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cabinet size & sink size - confused - can't find the answer!

14 years ago

Long-time lurker here with a question. I went through 11 pages of search results last night and can't really find the answer to this question.

We are building a kitchen addition. We are GCing this to save some money and DIYing as much as we can. (DH is very handy!) But it's been a work in progress for a year. We're FINALLY about a month from being done.

My cabinets are being delivered today. We ordered a 30" sink base so my dishwasher would fit along the same wall. I'm finding it VERY difficult to find a sink larger than 25" but smaller than 30"+. I would prefer a single bowl stainless steel sink, undermounted in our granite countertops. Thanks to this forum, I'm leaning towards a Ticor sink.

I have a call in to the cabinet installer about this. The KD said we should be able to go up to a 30" sink and the installer can "shave out" some of the cabinet if necessary to make it fit. I spent a lot of money on this kitchen and hate the sound of carving up my cabinets to make a sink fit - would that compromise the structural integrity of the cabinet? But I still want to get as large a sink as I can to fit the space.

When the manufacturer lists the outside dimensions, does that include the lip that would basically be sandwiched between the top of the cabinet and the counter top? Is it the inside dimensions I should concentrate on?

I also have a 24" sink base in the island where I'd like to put a prep sink. Same question but sort of opposite - can I put a smaller prep sink in there that's not even close to being 24" wide? I'd like a square or narrow sink, perhaps 18" wide max. Does the installer add brackets of some sort to support the sink?

Advice/website references/enlightenment? Thanks in advance!

Kim

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Comments (6)

shipshape
14 years ago
Most sink manufacturers list on their spec sheets the size of sink base you need.
I went with a 22x22 single bowl sink because I used a 27 inch sink base.
You would not be able to put a 30 inch sink in a 30 inch sink base, I don't care what the KD says. Carving the cabinets is a bad idea.

I think 25 inch will be about the max you can put in your 30 inch base. You might find a slightly larger one but it seems most sinks are either 25 wide or 30 wide.
kimberlee19
Original Author
14 years ago
"But it seems most sinks are either 25 wide or 30 wide."

True - and SO FRUSTRATING when you have a 30" sink base!!!
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Unbelievable work Joseph! Though I'm debating between a 30" or 36" sink cabinet, I will get the largest sink size that will fit the cabinet size chosen - no wasted space. If I have a 36" cabinet, what INTERIOR size sink could I hope to fit in? What about a 30" cabinet? I'm still confused as to how to search for a certain size sink, for a 30" or 36" cabinet w/o having to overly modify the cabinet. Some posters have "fit" a larger sink into a smaller cabinet then was recommended by the manufacturer. How can I determine which sinks I would be able to do this with? In an exaggeration, I couldn't fit a 36" sink into a 30" cabinet. What exactly should I be looking at to determine if we can make it "fit".
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malhgold
14 years ago
I am in the same situation as you except i'm putting the bigger 30" sink on the island and the 24" sink next to the dishwasher on the perimeter wall. I asked my KD yesterday if I could fit a sink with 30" exterior dimensions in a 30" sink cab and he said, as long as the interior dimension was less than 28 1/2". This one has an interior dimension of 28".

Here is a link that might be useful: Ticor Sink
svwillow1
14 years ago
We used an Aritsan A2318-9 undermount 16 guage SS sink. The bowl measures 21" X 16 x 9"deep. Overall it measures 23" X 18" It fit fine in a 32" sink base, and I bet it would fit in a 30" base as well. They also make it 10" deep, but you have to be certain that your disposal will fit properly with the deeper model. Even with the 9" we still use the grid, and find that the sink works perfectly for all our needs.

PS We bought it from Overstock.com for around $200.00, but had to buy the grid from Irawood

Here is a link that might be useful: Aritsan A2318-9
User
14 years ago
As long as you don't care about ever replacing the sink down the road, and your cabinets are overbuilt for support for your stone tops, you can "scoop" out the tops of your sink base to fit a 30" sink in a 30" base. I don't recommend it. I've had at least one client who needed to replace her sink, and it wouldn't have been possible if she had done the scooping bit. As it was, she had a 33" sink in a 36" base, and it was doable. The sides of the sink are what transfer the weight of the granite to the ground, and compromising that support is never wise, especially for a heavy bowl full of water.
User
14 years ago
Duh! The sides of the cabinet are what transfer the weight to the ground, not the sink!

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