Have You Ever Butchered a Sink Base to Make it Fit

aloha2009

12 years ago

Though, I'm referring to a utility sink, I figure this forum has at least one person who's done this being since everyone has a kitchen sink.

I want the largest sink I can get for a 24" cabinet that isn't going to set me back a lot of $. The opening I have is 1.25" to small for the opening. I figured if I cut approx a 1-"3 down in the middle of the sides for approx 18" of the depth of 24" deep cabinet (sink tapers down), it should little impact on the structure of the cabinet. Aestetically I would also anticipate the sink itself hiding anything "ugly". The next size down is substantially smaller.

I want to get this sink ordered up and delivered and one to find out this possible last snag before we proceed.

Has anyone done this to accomodate a sink?

Are there any consequences that I may not have anticipated?

Here is a link that might be useful: Utility Sink

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Comments (8)

quirk
12 years ago
I have not, but... is this in the middle of a cabinet run? My current kitchen doesn't have a sink base at all; it has a false cabinet front (with functional doors) with just empty space behind it. I'm reasonably certain the cabinets and countertops are original to the 1967 house and everything is structurally sound still, so if there is a problem with it, I couldn't tell you what it is. Countertop is well supported by the rest of the cabinets on either side. Sink is well supported by the countertop. All is good.
mydreamhome
12 years ago
aloha-That's exactly what our cabinet guy did to make our 37" wide undermount kitchen sink fit a 36" sink base. Ours is in the middle of a run of cabinets with dishwashers on either side. What is on either side of your sink base? Will the actual bowl of the sink extend beyond the outside edge of the cabinet base? If it extends past the outside edge, then you may have a problem, but if it falls between those edges you should be fine. Do keep in mind cutting the sides may void any warranty you have on the cabs.

Hope this helps!
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I have several corner cabinets (dictated by the narrowness of a row home): super susan, Magic corner pull out and 1/2 round lazy susan. I have two tall, narrow tray cabs and the above fridge cab. But other than that I tried to maximize drawers...which was new to me. (I assume we're talking only base cabs). In the past few months as I've sorted through stuff and tried to find permanent living spaces for everything, I've gotta say that I'm a total drawer convert. I wish I had more. I ended up putting my baking pans...pie pans, cake pans, tart tins, cupcake pans, etc. above my fridge in vertical dividers which I really like, but a lot of space behind them in the deep cabinet is wasted. If I had more drawer space, they'd go in vertically divided deep drawers. So would any platters that weren't too large to fit vertically. I have found only a few things (other than food items) so far which work better in pullouts or regular cabinets. 1) cookie sheets, trays and the like, which can be stored vertically. 2) Small appliances, which are great in the supersusan or on roll outs. 3) Giant pots...12 quart or larger. And maybe platters, depending on how big they are. If they could fit vertically in drawer base, set up with dividers, I do that in a heart beat too. I ended up putting my baking pans...pie pans, cake pans, tart tins, cupcake pans, etc. above my fridge in vertical dividers which I really like, but a lot of space behind them in the deep cabinet is wasted. If I had more drawer space, they'd go in vertically divided deep drawers too. I have found that everything else, I love in drawers. I happen to have ended up with a fair number of shallowish drawers (6" or so) and turns out they're the best place I've ever had to store serving dishes, loaf pans, lasagna pans and so on. Also in drawers: Mixing bowls. Small pans. Large pots. Colanders and strainers. Skillets and saute pans. Plus, mini-chopper, knife sharpener, measuring cups, including the large 4 cup measure, plastic storage containers, large plastic jugs and pitchers, and more.
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Helene -- thanks for mentioning the size of the dining area. Fortunately, it's pretty much what we have right now, so we know it's workable. Maybe not as spacious and airy as my dream kitchen, but comfortable and cozy, especially since it's mostly just dh and me now. cathy725 -- I'm so glad to hear that your 21" sink can hold cookie sheets and such! This gives me hope for my double sink being able to do the same. Phew! I know the peninsula works well as landing space for the refrigerator, since that's where it is now, too. As you point out, I just have to figure out how the absence of water will affect being able to use the peninsula for prep work. laughable -- thanks for the good wishes. I am worried about the placement of the DW, which seems to be in the way wherever I put it. I'm not as worried about it being in the work zone as I might have been, because it's currently located at the end of the peninsula, and we've managed not to have any major run-ins with it so far. I LOVE the idea of putting the 2 15 inch drawer stacks together to get more useable space. Now I just have to figure out if the dishwasher can slide all the way down the run to the wall. tracie-erin -- I agree that putting the DW at the end of the run would improve the placement of the sink and give me better counter space (even for my dish drainer, sigh). Do you think people entering the kitchen there might run into the DW door, and/or have to wait for it to be closed? That's the problem KD was foreseeing.
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Cyndi, I'm out of town until next week. I'll try to take some pics then. I did look at the Create Good sinks online, but just liked the multiple ledges and the accessories of the Prolific better. Also, I was able to look and touch it, try the accessories and buy it from the local kitchen store which matched the best online price I could find. Should I ever have an issue, they'll help me deal with Kohler. I have to say, I really don't like to order products sight unseen, especially expensive, bulky ones. No, I never considered an apron sink, I think apron sinks fit into farm house or vintage kitchens better than in my modern 60s house. Regarding scratches. The Prolific is not polished SS, so scratches don't show that much and the more use it gets, the more all scratches will blend into a "patina" and will become invisible. I couldn't tell you if it has scratches, I don't remember seeing any, probably because we always keep both racks and the bowl in the sink, The bowl collects stray used glasses or cups during the day until they get put in the DW in the evening. To be honest, I really don't care if my sink is scratched, as for me, it's a working sink, not a mirror, and as such it's super practical, so I don't need it to be "precious". At any rate, our sink is not in the island, and nobody sees its bottom unless they step right in front of it and take the racks out. Sorry, the only pic I have on my traveling tablet isn't a close-up:
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mydreamhome
12 years ago
I just looked at the specs link for that sink and you may be ok even without cutting the sides (depending on the actual interior width of your sink base and the width of Swanstone).

