cabinets with cutouts to access, and should allow for proper drainage. I thought about a mini bar sink, but this will only be steps away from our kitchen sink, and don't want to lose the counter space. It will already have under cabinet lighting installed.

Good idea about a whole home surge protector - I will talk to the project manager about that.

I'll post a pic of the design renderings shortly, but sounds like I was already on the right track with plumbing based on these comments.

Espresso machine is obviously not to scale. Total width of the counter is 60", the wine rack above the espresso machine is 30" to accommodate for my lever handle on the pro 800 (28" tall). Will drill a hole in the counter top to plumb and drain it below. Planning on having pour over setup on the counter as well.

Uhhh...wine storage over a hot espresso machine. You may want to rethink that