Sinks

Have ready

Empty the cabinet under the sink and clear the counter around it. Have the new sink and faucet on site if you are supplying them, along with any drain kit that came in the box. Note whether the old sink drained slowly. The technician checks three things first: the counter cutout and what the counter is made of, because that decides drop-in or undermount and how the edge is finished, the condition of the shutoff valves, and the cabinet floor under the trap. Soft cabinet floor is shown to you before a new sink goes in.

• Drop-in and undermount
• Drains and tailpieces
• Supply lines
• Disposal or not

The visit

Drop-in sinks get a bead under the rim and clips that actually reach the counter. Undermounts get a sealed cutout and clips the maker calls for. The drain and the tailpiece line up with the trap without a gymnastics of extensions. Supply lines are new.

A slow leak at a basket strainer is the call that swells a sink base. We replace the strainer and the putty, and we look at the cabinet floor while we are there. If the floor of the box is soft, you see it before we set the new sink.

Permit

A sink, faucet, or strainer replaced on the existing rough-in is fixture maintenance, so there is no permit and no inspection. Two changes pull the work into a permit: moving the drain or supply lines, and adding a circuit for a disposal or a dishwasher. Those are plumbing and electrical scopes with their own inspections. Where the trap stays put and only the valves and the basin change, the visit stays a maintenance call.

On the Shore

Salt air rusts steel drain assemblies and pits faucet finishes, and the damp air under a shore cabinet keeps the wood and the caulk wet. A steel strainer body is often the first thing to go, which is why stainless or coated drain parts are used with braided supply lines. Humidity also swells a particleboard cabinet floor, so a slow weep that would be a nuisance inland becomes a swollen base here. The underside of the sink is checked on every visit because leaks and salt work together.

When we leave

When the sink is set, the technician opens both supplies and checks every connection at the stops and the faucet with a light and a dry towel, then fills the basin and lets it drain while watching the strainer, the tailpiece, and the trap. A disposal, if there is one, is run with water. The cabinet is dried and the water is confirmed back on. The care note is to check under the cabinet after the first week of use, since a slow weep shows up there first.

Built with

The materials are an undermount or drop-in sink with the clips and sealant the maker specifies, a faucet that matches the hole count, new braided supply lines, a basket strainer and tailpiece, and PVC or ABS trap parts sized to the existing arm. Undermount sinks get a sealed cutout and a support system, and drop-ins get sealant beneath the lip plus clips that reach the counter. Shutoff valves are replaced while the cabinet is open, because an old stop that will not close is the next leak.