Man, I hear you on those old houses. I’ve crawled under more than a few sinks where the drain and the tailpiece are playing a game of “how far can we miss each other by.” Flex tailpieces have saved my bacon more than once, especially when you’re staring down a 60-year-old vanity that’s basically glued to the wall.
I get the argument for rigid—less chance of leaks, looks cleaner, all that. But sometimes you’re just not going to get everything lined up without tearing out half the cabinet or busting out the torch. I’ve seen flexes last way longer than I’d care to admit, too. Not my first choice, but if it’s not leaking and the tenant’s happy, sometimes you just let sleeping dogs lie.
Funny thing, I once found a setup where the drain was actually routed around a drawer. Like, someone literally cut a notch in the drawer so the pipe could pass through. At that point, flex or not, you just gotta laugh and make it work...
Had a job last winter where the sink was off by almost six inches from the drain. Whoever installed it must’ve just shrugged and said “good enough.” Ended up using two flexes and a bunch of creative cursing. Not ideal, but sometimes you gotta work with what you’re handed. I’ve seen some wild drawer notching too—makes you wonder if they ever thought about future repairs at all...
