Overhang, counter hanging over, undermount sink -- yes/no?

15 years ago

Q: Let a Silestone counter extend over (and cover) a portion of the sink.

Good / No good ?

Goal is two fold: one, to reduce the apparent size of the hole, without losing anything

in terms of the ability to get large items into the sink.

Related goal, to give more counter space in a 60 sq.ft. kitchen.

I'll get a large deep Silgranit or Swanstone sink (e.g. Blanco Cascade, Franke Orca, Swanstone Ascend)

it is possible to cut a huge opening in the countertop while still covering a portion of the sink.

Today I have 16x17 and I find it OK but a bit small at times. In the Cascade

the large bowl is 22x17 so I'd be happy if the counter overhung by two inches.

As for the esthetics (shape to give to the hole cut in the counter), I believe I can produce a design

that works well and is_even_a_bit_custom so that adds value to the average discerning homeowner or buyer.

As for how to handle the shadows and light I believe I can manage that too, and

I'll be glad to post photos of my finished work later.

2. another Q:

--Why do counters always stop short of the undermount sink sides?

I have seen many photos. The counter never goes far enough to line up

to match the edge of the vertical sides. Personally I see no reason to stop

short and display a bit of the top surface of an undermount sink.

3. It seems to me that it would also be possible to router an edge in a solid surface

material so as to hold cutting boards sunken in to match counter depth.

-- Let that be third question... Why is this never done ?

-- David

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Comments (4)

lightlystarched
15 years ago
For me, I would not like a counter that significantly overhung the sides of the sink. Every time you remove something from the sink, you'd have to be sure to pull it in and out so as to not bang into the overhang. I have a bad enough habit of hitting the faucet with dishes and glasses, adding another hazzard would mean I'd have to get rubber dishes. Also, cleaning the sink would be harder as you'd have to scrub under the rim, and that sort of makes me think of a toilet =(

Just my $.02.
neesie
15 years ago
I asked my fabricator to give me a flush reveal, I didn't see the advantage of a positive reveal (where the counter doesn't go far enough to line up to the top of the sink) and personally I didn't want the negative reveal either. I believe that stuff would still be underneath, like a toilet bowl, even though you can't see it.

My sink hole was cut out of the granite countertop on site (meaning in my kitchen). It took a worker nearly 3 hours to work with the granite to get it "flush" but he did a wonderful job. I have a blanco Silgranit 1 3/4 bowl. I also purchased a custom cutting board that sits over the sink but it is not sunken to match the counter depth. LOVE IT!
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davidro1
Original Author
15 years ago
OK, three sides flush reveal, one side negative reveal (overhang) that would be the non-visible side, and with a stainless steel bar underneath the silestone so as to avoid making it feel like a toilet rim.

-dr
sue_ct
15 years ago
I went with a flush reveal also, and like it. I think that much of an overhang would be a disaster with breaking things hitting it, also. I am not sure what you would gain with a stainless steel bar under the overhang, wouldn't there be the same rim type effect under the bar? I do place my sink colander directly on my quartz countertop because I don't have the sink reveal to put it down into the sink and it works fine. No routing needed with mine. If you really want the larger bowl without losing counter space, consider an insert that will fit over the sink or half of the sink made of matching silestone or bumping out the sink a bit to get a sink that is larger front to back instead of side to side, and go with a deeper sink so you can fit more in without using up counter space. The Franke sinks with grids that fit half way up the sink let you use the grids as shelves and use the sink for more working space and still keep them out of the water or whatever else is in the bottom of the sink. Consider a negative reveal with some sink showing or a routed out area of the surrounding counter fit with custom cutting board that that will cover half or all of the sink and allow you to use the area as a counter top when you don't need the sink.

Sue

Overhang, counter hanging over, undermount sink -- yes/no?

Comments (4)

lightlystarched

neesie

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Overhang, counter hanging over, undermount sink -- yes/no?

Comments (4)

lightlystarched

neesie

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davidro1Original Author

sue_ct

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