How To Install A Apron Kitchen Sink

There aren't many remodeling projects that work comfortably in both traditional and contemporary interiors. It'southward hard to think of any bathroom fixtures that could do this.

The same is true of most furniture, wallpaper, light fixtures, cabinets and fifty-fifty appliances. So, when you find something like a farmhouse sink (this mode is also called a "farmhouse apron front sink") that can look good in but about whatsoever kitchen, information technology'south worth taking a closer look.

A white farmhouse sink with pull-down sprayer faucet on a marble countertop.

These fixtures are firmly rooted in the past because they echo designs from decades ago. But they also have contemporary grace notes due to their simple, unadorned designs, and are very popular with today'due south kitchen designers.

A gray double-bowl farmhouse sink on a marble countertop. — Farmhouse sinks are made with both unmarried and double bowls.

Though most farmhouse kitchen sinks have a unmarried bowl, double bowls are also widely available. Some buyers don't want to make the change to single bowl models because they are used to how these sinks piece of work. Others just prefer the look of a double bowl sink. Although both types function differently, the installation of both is basically the same.

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Although you can observe farmhouse sinks that drop in over your countertop, the nether-mount approach is more than common.

This means that if you have laminate counters, you should selection one of the drib-in models that tin cover the cut edges of your sink cutout hole. These sinks await like under-mount models because they have the aforementioned front aprons.

They practice non, withal, have one of the great features of a typical farmhouse sink—the ability to wipe counter droppings directly into the sink without hitting a sink lip. If you program to install new counters, then the under-mount arroyo is preferred.

Farmhouse Sink Cabinet Retrofits

Fortunately, farmhouse sinks are designed to work in existing kitchen sink cabinets. They do require modifications, but none are very difficult.

The showtime step is to remove the existing sink, and then make a sink admission-notch in the face frame only above the doors. Although this panel tin can sometimes look like a drawer, it is a imitation front. A drawer couldn't work because the sink occupies the space that a drawer would require.

Occasionally these panels operate, when they are hinged to tip down, so sponges can be stored in a small tray behind the panel. Even so, this feature is eliminated when the new sink is installed.

Man lifting a double-bowl sink off a white kitchen counter. — To remove an existing sink, first cut the old caulk around the perimeter of the sink with a sharp utility knife. Then carefully pry up the sink using a pry bar. Put a rag under the prying end of the bar to forestall damage to the counter. Once the sink seal is broken, elevator the sink upwards and out of the opening.

Virtually sink cabinets are 36 inches broad, simply some are 30 inches wide. Farmhouse sinks are available in both sizes, so option out a model that will fit your cabinet. Side by side, take out the template that comes with the sink and read the directions about how to use information technology. The template will explicate how to support the sink and how to cut the counter next to it, if required.

For under-mountain installations, the sink should be supported from below. (When full of water, these sinks can become very heavy.) This means using a drill to spiral 2×4 support cleats to both cabinets walls and the back of the chiffonier, too, if information technology leaves enough room for the plumbing connections.

The template volition explain exactly where these cleats should be located to support the sink y'all have. Make sure to utilise screws that go just through the cleat and the side of the chiffonier. Don't use screws that are and so long that they would interfere with the functioning of a drawer in a nearby cabinet.

The template also explains the location and the size of cuts required in the face frame.

To make these cuts, you'll need a variable jig saw. In most cases, there should be enough room to make the cuts without interfering with the doors underneath. Just if this happens to you, you'll have to install new, shorter doors and add a filler block between the new doors and the bottom of the new sink.

Use blue painter'south tape to cover upward the cabinet face up where the notch cuts fall. This will reduce the splintering from the cut and protect the surface from scratches caused by a rough saw foot. When working with a jig saw, be sure to wear protective middle gear and work gloves.

Placing the Farmhouse Sink

Before sliding the sink into identify, run a dewdrop of silicone caulk around the face frame cutout and along the top of the back up cleats. Get some help to lift the sink and lower it into place from above. Locate the sink so the apron sticks out about a half-inch from the front of the cabinet.

Next, push the sink confronting the cabinet and wipe abroad any caulk squeeze-out from around the sink. Lastly, add some silicone caulk to the meridian edges of the sink, then install the countertops over the sink. Again, be sure to wipe abroad any squeeze-out.

Sink Plumbing Connections

Because these sinks accept big, deep bowls, they ofttimes have unmarried drain openings. Nevertheless, the sinks they replace are almost always double-bowl units with ii drain openings. This means that the waste plumbing components need altering. If you're not comfortable working with plumbing, or come across whatsoever questions as you're working, call a licensed plumber.

The showtime step is to install a drain assembly in the drain pigsty, according to the directions that come with this hardware.

This associates must be connected to the sink trap that's already in identify. How this is washed is dependent on the existing atmospheric condition, merely nigh oftentimes, yous kickoff install a disposer unit of measurement to the bottom of the drain assembly.

Side by side, remove the trap from the existing system, so install information technology on the piping coming out of the disposer's side.

Cease upward by positioning the trap and so the drain side is facing toward the waste pipe in the wall. To make this piece of work, the extension pipe from the trap to the drain piping in the wall needs to be cut to size.

Kitchen plumbing system beneath a sink, including disposer and joined piping. — If your new sink has two drain holes, one should exist devoted to a food waste matter disposer and the other to draining away waste matter water. Typically, the two are joined above the trap, and so the trap is joined to the waste piping opening in the wall. If the sink has a single opening, install the disposer betwixt the bleed plumbing fixtures and the trap. Suit the length of the extension tube to accomplish the wall.

The water supply lines commonly need alterations too, because typically when a sink is replaced, the faucet is replaced, too. To practise this, commencement install the faucet (and typically a spray hose on a kitchen sink), so measure out the distance from the bottom of the faucet to the water supply valves and install new supply tubes from these valves to the hot and cold sides of the faucet.

Finally, test for leaks, and adjust the plumbing where needed. If no leaks appear, y'all're done!

Steve Willson began his career as a carpentry contractor in Rochester, New York, where he owned and operated his own business organisation. He then joined Popular Mechanics mag as their Dwelling Improvement Editor, a position he held for 22 years. He is the author of iii books and has edited or rewritten 11 books on various home improvement and tool-use topics. He also writes for the Home Depot, which carries a wide choice of tools that brand installing a new sink much easier.