Installing Worktop Around Belfast Sink

[Corbz]

Hi,

I'm new to the forum but hoping you can offer some help. We're currently coming towards the end of our kitchen refurb and about to have our worktop installed. The worktop is not being fitted by the same company as who installed our kitchen units and appliances.

The worktop fitters have visited to measure but have explained that the Belfast sink needs to be lowered before the worktop can be fitted. The top of the sink currently sits between 2mm and 10mm above the top of the base units (see photos), but they have said it needs to be inline or lower than the units.

Unfortunately our kitchen fitter has already firmly glued the sink in place, so it's not straightforward to lower the sink. Any advice on the correct fitting of Belfast sinks would be appreciated? Are the worktop fitters correct that he should have fitted the sink lower?

Thanks

 

[conny]

The worktop fitters appear to be correct.
Just looked at our setup and the solid oak worktop actually sits above the sink by about 5mm and the cut out is to the internal dimensions of the sink.
Seems like your kitchen fitter has goofed.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

I agree. With a Belfast sink it is normal to "overfly" the edge of the sink and rout a drip groove on the underside of the worktop so that drips are directed into the sink. In order to achieve that the top of the sink must be flush with the tops of the adjoining units which is something any experienced kitchen fitter should be well aware of

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Thinking about it, was the sink supplied by the same firm as the units? If so they've potentially dropped a clanger, too

 

[Corbz]

Thanks JobAndKnock and conny for your quick replies.

Thinking about it, was the sink supplied by the same firm as the units? If so they've potentially dropped a clanger, too

The sink was supplied separately to the base units but I don't think this has caused the issue. The horizontal bit of wood directly below the sink and above the doors (see first photo) was a bit of filler (an end panel cut up) that the kitchen installer added for cosmetic purposes. Behind that the sink is sitting on two bits of wood to raise it by about 20 mm. One problem, however, is the sink is glued to those bits of wood and the wood is glued to the base unit. There should be space to lower the sink if those bits of wood could be removed. Was this what you were thinking about or a different issue?

 

[Deleted member 174758]

In the past when I've installed a sink from one supplier, but kitchen carcasses from another there has often been an issue of the sink being too low, so, yes, I've sometimes had to resort to installing a filler piece of some description. I've also butchered (sorry, modified) the carcase beneath the sink to accommodate height differences where otherwise the sink would have ended up too high (which isn't too difficult - it's altering the doors which causes almost all the headaches). Thing is that if you are installing the thing it is essential to get the height right. The kitchen fitters should understand that. Whilst it may be possible to modify the worktop to fit what you have now (not a task I'd relish, and something I'd charge for), what would you have done if your work top had been, say, granite? My feeling is that if the kitchen fitters didn't point out the height difference (they should have - it would have rung alarm bells, surely?) then the fitters got it wrong and need to put it right