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I am not sure how this was originally connected, but it is now disconnected. What must I do to get these two pipes re-attached?

The top white pipe has no threading or anything on it, so I'm not sure how the "twisty screw thingy" ever connected the two pipes.

enter image description here

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  • What changed here to cause this gap ? Did you fit a sink that is shallower, or a wastetaker that was shorter ?
    – Criggie
    May 17 at 4:17

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What you're looking at there is a "slip joint".

If you loosen and remove the large white plastic nut (the "twisty screw thingy"), you should find a rubber or plastic gasket/ring underneath it.
This ring is supposed to fit snuggly around the upper pipe, and the nut tightens down onto it, which then forms the seal between the 2 pipes.

To put this all back together, after unscrewing the nut and removing the ring, first slide the nut up onto the upper pipe, then slide the ring up onto the pipe below the nut.
Make sure that you put the ring on the right way around - the beveled edge should be at the bottom (pointing towards the lower pipe) and the flat edge should be at the top (next to the big nut).
Raise the lower pipe up so that the upper pipe slides into it, then hold it there while you slide the nut & ring down, and tighten the nut.
The nut only needs to be 'hand tight' - you should not use any tools to over-tighten it.

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    See here for a diagram of a slip joint: diy.stackexchange.com/a/238932/18078
    – Ecnerwal
    May 16 at 15:29
  • should the ring fit inside/outside of the upper pipe? The beveled end fits snuggly inside of the lower pipe, but I can't get the ring to fit inside/outside of the upper pipe which is what I am thinking the issue is.
    – user2676140
    May 16 at 15:35
  • The ring should fit snuggly over the outside of the upper pipe. If you've got it on correctly then it will prevent the plastic nut from falling off (before you screw it all back together).
    – brhans
    May 16 at 16:06
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    Clean the upper pipe. Unscrew and completely remove the outer ring, and slide it up on the upper pipe. Remove the washer, and carefully slip that on to the upper pipe. It has a triangular profile, and the larger end should point up to the sink, the pointy end towards the floor. Slip the bottom pipe up onto the top one as far as it will go then start tightening the screw ring.
    – jay613
    May 16 at 16:07
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    The top pipe is too short to do this easily so the bottom pipe won't be able to fully slide up into place. Instead, WHILE you are tightening the ring, instead of the ring lowering onto the pipe, push hard on the bottom pipe so it moves upward into the ring, until it starts getting tight then you won't be able to do that any more.
    – jay613
    May 16 at 16:07

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