If you need to upgrade a sink, choosing the right one can seem daunting. If you plan to do the work yourself, considerations like mounting style, depth, and the type of countertop you have can factor into how simple it is to swap out your old sink for a new one. Here’s a handy guide, from simplest to most complicated sink type to install yourself.
A wall-mounted sink is installed by anchoring it to the wall above the drain. The hardest part is putting it at the right height and horizontal space on the wall to connect up with the drain. Aside from that, you can install it without needing to do any cutting, unless you already have a countertop in the way that needs to be removed. Once it’s attached to the wall, you can connect the plumbing and start using the sink. You should caulk around the edge of the sink where it meets the wall to avoid water damage to the wall. Wall Hung Toilet
The downside to a wall mounted sink’s simple installation is that they aren’t supported by any other structure, so they can tend to pull away from the wall over time. Also, there’s no cabinet to hide your plumbing connections, so they can be less visually appealing.
A pedestal sink is similar to a wall-mounted sink except that it has a support underneath. While the support adds stability, installing it at the right height can be tricky if the pedestal is a separate piece. There’s some extra caulking to do between the sink basin and the pedestal—if they’re two pieces—to keep everything together. If the pedestal and the sink are one piece, installation is about the same difficulty as a wall-mounted sink. Keeping the pedestal level might require shims, and you will need to caulk around the base where it meets the floor, so it’s a little bit more work than installing a wall-mounted type. Since the pedestal is narrow, you have very little room to hide the plumbing connections.
Drop-in style sinks are simple to install yourself. Because the edge of the sink rests on the countertop, all you need to do is choose a sink that fits in your existing opening or cut an opening just a little smaller than the outside edge of the lip on the sink. Matching up the drain pipe to the bottom of a drop-in sink can be as simple as using a standard sink drain kit, but you might need to cut the connecting pipe to the correct length, depending on the height of your drain pipe coming out of the wall. Once your sink is installed, you should re-caulk with silicone caulk around the edges to prevent moisture from seeping into the cabinet below and avoid damage to the countertops.
A flush-mounted sink sits flush with the countertop. It’s similar to a drop-in sink because the edge of the sink rests on top of the edge of the counter, but in this case, the edge of the countertop around the sink is cut to the depth of the lip of the sink so it doesn’t protrude from the surface of the counter. This type of cut is known as a rabbet, and the simplest way to make one is to use a rabbet bit in a router. Because not everyone will have the proper tools for this, it’s a little more challenging than a simple drop-in sink, but still fairly straightforward to install. It’s also more challenging to use this sink type with stone countertops, as the tools and skills for cutting a rabbet in stone are more advanced. In the case of a flush-mounted sink, caulk should be applied to the underside of the lip sparingly to avoid leaving residue on the surface of the counter. Once the sink is pressed flush, wipe away excess caulk.
A farmhouse-style sink requires a structure underneath it in order to be installed. Since it protrudes past the front of the cabinets, it gives you a larger space to work with, but installing it is slightly more involved than a simple drop-in sink. If you are converting to a farmhouse sink from another type, you will likely need to modify your cabinet front to receive the deeper basin. Most cabinets have a panel that covers the front edge of your sink, but a farmhouse sink needs this space, so you would need to cut away that section of your cabinets to accommodate a farmhouse sink. Since the shape of the sink is defined by its protrusion from the cabinet front, a farmhouse sink can be undermounted, flush-mounted, or drop-in, but will require some structural support from underneath regardless.
An undermount sink is installed beneath the counter, leaving the edge of the countertop exposed. This is not ideal for countertops made from a base layer of particle board or other pressed material unless they’re specifically designed for an undermount sink, as the edge will be visible and vulnerable to water damage. Also, the opening for the sink must be exact to receive the sink properly, and there needs to be support from below the sink to hold it in place. This type of sink is simple to switch out if you already have one, but it’s more difficult to modify an existing opening to accommodate it.
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