[Wayne]

Our customer would like an undermounted double bowl stainless steel kitchen sink, with a small sink on the left, in her new laminate top.

Isn’t there another undermount stainless steel sink manufacturer for laminate tops other than Karran?  We all seem to remember there is, but can’t remember who.

…Thanks Gents

[Tom M]

There used to be a company that used Gibraltar for a ring with the stainless sink under mounted. You would glue the ring to the deck, before laminate application, and then route back the reveal. I think it was called counter seal, or somesuch.

WilsonArt markets a solid surface sink designed for under mounting, but it is solid surface.

There is a fabricator close to me that custom under mounts sinks himself, and he is a big fan of the Karran process.

Me? Not so much.

[Wayne]

We prefer the Karran sink over Wilsonart’s.
I guess we’ll wait for the Karran (out of stock) for her.
We’ve done less than a dozen of the Karran’s (both stainless & solid surface).
They work really well, but are rather pricey after the mounting labor.

Thanks.

[David Gerard]

I have had several gents call me to use my SS glue gun so they could glue their Karran sinks in under laminate.
Where the hell would they get such info to install like that! I let them use the gun anyway and I send a biz card with them.
I just saw one of the guys the other day and asked how the top and sink were holding up……..

[Tom M]

So far we have fought the urge to jump on that wagon.
I have made some mock ups, and even a vanity for my house, but I don’t like the idea as a general rule. The edge is harsh, and anyone who has been around laminate long enough knows the layers can separate.

[Wags]

David that is the recommended way to install a sink under laminate. Tom if you put a small bevel on the laminate edge it holds up fairly well. Here in Az We took on the Karran sink line and had a number of successful undermount installs. I’m out of the loop now, but I know they still sell them. Would this offer any more opportunity than a self edge laminate top for the edge to separate? I really never had that issue.

[Andy Graves]

There is a video here on the FabNet of how to install the Karran sink. I don’t know of another company that does the same as Karran.

[Wayne]

Tom I share your concern about the laminate ply’s separating. I cut 1″ strips of laminate and put them on end in a glass of water and the water wicked up the laminate like a celery stalk…so we thought a laminate edge in a sink cutout would be disasterous.

Then we made a sample top with the Karran sink and kept a moist towel draped over the edge (like it was hanging over a sink edge). The laminate didn’t absorb any moisture and stayed flat and was truly unaffected, so we were sold on the concept & haven’t had one issue (although we’ve only done a handful of them because of the sink & labor cost).

[Steve Mehan]

We have used most brands of solid surface sinks as undermounts in laminate tops. They have sll been in gor years.

[Tom M]

Hey, even an old hack like me can learn new things. I will give it some thoughts, but I still have my doubts.

[Wayne]

Tom, here’s a mind blower for ya (I saw this at a Karran distributor installation demonstration)…

Undermount a Karran solid surface sink under a laminate top and take a 3 foot long 2X4 and hit the inside edge of the cutout as hard (yes as hard) as you possibly can. The result is a broken 2X4 with absolutely no damage to the laminate edge or sink (I’m afraid to try this on one of their stainless steel sinks).

So, we made up a small sample top with their solid surface undermount sink in a laminate top to show our dealers…many broken 2X4’s later, they we’re all as amazed as I was. But they don’t seem to sell in our market, once again because of the cost.

There’s gotta be a market for us here somewhere, but we just can’t seem to find it.

[David Gerard]

Hi Wags, I suppose so but the “home owner” install didnt turn out to well. the humps and bumps were one thing the delamination was another. The abrubt edge diddnt help the wear and tear factor much either. Pilot error was a factor for sure in 2 cases. I may still gett a solid surface job in the near futre out of at least one of the jobs.l

[Tom M]

Wayne,
I have seen the 2×4 trick at the seminar I attended. I walked over to the clamp area of the shop i was seeing the seminar at (I knew the owner) and grabbed a pipe clap and said “Here’s your cast iron skillet. Try it with this”.

He did not take the challenge.

[Wayne]

I keep my bar clamps in my shop…not my sink. Sledge hammer would damge too.
I think an iron skillet would harm solid surface more…and I bleed solid surface.

[Author]

Posts