How to Install a Prep Sink

In Ron's Connecticut home, there was a beautiful granite countertop, still in terrific shape on the kitchen island. The thought of putting a hole in it made Ron very uncomfortable, but his wife Lynn wanted him to do exactly that. Because the oven, the cook top, the microwave, the dishwasher, and the sink were all clustered in one corner of the kitchen, it always became quite crowded in the corner. If there was a prep sink on the far end of the island, it would help to solve this problem.

Ron hired a stonecutter who, using a diamond tipped blade, made the necessary cuts. The saw blade was cooled and lubricated by water, which also helped to keep the dust down. The first step was to cut out the four sides of the opening. Next the stonecutter angled cuts at each corner, leaving only small bits of the stone holding the cutout section in place.

He then attached a suction handle to the cut out section and gave the stone a few taps with a dead blow mallet, which caused the hefty hunk of granite to break free. To finish the opening, he switched to a smaller tool and extended the cuts as far into the corner as possible.

The remaining corner pieces were broken away with just a couple of taps, and a little grinding removed the final bit of granite from the corners.

After the sink hole was cut, Ron took over the project by first carefully dropping the new sink down into the slightly oversized hole. The fit was perfect.

With the sink in position, Ron lowered a plumb bob through the center of the drain hole and then marked the location directly beneath.

Using an extra long drill bit, Ron then bored through the bottom of the cabinet and into the basement below. When he went down into the basement, he located the exact spot where the drill came through the ceiling.

Ron was fortunate that there were cold and hot water lines and a drain all in close proximity to where he wanted to install the new sink up above.

Because Ron had previously installed shutoff valves for the kitchen and laundry room, he did not have to turn off the water to the entire house in order to do the necessary plumbing work

Ron needed to tap into the existing water supply, and his first step was to cut the copper water lines with a small pipe cutter, which was very handy for such a tight working space.

Ron made a second slice to remove a small section of pipe, to give him the space he needed to install the T-fittings he would be attaching.

Ron sanded the pipe to remove any surface dirt and oxidation, which should always be your first step to ensure a watertight solder joint.

With the pipe clean, Ron applied soldering flux. The paste helped the solder flow evenly and promoted a good bond with the metal. The inside of the fittings also needed to be cleaned and Ron did this with a metal brush made just for that purpose.

Once the cleaning was finished, he coated the fitting with the flux so that he could slip the pieces together.

Then he carefully fit all of the pieces together.

Next, Ron turned his attention to the drain, which required a substantially bigger pipe cutter. For this section, Ron needed to remove about a foot of pipe. The new drain line was PVC plastic pipe, either glued or welded together.

Ron first applied a purple primer to both the fitting and the pipe and this was followed by an application of PVC cement. A good rule of thumb when applying the primer and cement is to make three complete rotations.

While the surfaces were still wet, Ron slipped the two pieces together, gave them a slight twist, and held them together for a few seconds. Holding them prevents the pieces from pushing away from each other.