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hellonasty

Calling all Undermount Sink owners

16 years ago

Hello,

We are having a zero radius sink with Silestone countertop installed. I am wondering... to anyone who has an undermount sink (it doesn't have to be zero radius or even Silestone for that matter but would be helpful if I can hear from Silestone people)...

is your counter cut to be flush with the sides of the sink? In my mind I am trying to achieve a very flush look from the Silestone to the insides of the sink. I don't want the Silestone to hang over the insides of the sink.

Is your counter material flush to the insides of your undermount sink?

Comments (13)

  • 16 years ago

    Granite countertop and Silgranit sink here...

    You're describing a zero reveal. My short answer is no. :)

    We had ours done with a very slight negative reveal (the countertops overlap the sink) - about 1/8" We did it this way so that when we wipe the counters, the goop can "fall" into the sink and not get stuck on the sides. The installer ran a bead of silicone to seal the joint and keep anything from getting in there.

  • 16 years ago

    I wanted a flush look too. My sink was designed to either drop in or undermount, however, so it has a gently curved angle at the top, rather than an edge. My fabricator decided that having just a tiny bit of a negative reveal would actually give it a more flush look than if it were actually flush to the side of the sink. That also meant that gunk was a lot less likely to stick at the join. That's soapstone on cast iron.

    If the sides of your sink are perfectly vertical, rather than flared, I'd think you'd want perfectly flush too. All you need is a skilled and precise fabricator who doesn't use a negative reveal to hide his imperfections.

  • 16 years ago

    I have a negative reveal for the same reason as avesmor. When you wipe the counter, everything just falls into the sink. I thought it would be tricky for them to cut a zero reveal as my granite is super hard to cut with a lot of mica.

    Originally I thought I wanted a positive reveal so I could see any stuff that gathered and clean it, but the granite fab talked me out of it saying it would always look sloppy eventually.

    Good luck

  • 16 years ago

    I didn't go for the flush look.

    Basically, the idea is that it's hard to line up all four sides perfectly, and even then after this technical achievement, you find that you are never standing exactly overhead to admire it that way. You always end up seeing one rounded lip more than any other. So, we let the counter overhang a bit all around, covering the rounded lip and removing that from permanent consideration for all eyes. We called it an overhang to make it sound more positive, more appealing, more palatable, more whatever. The opposite is a "reveal", also a positive term. This got rid of the underlying bias against having something called a "negative".

    ; - ))

    I have nothing against the reveal either. I think it is feasible to have a big enough reveal to hang cutting boards on.

    My sink had a 45 degree slant just under the top lip, so that gave me some wiggle room, along with having full bullnose edging all around the inside of the cutout, and I have found that I can manage to squeak in colanders and cutting boards.


    Since you have a zero radius sink, you could do a half bullnose, quarter round, or a small bevel. Anything that makes the edge less than a 90 degree corner, since a 90 degree corner edge is more prone to being chipped than an edge that has been softened or reduced a bit.

    HTH

  • 16 years ago

    Nice diagrams avesmor

    I have a 30" Julien ss sink under Castle White marble with a 1/8-inch negative reveal. I was expecting a flush reveal.

    After using the sink for a year I would prefer a 1/8 to 1/4-inch positive reveal (and would accept caulk) because the edges of the marble are getting dings.

    In fact, I have ex-post-sinko fallen for the Kohler stages sink with the beveled top edge (it wouldn't fit and wasn't an option) but I think the bevel that lets the counter material be very neatly pulled back (and the water roll down) is genius.

  • 16 years ago

    We have zero radius corners in the undermount sink with a zero reveal on the counter. We got an accessory colander that would only work with a zero reveal cutout. Some sinks recommend a specific type of reveal on install. Check the spec sheet of your sink. If not on the spec sheet, maybe in the install instructions or owners manual. Our sink came with diagrams similar to those shown on avesmor's post. In order for the colander to work, it specified zero reveal. I have no problem with crumbs or crud getting stuck in the caulk area. I verified with the stone fabricator prior to template that we were expecting a zero reveal. I made sure to mention so many times that he was probably ready to throw me out of his shop. All came out fine, the sink is gorgeous and the reveal is stunning.

    Here is a link that might be useful: sink

  • 16 years ago

    Thanks for the info, everyone! Very helpful stuff, as always!

    avesmor, great diagram! cienza, your sink and stone is beautiful!

  • 16 years ago

    Thank you, hellonasty - it's been a long few months on this project. It started slow, but steady will win this race. Lots of planning, praying, sacrifice and sweat. Well worth giving up the summer, but man, sure could use a nice, long, sticky beach day once it's all done!

  • 16 years ago

    I hear ya cienza! I live 30 minutes away from the beach and I've only been once this summer :( We're getting close to the end of our reno but we hit a couple of snags recently that have added on a lil bit 'o extra stress... these snags are going to be taken care of, with hopefully no problem... but they're annoying and disappointing and they add stress, know what I mean?

    I wonder if there is anybody on the planet who's ever had a perfectly stress free renovation? haha. Doubt it!!

  • 16 years ago

    Great, i just learned that we had a positive reveal installed last week and we have already noticed the problem with water sitting on the lip. Never thought to specify that and we were not asked. We just gave them the template that came with our ticor sink. Too late now - add another point to the "kitchen mistakes or regrets list".

  • 16 years ago

    Worth noting with a zero-radius sink: if the corners are a sharp square shape, my understanding is that it is not possible to cut the granite to exactly match that shape.

    Our sink is flush with the counter edge, except for at the corners, where there is a 1/4 circle radius. It's very small, so I'm sure no one would notice unless they were cleaning the sink.

  • PRO
    8 years ago

    This is for jabelone. I too had the same situation. I wish I had read this post prior to our undermount installation. The contractor never asked or explained the reveal to us either. I am very clean and keep a clean kitchen. I have had my sink for 5 years now and it has been very difficult to keep clean. It looks awful and I am very unhappy with how it turned out. I feel stupid now knowing that this could have been avoided. I assumed the installers would have mentioned this very important piece of information.