The Sink
We bought this house with a double bowl cast iron sink under a large granite counter. Alesa did not like it and wanted a single bowl composite sink. Neighbors in the Villages wanted to replace a sink under a granite countertop and were told it could not be done. One even replaced the entire countertop to get a different sink. We talked with a number of plumbers and contractors here and were told the same thing. We watched some people do it on the internet so Jeff and I decided we could do it. The back of the sink has a slight arc and Kohler has stopped making a sink that would fit. So, after much measuring and numerous internet searches followed by much more measuring and 'modeling' I bought a black, deep single bowl sink I thought would work. After receiving the sink and with much more measuring I was sure it would work. The current sink was held up by horizontal 2x4s on either side glued and screwed with many screws into the side of the cabinet with no clearance on either side. Jeff and I considered a number of approaches from breaking up the sink to sawing through the boards, screws and all. Any approach had to protect the very large granite countertop. S-day finally arrived on Saturday and I was able to disconnect all the plumbing and remove the front of the cabinet for better access. I place a strap through both drain holes and over a 2x4 which spanned the sink. This held up the sink while we worked. Jeff started to cut through one of the 2x4s on the side of the sink with his reciprocating saw but that proved undoable, especially since we did not want to risk hitting the bottom of the countertop. We then decided to cut out the side of the cabinet around the 2x4s and that worked like a charm. We had cut through the caulking between the sink and the countertop with a knife so we (Jeff) were able to lower the sink to a bucket and then we took it out the front of the cabinet. We then dry-fitted the new sink and it fit perfectly to my great relief. We then stopped for the night. We were so relieved to have the sink out and in less than two hours. Jeff's idea was to use two 2x4s on either side of the new sink like table legs. Each leg would have a large bolt in the bottom with a nut and washer as a foot that could be tightened to raise the sink in place. On Sunday morning, we shopped for the materials we needed, cut the boards to length, drilled and put the bolts in place and set the sink up to within an inch of the countertop. We were then able to place a bead of silicone caulk around the entire rim of the sink. Jeff then raised each of the legs a bit at a time by turning the nuts until the sink was firmly set against the bottom of the countertop with the silicone caulk. I was up top making sure the sink was being positioned properly. I then drove a screw through each of the legs and ran a bead of adhesive down the side of each to insure they wouldn't move. We let everything set up overnight and, on Monday, I reinstalled all the supply and drains and reinstalled the cabinet front, so we are good to go. After months of planning and worry we are happy to have the job done and it was much easier than expected. Alesa is elated with her new sink.