Kitchen Sink Swap
 

I think I posted in the pullout faucet thread and Dan's old sink thread, but I thought it made sense to consolidate in one thread for the actual work.

Finally got the new kitchen sink and faucet installed. The old, shallow two basin was tired looking and difficult to use, plus the $100 Costco faucet was ugly and at the end of it's ~4 year life...

Old sink and faucet:

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...242301f73a.png

New sink pre-install. I covered the entire exterior of the basin with dyna-mat for sound deadening. Also, since I hate the suction-cup sponge holders (the suction cups always fail), I cut a few holes in the dyna-mat to adhere some really strong magnets to the outside of the sink in a few spots. The wife preferred the spot I cut on the short side of the basin, not visible in this pic, to mount the actual sponge holder. Now, I can adhere a magnet to the sponge holder and it will never fall down!

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...c70dd84853.png


Magnets attached, using double sided 3M adhesive disks that came with the magnets. Two magnets on the sink and one on the sponge holder seemed to offer just the right amount of attraction without being too strong, but I can always add magnets to the sink later if needed:

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...a023d5e063.png

Under the counter, I started with this two basin plumbing setup:

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...b8253ea146.png

This could have been an entirely DIY project, except my house has CPVC water lines throughout. If you have not worked with it, it is super brittle, and very hard to repair if it get;s damaged. My hot/cold shutoff valves were not compatible with the newer feed lines attached to the faucet, so they needed to be replaced, so I called a plumber to perform the swap out of the valves. He even told me that when I mentioned CPVC, he got really nervous and hates the stuff...

Old shutoff valve style with the embedded copper feed line (this is the hot, with a connection for the dishwasher, turn handle removed):
You can see teeth marks on the brass where I started to try to break the self sealing nut from the valve, but decided it was better to pay a pro for this. If I twisted the CPVC pipe and cracked its glue joint to the down pipe in the wall, I would be screwed (been there, done that in a bathroom years ago).

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...9a716ece48.png

With the sink in (holy hell those top mount counter clips were nearly impossible to attach!), I had to re-work the drain/P trap. Luckily, the disposal drain port still sits higher than the wall drain, and drainage does not seem to be a problem. I had to add about two inches to the P trap to account for the height change of the sink basin bottom, and I don't totally love the way the P trap is set up. I may have a pro look at it and re-do my work sometime in the future, but it works.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...5503a9b3c3.png


The sink and faucet fully installed with a bottom grate and soap dispenser:

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...15a173d26d.png

There is some distortion in that pic, not sure why the front edge/counter looks raised/bowed up in the middle, it's not IRL.


I hate the Formica counters, they are next on the list for replacement. We can re-use the sink as an under-mount if we want, but I think dropping the disposal down another 2-3 inches (counter thickness) would require re-plumbing the drain line to let gravity do it's thing for the sink drain...

1. Great job on the DIY.
2. wow CPVC looks horrible to deal with, I'm hoping PEX doesn't eventually go down that line in terms of reliability
3. BRILLIANT IDEA about the magnets... may have to take that idea for myself :tomato:
4. You could just cut the elbow coming out of the disposal two inches instead of add two inches on the other side of the P-trap (well measure it to make sure, i can't tell from the picture if there's enough room) [someone more experienced can fix tell me I'm wrong if this is not a proper approach]

Thanks!

These are the magnets I used (really any strong ones would work):
I plan to plastidip the magnet on the soap holder so it does not eventually scratch the sink. I used a piece of painter's tape for now, but that will wear out and is visible if you look closely IRL. If I have enough plastidip left over, maybe I will dip my TLX hood too.

I looked at cutting the disposal out pipe, but to get near the correct height, I would be cutting it right at the 90 degree bend, and I wasn't sure I would be able to get the threaded coupler above it to seal the connection.

That's totally fair then, couldn't you have at least gotten a black extension :tongue:

that's wacist, yo.

Plus, I kind of want a visual reminder of what i did in case something goes wrong. 6 months from now I may not totally remember what i did, but that pipe stands out nicely. If I ever sell the place, I will swap it out for sure!

Dynamat on the sink basin? You bumping some sweet tunes under there? :suite:

Nice job. Feels good when you not only DIY but you make it better. :thumbsup:

Thanks gents. I cannot claim the dynamat idea, I read it online and liked the idea.

The sink is 18 gauge steel, and one of the chief complaints with the stainless steel sinks (other than scratches) was the sound made by the water hitting the sink bottom.

I bought this stuff: and just applied it around the sink exterior. It made a huge difference.

You applied a memory foam mattress to your sink? :what:


that's :pimp:

The sink sleeps four comfortably...


:tomato: Meant this link:

Good thing he didn't post the Amazon link to the fleshlight he picked up. :blush:

:spit: :rofl:

Mirrored B pillars are the new cool thing :pimp:

Finally had a plumber come by today and "redo" the drain pipe. He did what I was too chicken to do (and Thoiboi initially suggested), which was to cut the vertical length of the disposal out-pipe and connect the P-trap directly to the drain pipe without the white extension.