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Sunday, April 6, 2008

Installing Drains in a Corian Sink.

There seems to be a lot of different ideas about installing the drains, or strainer baskets in Corian or other solid surface sinks. I thought I should address it.

When you install the strainer baskets you will do it just as you would any other sink. Here are the steps.

Step 1:Use plumbers putty around the strainer. Do not, do not, do not, use silicone. Some well meaning plumbers and do it your selfers have told a lot of people that it is best to use silcone instead of plumbers putty.

That is horrible advice and here is why.


Silicone does what the plumbers want it to do. It holds the strainer baskets in place and it keeps them from leaking. But, it holds everything together a little too well. If the baskets ever need to be changed, it is not going to be easy. And what happens when it isn't easy? Brute force comes into play, along with frustration. For a solid surface sink, that is the last thing you need. A little too much frustration mixed with brute force and you have the recipe for a sink replacement.

Step 2: Tighten your parts just enough. Do not under tighten them or you will have a leak. Do not over tighten them or you will get a crack in the sink.

I hope this is helpful. Don't forget to subscribe to my blog for regular updates and articles. The sign up form is on the side bar to your left.

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6 comments:

Unknown said...

Some good words of advice

replacementcounters.com said...

Do you find the Corian sinks craking often because of over tightening?

B said...

Yes. I see cracks from overtightening fairly often. Thanks for stopping by.

Anonymous said...

I am replacing my disposal in my Corian sink and I am very perplexed on putty or silicone for the drain.
My putty container says do NOT use on plastic, and I also read on some sites that it stains.
It looks like Plumbers putty was used previously or something like it.
If it is a "non porous" surface how can it stain?
I see nothing on dupont's website.

Grandma and Grandpa Clark said...

I have a corian counter top and the sink is a drop in. I need to replace the putty or grout used to seal the sink to the counter top. What was used when installed fifteen years ago was the same color as the corian and is a rubber sort of stuff. I can't seem to find a product to redo it. any suggestions would be very appreciated. Thanks

Anonymous said...

Well said. I just got a similar sink to yours and was trying to see what current owners say.