Replace Drop in Sink With An Undermount Sink.

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

Are Granite Countertops a Threat to Your Health?

There has been a controversy swirling around behind the scenes in the countertop industry for around 10 years or so. The issue is the amount of radon that some types of granite countertops are emitting and whether or not it should be deemed a legitimate risk to peoples health.

It was only this week that I noticed it in the mainstream media for the first time. Fox News featured a segment on this issue on July 25th about it. Since then, I started looking around and it looks to me like this is going to be an industry shaking event before too much longer.

Radon is the main culprit in the countertop related health scare. But according to W.J. Llope, a physics professor ar Rice University in Houston, Texas, we should also be concerned about the levels of Uranium as well. This is according to an AP article that was published on Chron.com on July 26, 2008.

Professor Llope goes on to say "I'm not claiming that people necessarily will get very sick or die of cancer within months," Llope said. "But if you spend 10 years in that kitchen there is a risk you may end up with cancer. It might or might not be attributed to granite. Who would know?"

Hey, theres nothing like those scientists to give you a certain definite answer about something, right? It may be dangerous but maybe not and if it is and you can't tell then how will you know, and blah blah blah.

On the other side of the argument you have people saying in defense of granite that granite is absolutely safe...mostly.

The same article has a quote from Jim Martinez, a spokesman from the Marble Institute of America. He warns against the use of "Junk Science" to determine the threat levels posed by granite countertops. A point that I fully agree with. Junk science has been the ruin of many good things and has muddied the waters in all kinds of research from medical advancements to global warming.

Jim Martinez goes on to say that according to a study done at The University of Akron, 85% of the granite varieties used in America were found to be safe. WHAT? 85% safe. Okay, who wants to volunteer to be the 15% of consumers that has radon oozing, uranium churning countertops in their kitchen?

I know Jim means well, but that is not a very good argument for the Granite team in my opinion.

He is correct about one thing though. There needs to be uniform standards and protocol across the board in order to properly study the levels of radon and uranium
in these countertops.

There are 2 sides to this story and it is one that I will be keeping an eye on.

Right or wrong, I think there will end up being a lot of litigation and eventually a lot more government regulations involving the granite industry.

Conducting a radon test in your home is very simple. We have located a web site that sells low cost radon testing products that are 100% EPA approved and easy to use. You can order online and have the package within just a few days, not to mention their excellent customer support. Click here to go there now

You can spend truckloads of money getting someone to test the radon levels in your home or you can buy different types of test kits and radon safety gadgets to test it yourself. If you are going to want to test it periodically, it's probably a good idea to go ahead and buy several test kits
or one of the radon safety gadgets and do it yourself.

Here is the link to the story at Chron.com http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/hotstories/5909022.html

Retro Fit Sink Replacement. Undermount to Drop IN

This a a retro fit sink replacement. The customer had a Fountainhead brand intregal solid surface undermount sink that had the old squiggly lines in the bottom that would not sand out.

The customer was dead set against putting in another solid surface sink and wanted to go with a stone composite sink (Pegasus model) in a drop in application. This particular sink can be installed as an undermount or a drop in.

Every job has to have a good supervisor right? Here was my super for the day.





Here is the ugly old sink. As you can see, the small side has most of the damage.





The process for getting the old sink out is a little bit different on this one. When you do a solid surface sink replacement and you are going to go back with another solid surface sink, you cut the sink free from the countertop at the point where the countertop and the sink meet.

On this one, I can cut out the hole for the new sink and just leave the old sink attached to the countertop material, lift it straight out of the top of the countertop, and then the new sink is ready to be replaced.





Here is the new sink, all ready for washing dishes. I left before he made me wash dishes.

This job was performed by Complete Solid Surface Refinishing in beautiful North Carolina!