Brackets for ceramic undermount sink (granite worktop)?

I usually build a wooden framework to sit the ceramic sink on. This carries the weight of the sink on the cabinet, not on the underside of the Granite.

Most granite companies prefer this method as they dont like drilling and fixing brackets to the granite.

When the Granite is stuck in position, the sink gets sealed around the top edge to prevent water ingress.

Hope this helps.

Snezza31

 

Dear Snezza31,

I am having a blacksmith build a frame to hold the granite - then granite cutter said I should build a woodframe as you said. How think should the wood frame be - I dont have a visual so am having a hard time as to how this will all fit.

What I have is a ceramic sink that needs to be undermounted to granite. Do I get a piece of marine plywood and have it cut so that I can lay the sink into the plywood - and then the granite can sit on top of the sink/plywood structure, which then sits into an iron frame with a lip that holds both the plywood and the granite - with the sink being the sandwich in the meat so to speak? What about the gap that is created with the lip of the sink sitting on the plywood? Do I just silicone seal the sink edge to the granite (there is a 5 mm overhang over the sink edge.

Any help would be appreciated!

Annie from Scotland

 

Evening Annie,

From what you have said, it seems as though you have got it sussed...!!!!!

The size/thickness of the Plywood section is all dependent upon the size of the cabinet, and the size and weight of the sink. If you are having a metal frame made in addition to the plywood, then you have certainly reduced the possibility of the sink dropping. It is obviously difficult for me to say for certain that you will not have any issues further down the line, but it sounds ok to me.

Good luck with the project, and I hope it all goes well.

Regards,

Snezza.

 

Snezza,

I dont have a cabinet. Basically could not find anything on market that I liked so set about to create something that might work for the space I have (not very large)

So...have a 600 X 530 granite slab, to be recessed into a 880 height stainless steel frame that is being painted matte black. The top of the frame will have a recessed lip to hold the plywood, sink and granite in that order, starting from the bottom. Then I was going to seal the area between the granite and wood with silicone.

Then a small channel built into the front to house a 30 mm piece of granite across the front to hide the sink that is sitting below the plywood. Chrome piping to cover any ugly waste pipe.

Then add a shelf below the sink area to house toiletries etc in nice Danish baskets.

Tap would be mounted onto granite and I then two towel rails built into the stainless steel frame - one on each side.

What I was trying to create was a feeling of space and the new wall hung units all are like large cubes sitting on your wall and visually take up lots of space in a small bathroom. My main concern is that the sink has enough support without those darn brackets! I have never created anything from scratch so am a bit nervous as granite is not cheap (measure twice, cut once!) and stainless steel frame is giong to be made to size. I wish I knew AUTOCAD! I could visualize it much better!

Thanks for taking the time to reply!

Annie from Scotland

 

As the span of your granite is not particularly wide, I don't think you need to worry about the sink dropping. From the sounds of things, your framework should be more than strong enough to carry the weight of the sink and granite.

I had assumed (incorrectly....!) that it was a kitchen sink, which tend to be bigger and heavier than an undermounted counter top basin.

18mm marine ply and your framework will work fine!

Snezza.

 

Thanks, Snezza! I try to look at YouTube and somehow stumbled on this website. Thanks so much for your feedback! Was thinking of using 9 mm ply only because I like to recycle and that is what the granite template is made out of - so thought once the granite folk are done with the template I can recyle onto the lip of the stainless steel frame. 18 mm might make it too chunky - looks-wise. The granite is 30mm thick so then add the 9 mm ply and the lip of the sink is 30 mm. So almost 70 mm thickeness at top.

 

I wouldn't use 9mm Annie, it is too thin to adequately support the weight of the Basin, even at the narrow width that you are planning.

You say the rim thickness of the Basin is 30mm? That seems quite thick for a Ceramic Undermount basin, 15 to 20mm would have been what I expected. Is the basin definitely an "Undermount" basin? Are you sure its not just a "Sit-On" basin that you are planning on using? Usually, the top mating surface of an undermount basin has been ground perfectly flat, enabling a nice tight fit to the underside of the Granite.

Here's a link to the sort of thing I'm talking about;-

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BNIB-VILL...d-Undermount-Bathroom-Oval-Sink-/131171890541

Snezza.

 

Snezza,

Thanks for this information. Yes, it is an undermount sink - it was ordered via a company called Bauhaus and it says for undermount only. Perhaps I am measuring from the wrong point it is about 20 mm if I turn it upside down and measure from edge. And yes, the top of the surface is perfectly flat but then drops down a bit. Hard to describe but a picture is worth a thousand words so here is the link to the sink I purchased.

http://www.sanctuary-bathrooms.co.u...t-basin.html?gclid=CILAvdf0-b0CFWzJtAodyEkAcw