vessel sink - where's the overflow?

15 years ago

I am looking to buy a faucet for a vessel sink. I am new to this and somewhat confused. I never thought about the overflow before and I'm not too concerned since this vessel will be in the powder room for handwashing, mainly.

Even though I don't see a purpose for stopping the water I would like to have a pop up drain. The ones I've seen for sale are listed as "Umbrella Pop Up Drain for Overflow".

What does this mean? And if I am going to recess my vessel slightly into the vanity how high should I have my faucet from the rim of the vessel?

Featured Answer

flyinghigh

15 years ago

There are indeed two styles of drains for 1.5" standard bath sinks. One style for sinks with overflows (what you find with most faucets) and one for sinks with no overflow (sometimes referred to as "vessel style").

Within the category of drains for vessel sinks (i.e. sinks with no overflow), there are "grid drains" (drain is always open), umbrella style (touch once to close, touch again to open), and a few others I have seen in the past including a "butterfly style" where the drain rotated open and closed.

We have several vessel style sinks installed and have always tried to get about 6" from the lip height of the vessel to the spout height. This seems to work fairly well. The spout extension can be anywhere from about 2" in from the lip to the drain - however, I don't like the spout directly above the drain, but rather slightly behind (less splashing).

Hope this helps.

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Comments (9)

pepperidge_farm
15 years ago
A sink can have, or may not have an overflow- a separate area near the top of the sink where water can drain if the sink is too full or filling too high.

If your sink has an overflow, the drain you use needs to be able to hook-up to it so it can function correctly- as is the one you mentioned- for Overflow.

If your sink does not have an overflow, you need a drain that does not have that opening to connect!

Not sure if there is a standard height, they do vary, but you can choose a height that seems appealing in combination with the height you are setting the sink.
mileaday None
15 years ago
I have just purchased 2 vessel sinks without overflows to use in my master bath renovation. I wasn't sure about not having overflows and posted a question about my concerns. Someone suggested making sure that the faucet is compatible which I did. The faucet that I am getting is a Kohler and they told me to order the extra part which is less than $10.
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mosaic_king
15 years ago
All the vessel sink from natural stone material I have installed does not have an overflow built in. It could be most of my clients choose the natural stone vessel sink in the $100 to $200 range, it is not profitable for the manufacture to make an internal connected over flow mechanism connected with the drain at this price range. The good news is most counties I have worked with do not require a vessel sink to have an overflow, the only county that I could remember did require an overflow is Greensboro/Guildford County in NC. So check with county building code first. You might be ok to use a vessel sink without an overflow.
neesie
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks to everyone who responded. I ended up getting an onyx vessel with no overflow. I plan to have a hole cut in the solid surface of the vanity to slightly recess the it. Flying high, thanks for the information on the faucet placement; that was going to be my next question. I noticed some vessel fillers are 12" and others are 13". I may go with the higher one since I am going to recess the sink a bit. Can't wait for my vanity top to be installed now!
stu2900
15 years ago
I'm putting in a glass undermount sink with no overflow. Are you all saying that I need a special faucet?
neesie
Original Author
15 years ago
It's not a special faucet that you need, but there is a difference in the pop-up drains (you know, the thing that plugs the drain). On-line they are referenced as "Pop Up Drain" or Pop Up Drain with Overflow". You want the first kind, pop up drain no overflow.
mileaday None
15 years ago
I have Kohler faucets chosen but not purchased yet to use with my non-overflow sinks. I called Kohler directly and asked what I needed and they gave me the part number to order when I order the faucets.
igloochic
15 years ago
I am currently selling five different vessel sink drains because they didn't work with my various vessel sinks (two copper and one onyx). They cost a fortune and I'll probably get five bucks each at the contractors garage sale.

So, lesson learned, make sure you buy the right pieces for your sink! The onyx one was the worst frankly.

But it's done...as to the height, there are a couple issues to deal with. First, the rim of the vessel needs to be at or below 36" to be "standard" (typically it's 32" on a vanity or less). Then there's the faucet from the rim of the bowl height, which should be between 5 and 6" up from the rim (put your hand under a sink faucet...you want room to move your hands around without hitting it bascially). Then the distance from the faucet to the drain...it should drain just behind the edge of the drain hole, which as noted above, will cut way down on splashing that you get with a direct center or forward placement.