Replacing the Replacement

6 years ago

Despite having a proactive protocol in place, sometimes in the sink replacement business you get screwed. Before you even open the cabinet doors, you check where the main water shutoff is located. (Don't ask how I learned this please, but the tuition was $20,000.00.) The second thing is to examine the sink you've had shipped to your customer. I did this, but apparently not well enough.

After we had the existing sink removed, my helper announced that the new sink was cracked:

Well, too bad. That bad boy's goin' in, cracked or not. We've jumped half way across the proverbial creek. We drove an hour and a half to this job. I'll have to eat the 3 additional hours of drive time, the repackaging, the drop-off, and the time spent switching the sinks.

I can't imagine the nightmare had I installed the sink with the clips provided by Elkay. I dropped the disposal, loosened the 2 Sink Strap bolts, pulled the cabinet front, pulled the damaged sink, installed the new, replaced the front, and reattached the disposal in exactly an hour. I impressed myself.

Another reason you want your sink strapped, not clipped, in place.

Featured Answer

PRO

Joseph Corlett, LLC
Original Author

6 years ago

Silverlined:

How can an apron sink be mounted into a cabinet that extends into another? Do you not have a filler between the sink base cabinet and the blind corner cabinet?

I appreciate your cabinet builder's efforts, but blocking cannot push a sink upward the way straps can.

The HUSH or Sink Straps do not affect countertop leveling.

Your sink rep needs to go out on a few repair calls with me. Silicone acts as a gasket only. Although it does have some adhesive properties, sinks must be mechanically fastened. I am constantly amazed at how manufacturers of all kinds of products are completely out of touch with the way they should be utilized. You want to find out how to install your company's sink? Give it to a guy who's going to get the callback if it fails.

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Comments (6)

Aglitter
6 years ago
That's great! I'm considering trying to strap in a monster 42" wide apron front stainless steel sink based on your recommendations here at Houzz. My cabinet builder has offered to make support braces for it, but based on your many posts, I am thinking of using the HUSH or Regent straps (or maybe both?). Problem is that the sink base cabinet extends into a blind corner, so finding a place to clip the straps on both sides may be a challenge. I'm also curious if the HUSH or Regent clip thickness interferes with countertop leveling.

You would not believe what the sink manufacturer told me, that the apron front supports the front and silicone around the top supports the back. This is a 42" wide x 18" deep x 8" high sink, and I did the water weight calculations for the volume and was like "no thanks," to the silicone-only idea and moved on to other plans. I guess you see things like that a lot in the field where people just leave it up to someone else to figure out. :-)
Joseph Corlett, LLC thanked Aglitter
eld6161
6 years ago
Love when you post solution, Joseph. Very helpful.
Joseph Corlett, LLC thanked eld6161
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Aglitter
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
@Joseph Corlett, LLC Thank you so much for your personal reply to my application. The sink base is a single cabinet that starts in a blind corner and then extends out far enough beyond that to hold the sink. I'll cancel the sink supports idea and just use the straps based on your advice. You caught us just in time, as we'll be finalizing the cabinetry within a week or so. Thanks! I think we'll need the builder to add a crossbar at the top of the cabinetry to the left of the sink, though. If you see in the photos, the sink base is a single cabinet with the sink installed to the far right side. The HUSH would have to extend to the wall before it finds a resting place on the left side in the current plan. Yes, I was astonished when I received a reply from the manufacturer to only use silicone to hold this gigantic sink in place around the sides and back. My guess is that installers out in the field are doing more than silicone with those big sinks and the manufacturer just doesn't know that. Our kitchen is small, so we took advantage of every inch. This will be a workstation sink with two faucets and about half the length taken up by strainer/dish rack and cutting board kept in place.
PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
Original Author
6 years ago
Silverlined:

Have your cabinetmaker mount a cleat from the front to the rear on the left side of the sink cabinet to mount the strap to and you'll be fine
Aglitter
6 years ago
Thank you for confirming. We will ask him for a left side cleat for sure. Probably easier for him anyway than building in supports. I thought I would order 2 HUSH straps to use just because this sink is extra large.