Shoulda used plumbers putty and installed the clips.

Hi,

You really want to seal under the rim of the sink - not apply it to the outside edge.

It looks like you installed the sink into a Formica countertop. If so, you should remove the sink and install with plumber's putty (you roll out the putty and place it in on the bottom edge of the sink lip while the sink is upside down. You want to create a continuous bead of putty). When you install the sink and tighten the clips, the excess putty will be pressed out. Just roll/wipe up the excess.

You can use silicone caulk instead of plumber's putty on Formica, but plumber's putty is easier to clean up.

Do not use plumber's putty on stone - including granite or marble. The oil in the putty will discolor the stone. In that case, use clear silicone in place of the putty. Once you install the sink and tighten the clips the excess silicone will - like the putty - be pressed out. Don't try to clean up the excess silicone until it's almost cured.

As for the faucets, remove that caulk completely. There should be a gasket under the faucets that keep it from leaking. If not, use sealant under the faucet, not on the surface, and remove the excess after it's almost cured.

There are plenty of YouTube videos that show how to do it.

Thank you both, these were helpful. Jake, that was a perfect reply, detailed and with a couple of extra options. I appreciate the fully, but simple explanation of the problem and these steps. It was a professional repairman who had installed the sink, but it leaked a lot, then on the warranty visit, he merely applied silicone to the edges, which made it leak less, but still leaked, then on the 2nd warranty visit, a different professional repairman merely applied a thicker layer of silicone on the edges. If you say that no silicone should have been applied to the outside, why did both of them do it???

Because they are total and complete hacks and should be grabbed by the shirt collar and escorted to the front stoop.

It's one thing for a homeowner who is a "total home repair novice" to do that - it's something else entirely for a "Professional" to do that. Get the supervisor on the phone. Tell them to check YouTube if they don't know how to install a damn sink.

No caulk on the outside of the sink.

To remove the Caulk, should use a hair dryer, box cutter, pliers, and mineral spirits? I will be performing the Caulk removal myself, I have contacted the professional repairmen, but they have not scheduled the 3rd warranty visit with me yet. The first time I contacted them about a leak, it took them 2 months before they actually began repairs. Is that normal? Also, they usually refuse to schedule the repair, they insist on just showing up at a random day and time, knocking on my door, they are not professional enough to call and schedule a time. Seems odd to me. Thank you.

Unfortunately, with home warranty repairmen, you get what you (don't) pay for. :/ I know, it's a gigantic pain -- and at $75/visit, it's not like it's free. But I just flew my dad out from the east coast to CA to fix the wiring in one of our house light switches, since the home warranty electrician couldn't/wouldn't do it and wanted to rip out 20+ feet of drywall and cut into my garage joists to rewire instead. :/ One $700 plane ticket later, my (non-electrician) father had fixed the wiring, sans any drywall massacre, and my kids got to hang out with Grandpa for a few days.

All that to say. I haven't had the best luck with some of the home warranty guys. (Water heater and furnace repairmen both were fine.)

Since they did such a terrible job with what they have already done, I would b calling a plumber to come in and reinstall the sink, so its installed properly.

The sink needs to be dropped and the top rim then caulked with 100% silicone to the underside of the top. Then the strap reattached. Post up a pic but it may be a good time to use a sink strap which is a considerably better choice than the clips that come with the sink.

The sink pictured is a top mount; straps won't work, however, I agree that the sink needs to be removed, silicone caulk applied between the sink flange and top, and the sink secured with the provided clips.

Remove the existing excess caulk with a credit card please.

I am skeptical that any leaking is from the sink being improperly installed.

This is 101 DIY.

Even if you don't want to do it, you need to. Because the substrate under the Formica is probably particle board. A leaking sink rim & particle board should not be allowed to wait for 2 months to get repaired. The particle board is getting wet & when it gets wet, it swells and crumbles.

I'm not a youngster by any means & installed my sink and faucet. The only thing that I needed help with was removing the old cast iron sink.

You need to shut off the water, disconnect the faucet hose at the water source & disconnect the drain. Lift the sink with faucet still attached out of the hole. ( I primed & painted the raw particle board edge & underneath for a little extra protection in case of leaks.)

Since your faucet has goop around the base, that indicates that the faucet wasn't installed properly. It may be that it just needs for the fasteners to be tightened up. Or it could mean that the bozo installers left out a piece that goes under the faucet escutcheon plate (depends on the faucet--may not have one.)

I used plumbers putty as outlined above on the underside of the sink rim. Because I wanted the sink to be easily removable. (Plan to relocate the sink later.)

With the faucet firmly affixed to sink & the rope of putty on the sink rim, set the sink back in the hole. Attach the clips and tighten until the sink is firmly set (no gaps) on the counter. Reattach the water & drain lines. Check for leaks at those connections.

I use a Kleenex to check for leaks. A tissue will let you know if there is even the tiniest seep at connections.

I didn't have enough room in the cabinet to install the clips on the sink ends. I could have cut away some of the cabinet sides to make room for the clips but it would have been very difficult to position them. So, I omitted them. Not the ideal but the sink doesn't leak. Putty plus clips on front & back sides have been sufficient.