I’m project manager for a small kitchen and bath remodeling company. Lately, we’ve been selling more and more prefab marble/granite vanity tops. The tops we use do not come with a sink already undermounted.
Each time we wrestle with an awkward procedure in which we center the sink with the top inverted, mark it, flip over the top to confirm that it appears centered to the eye, flip it again to apply silicone, and then flip it one more time to clean up excess silicone on the other side. In this process, the top sits in a little cradle that accomodates the sink.
Any better ideas? These tops are stupidly fragile and kinda heavy, so flipping them is tiring and nerve-wracking.
Edit: Yeah, the extra labour stems from my boss being a perfectionist. Otherwise, we’d just flip it upside down and go for it.
Edited 7/26/2007 5:45 pm ET by Biff_Loman
Replies
Make a jig table with a hole in it, so you can get under the countertop to check alignment.
Forrest
I haven't tried one of these but it might help you.
https://braxton-bragg.com/products/accessories/granite_earth_undermount_sink_tool
You could probably make something equally effective on your own with an old bar clamp and some scrap steel or wood.
Karl
I mount the sink in the vanity cradle with my plumber, then make a template for the granite guys to fabricate from. They drop it in the bed of silicone and walk away
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What is a "pre fab" counter top in marble and granite?
I cannot imagine such an animal.
I have done a hundred or so baths and can't recall any two being the same.
You simply need to make some reference marks on the backside of the top to locate the sink.
Or have a fabricator make the tops and mount the sinks for you.
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The prefab tops come at 22" deep and various lengths. The one we mounted today was a 49" top. You can order back and side splashes, and can specify how wide you want the holes drilled for the faucet. The tops are only 3/4" deep, but they're pretty cheap. They're made in China. Awesome value, IMO, considering a custom granite top is almost four times as much.As for "simply" making some marks, well. . . it's not good enough for my boss. It's important to bear in mind that my boss does sales/design, I supervise the project, and our subcontractor does the installation. So my boss is a "suit" and not a "tool-belt." *However* - my boss and I pre-mount the sinks to help control costs.Edited 7/26/2007 9:20 pm ET by Biff_Loman
Edited 7/26/2007 9:22 pm ET by Biff_Loman
leave the top right side on a stand so you can access underneath. silicone the sink in place with a rope tied in a knot through the drain hole-place a piece of wood underneath and one on top of counter spanning sink cut out-twist board till proper tension is achieved(you may have to fiddle with length of rope so you can twist enough and get it tight). You can easily clean out excess silicone.