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sinks for tile counters?

3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago

Does anyone currently make sinks specifically for undermounting in tile? Not a drop in sink. I do currently have a flat-topped drop in sink used as a tiled in (tiled under?) undermount, but I'm trying to find one actually made for that. I don't really want a standard undermount sink because I want an integrated faucet deck.

Thanks!

(...yes i know everyone hates tile counters so dated grout ew gross etc.)

Comments (14)

  • 3 years ago

    I'm having trouble visualizing what you want to do. How are you going to undermount a sink on a tiled countertop without having the edge of the tile-mounting surface exposed? If you're thinking of covering that edge with trim tiles, there is a good chance of them coming loose at some point due to water intrusion. I can only imagine this working for the long term with a concrete countertop.

    Fori thanked kudzu9
  • 3 years ago

    Like this:





    I need to redo this bathroom and while I've accepted the sad fact that I can't get a new minty green sink, I intend to replicate what I can.


    Note: the tile isn't the reason I have to redo the bathroom. It's due to something else. The tile-sink connection is rock solid. You did say it could work with a concrete counter. Do these old mud-bed tile setups count as concrete? I think they might! :)

  • 3 years ago

    Thanks for clarifying. I used to have one very much like that in my first, 1952-vintage house, and I agree with you that the tile was probably laid in a mud bed. I believe that the sink is probably not undermounted in the sense we think of that today: it's likely overmounted on the cabinet frame and then the mud bed and tile go over it on the top side. The problem is that you typically can't swap out a sink like this without demolishing a good part of the tile top to expose the lip of the sink that you can't see, which sits on top of the frame. Are you prepared to completely redo the tile top in order to replicate the existing sink install?

    Fori thanked kudzu9
  • 3 years ago

    I'm not sure what the correct terminology of this stuff is, obviously. Kohler still has a "tile-in" kitchen sink but it's intended to butt up against the tile instead of being under it. I prefer the groovy old school decorative tile bits.


    I have to rip out this entire bathroom (well, half of it--the previous owners destroyed the other half) so I'll be redoing the vanity as well. There are some cracks in the tile and the sink is a little rusty so it's probably not wise to work around it. At that point, might as well get a better layout...etc etc etc.


    So basically I'm looking at a bathroom gut. I really appreciate the functionality of this sink design--even if I give in to peer pressure and get a stone countertop (I won't), I'd still want the recessed faucet deck. It's just neater. The new bathroom will be inspired by the old. I'm thinking white sink and toilet and minty green tile. (Unless you know where I can get a green toilet...)

  • 3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    You can probably use the Kohler Ladena but mount it as above.

    Fori thanked palimpsest
  • 3 years ago

    Thanks--I think I need a drop in though to get the faucet deck. We had this one undermounted in a tile counter a few years ago when my GC mismeasured and the planned top didn't fit (you're welcome, ReStore!). https://www.americanstandard-us.com/Countertop-Bathroom-Sinks/Studio-Drop-In-Sink-With-Center-Hole-Only/WHITE-0643001020


    It's flat so it worked. (Lucky for me the GC also ordered too much tile trim for the shower...) Guess I could use this sink again. It lacks the soap dish but nobody misses that. It's so boring though!


    I thought that the ones made for tile might have a better flange or something for tile, but looking at the old ones on eBay, look like they didn't really.



  • PRO
    3 years ago

    "The problem is that you typically can't swap out a sink like this without demolishing a good part of the tile top to expose the lip of the sink that you can't see, which sits on top of the frame."


    Pop the cabinet front off, cut the cabinet sides, cut the plywood substrate, and the sink will fall away and come out the front of the cabinet. Huge PIA? Sure, but the tile is saved.

    Fori thanked Joseph Corlett, LLC
  • 3 years ago

    Fori, I m betting we can find you a wall-hung or pedestal sink that could work for you. One thing I learned doing my bathroom is that wall-hung does not need to be actually hung on the room wall. My carpenter made my vanity with a 2x6 in the right spot to bolt my sink to.

    If we can find you one without a drip edge, you could mount a wall mount or pedestal sink inside your vanity and be able to lay the tile over the edge of the sink.


    A quick look at Vintage Bath and Tub found two sizesl of this: Randolph Morris. It looks to have a tiny drip edge behind the faucet, though. I am betting that Duravit or Nameeks will have a completely flat one. Just not for under $100!

    Fori thanked Nancy in Mich
  • 3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    Duravit Vero Washbasin Ground is very modern with straight vertical sides, but no lip. Available in several sizes.Vero Washbasin Ground.

    Their D-code sink line is more rounded with sloping sink walls and no apparent drip edge. It is much more affordable, too. D-code sink, smallest version.

    Nameeks has 26 pages of sinks, so I will let you explore them further yourself after posting this one: This Etra in the Nameeks Scarabeo line has nice wide, flat surfaces! I cannot tell if it rises up for a drip edge on the back, or not. I am thinking it does not. Check out the Mars wall-mounted sink, too.

    Fori thanked Nancy in Mich
  • 3 years ago

    I searched and searched but never found one (unless you want to stalk vintage places--Ohmega occasionally gets them in, but you'd have to luck out with sizing and timing). Kohler made them for years but has discontinued them at this point. One option we considered was a pedestal sink with a tile-top cabinet beside it--there are some nice photos of this in the Houzz galleries. (In the end we were boring and just got a vanity with a quartz top and undermount sink.)

    Fori thanked artemis78
  • 3 years ago

    Thanks Nancy and Artemis! I'll be looking out for stuff as it does indeed seem like nobody's making them.


    Nancy, that countertop is amazing. You could have used a tin can for a sink and it would be gorgeous.


    I'm at the planning stage so any size is a good size...within reason. And actually a pedestal sink with a cabinet and counter elsewhere might help with the layout! (And a pedestal sink with no countertop might make me be a little neater...haha just kidding. It wouldn't.)

  • 3 years ago

    Fori, pedestal sinks are wall-hung. The pedestals are for looks and to hide the plumbing for water and drains. If you want a larger space in the dropped down wet sink area (and a smaller area of the actual counter on top), look at pedestal sinks and the ”counter sinks” from Duravit and Nameeks. Nameeks has some wall hung sinks with curvy fronts if you are interested in having more detail and fewer straight lines.

    Fori thanked Nancy in Mich
  • 3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    That does sort of skip the replacement of the sink, doesn't it? :)


    But to clarify, thiss will be a full bathroom remodel currently in the planning. I just want my sink UNDER tile.