Replacing a drop in sink with an undermount stainless steel sink
This is one of those jobs I love to get. Why? Because almost everytime I get a chance to do one of these, the customer has been told by at least one person "in the industry" that this is an impossible task and that no person or company anywhere can possibly pull off such a job with satisfactory results.
That really gets me going. I just love doing things that "can't" be done. Of course they can be done or I wouldn't be doing them. Enough babbling, on with the show!
This customer has an Americast composite sink that is a drop in style. She wanted very badly to have an undermount stainless steel sink.
instead because of the smooth transition into the sink. There is nothing sticking up through the countertop to have to clean around and recaulk and collect foodstuff etc. With just a simple wipe of the countertop, all the crumbs just fall effortlessly down into the sink and are rinsed away.
After I have removed the drop in sink, the first thing I have to do is to cut all four sides of the sink cutout smooth so that I can seam the required Corian to all 4 edges of the sink cutout.
The reason I have to do this is because the hole that is there is considerably larger for the drop in sink than is required for the new undermount stainless steel sink
installation. This is always the case when switching from a drop in sink to an undermount sink.
Here is a shot of the rough sink cutout. You can see how it is not an even and smooth cutout and will have to be recut before I can proceed with the hole shrink. You can see how I cut the sides using straight edges and a router. Because I dont want to give away any top secret information, I am not telling how I make the back section cuts. And you can't make me! (He says smiling gleefully)
Next, I seam the pieces of Corian to the sides to shrink the cutout from left to right. While the seams are curing, I will be preparing the material for the front to back hole shrinking process.
These jobs are very involved with lots of very small steps along the way that I am not documenting with pictures. Not because I did not want to share the pictures with you but I just got all wrapped up in getting the job done and just forgot to take some of the pics.
Okay, you can see here that I have gotten all of the seams done around the sink, then I recut the sink cutout to the proper dimensions and shape to accept the new stainless steel undermount sink. I have also drilled the holes into the countertop for the faucet.
What's left now is to attach the new undermount stainless steel sink to the countertop and then have the plumber come and install the plumbing. You would think that all the hard work was over at this point. Not the case. Installing an undermount stainless steel sink as a retrofit project is a very challenging process. Fighting gravity, positioning the sink correctly in the exact right spot and above all, making sure that all of your attaching efforts are sufficient. The last thing I want is to get a call in the middle of the night about someone's sink crashing to the floor.
Tah Dah! Here is the new undermount stainless steel sink
installed and all ready for a long life of washing dishes.
Well, there you have it. The customer was tickled because she got her retrofit undermount stainless steel sink
and I was happy too because I got to show that a job that could not be done actually could be done and done well.
Another job that just can't be done. Done by Complete Solid Surface Refinishing in beautiful North Carolina.
Nationwide Surface Repair