Friday, April 14, 2006
Fitting a kitchen sink
Finally got around to fitting the worktops and fitting the kitchen sink today. Got slightly way laid on some finishing touches upstairs because Caroline went to Ikea yesterday to buy beds, bedroom furniture etc, and it seemed like a good idea to get upstairs basically finished and cleaned up. There is only the last coat of paint to put on the window trims and around the loft hatch and it's finished.
Anyway back to the kitchen today and putting in the sink.
Cut hole in kitchen sink for tap
The kitchen tap is fitted via a 35mm hole in the kitchen sink. The draining board is going on the right-hand side so I know the front and back part of the sink. I drilled a 10mm hole where the tap was to be positioned and the little black device in the photo is threaded through the hole so that the cutter is underneath the sink and the 'clamp' on top. By just tightening the nut the two halves cut a neat and easy 35mm hole in the correct place.
Markout kitchen sink location
Stick and oblong of masking tape on the worktop and then lay the kitchen sink upside-down on the worktop. I positioned the tap hole on the centerline of the kitchen window above the worktop. It just seemed pleasing to the eye. Draw round the sink onto the masking tape with the sink positioned squarely on the worktop.
Markout the hole
The actual hole in the workstop for the kitchen sink has to be 10mm smaller than the size of the sink. Fairly obvious really otherwise the sink would just fall straight through. So, on the masking tape draw parallel lines 10mm in from the kitchen sink outline with a straight edge etc.
Cut sink hole
The scary bit. With a large drill bit cut four holes, one in each corner, for the jigsaw blade. Using the jigsaw just cut along the lins to join up the four corners. I used a brand new fine cut blade and put the canter on a low setting to prevent chipping the formica worktop.
I have found in the past it's best to go slowly otherwise the blade skews off the vertical and you end up with sloping sides on your hole.
Obviously if you are cutting with the worktop resting on the kitchen cabinets make sure you don't jigsaw through the cabinet sides, and before you ask, not I haven't made that mistake; yet!
Pop the kitchen sink in place just to check everything fits OK.
Silicon sealant
If any water seeps under the kitchen sink and soaks into the wood of the worktop it could expand and 'blow' the worktop, so I put bathroom silicon sealant on the cut edges. Just pump a thick wiggly bead onto the edge and work it in with your fingers. I also do the same on the back edge of the worktop.
Kitchen sink clips
The kitchen sink we bought came with 14 clips that hook under the sink and then screw up onto the underside of the worktop to clamp it down firmly. I did have to cut some notches in the kitchen cabinet horizontal cross members so the clips could fit onto the worktop.
Sealing putty and earthing
Nearly there. The kitchen sink came with with a roll of grey sticky putty like stuff that seals the gaps between the sink and the worktop. Just lay it round the edge of the sink. I also took the opportunity to connect up an earth wire whilst the sink was out.
Now simply pop the whole lot in the hole, make sure it is squared up and tighten up the clips to install it. I tighten up the clips in a sort of zig-zag order, a bit like tightening wheel nuts, to pull the whole thing down square and flat.
Fit tap
It is most probably easier to fit the tap before installing the kitchen sink so you don't have to be double jointed to get to the nut for the tap. However there seemed to be enough room for my hands so I did it afterwards. The tap was supplied with braided flexible hoses so connection to the water supply was trivial.
Fit waste
Finally fit the drain plugs and waste piping to finish the job. Our kitchen sink came with this amazing bending, twisting, adjustable contraption that looked really wierd but actually slotted in very easily. The flexible waste tube was glued into the pipe coming out the bottom of the kitchen cabinet.
| 9:16:34 PM
Fitting a kitchen sink