The exterior measurement of the bowl is 25" from exterior overmount edge to exterior overmount edge. The interior measurement of the sink bowl is 21.5". Take your 24" sink base - 1.5" for thickness of cabinet sides (typical measurement) = 22.5" interior clearance. Unless the Swanstone is 0.5" thick, you should be ok as you really only need clearance for the bowl itself and not the entire sink.

Here is a link that might be useful: Swanstone 25
aloha2009
Original Author
12 years ago
This is all music to my ears. There will be cabinets on either side of the sink, so there will be other stability.

Mydreamhouse, we thought of eliminating the cabinet altogether too but we like the idea of having a bottom and back to it also. It's IKEA cabinets, so we can afford the worst case scenerio. We checked the installation manual out and we will have to cut out some, but it should be minimal.

This is going to be a nice utility room, and I didn't want to do something that would minimize it's look. With someone having had it done with a kitchen nice enough to have 2 DWs, I figure it will be nice enough for us.

Here is a link that might be useful: Installation Instructions
enduring
12 years ago
Have you seen the IKEA stainless steel utility sink? It has an integrated wash board in it. It also has an intigrated counter that is 24" wide. I don't know if it would work for you or not.
{{!gwi}}

Here is a link that might be useful: IKEA NUMERAR sink
User
12 years ago
It's done all the time and I never heard anyone report a problem. I did it on a smaller scale with my prep sink. Works fine.
abfabamy
12 years ago
I did it to fit a 30" sink into my 30" base. Carved out both sides and no problems yet.
bmorepanic
12 years ago
It says it needs a 23 5/8" opening BUT it also sits on top of the counter - so the first 1.5" of depth is actually it passing through the countertop.

You'll likely be fine or just need a little shave.

Have You Ever Butchered a Sink Base to Make it Fit

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quirk

mydreamhome

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Have You Ever Butchered a Sink Base to Make it Fit

Comments (8)

quirk

mydreamhome

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enduring

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aloha2009
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