For the do-it-yourself handy man, installing a kitchen sink can be a breeze. With a few tips and tricks it can make your job a lot easier. This article will show you some shortcuts and help anyone accomplish this task. This installation guide assumes you are putting in a top mount sink and you’re starting with an open hole in your counter top.
Now is the time to prepare the area so everything is clear and out of your way. This will include scraping the counter top to make sure there are no marks or excess caulking that will be seen after the new sink is installed. It is also important to check the valves and the opening, where the waste goes into the wall, to make sure they’re in good working condition. It would also be a good time just to clean up generally underneath the sink while everything is open and clear. Vacuum all loose debris and put down a towel to make your work space cleaner and more accessible.
Let’s take our new sink and set it on a nice flat surface to work on. The first thing we want to do is put in the new strainer baskets. These are normally metal with a large nut that holds the strainer in place inside the sink. We will need some plumbers putty to seal the strainer in the sink; you can buy this at any hardware store. Take some out and roll it in a long thin string, 1/8 to 1/4 inch in diameter, wrapping the entire lip of the strainer. Don’t worry about excess putty squeezing into the sink as it comes off very easily. Next hold the strainer in place and put on the large nut that goes on the bottom. The trick is to tighten until excess putty squeezes out the edges and you have full coverage, without over tightening. get it snug enough so you can’t turn the strainer by hand.
If you have a disposal the strainer works the same way and the disposal attaches to the bottom of that strainer.
Next we will install the faucets set. When I do this I slide the sink off the edge of the counter little bit so I can get access to both sides of the sink. Follow the instructions included with your new faucet set to make sure it is installed correctly. I always put little kitchen adhesive on the bottom of the faucet to help hold it in place. Next attach your new water supply lines to the bottom of faucet before the sink is in place. It makes it a lot easier to hook up to the supply valves. Your new sink should be ready to install.