New bathroom sink slips into place

Q: I have a bathroom sink that has corroded down to the metal and it needs to be replaced. I dropped a can of shaving cream in it and a sliver of the sink chipped out. Now the chipped area is all rusted.

The sink is the kind that drops into the hole in the vanity top. I'm sure that putting the new sink back into the hole will be easy, but removing the old sink looks tough.

A: Your poor sink has to look up at you while you spit in it and wash the dirt from your skin down its drain. Then you go and damage it, you brute.

Removing the old self-rimming sink really isn't all that tough. It is a systematic job that doesn't require a lot of special tools.

A small bathroom sink won't take very long to replace. These sinks are inexpensive and the damage usually occurs just the way it happened to you. The water and steel combo then gets as ugly as sin.

First, shut off the water to the faucet by the valves under the sink. Remove the nuts that hold the water lines to the faucet and then disconnect the sink stopper's pivot rod where it enters the drain tailpiece (A basin wrench is great for loosening the nuts when they are in a small space). Then, loosen the slip nuts that hold the drain together.

Look under the sink to see if there are mounting clips that hold the sink to the underside of the counter. If there are, unscrew them. If not, the installer will have used some kind of adhesive to stick the sink to the top of the counter. In fact, if you look under the sink, you will see some of the adhesive that oozed out from when the sink was installed.

I'm guessing that since the sink is inexpensive, you probably have either a laminate or ceramic-tile vanity top. Either way, you will need to cut the sink free from the counter. You can use a utility knife to slice through the caulking and/or adhesive.

After you have cut through, use the faucet as a handle and pull out the sink.

Transfer the old faucet (if you're keeping it) to the new sink by removing the nuts that hold it on. Place it on the new sink and tighten down the nuts.

Also, remove the drain flange and tailpiece by unscrewing the locknut underneath the sink. When you get the nut off, you will have to use a little elbow grease to goose the drain flange out.

Place a bead of plumber's putty under the drain flange and push the flange into the drain hole in the sink.

Place the gasket around the tailpiece and push it up until it rests against the sink.

Install the friction washer next, then screw on the locknut. Screw the locknut down until the drain flange rests securely against the bottom of the sink. As the nut tightens, the flange will push out the excess plumber's putty. Simply wipe this off with a paper towel.

If the new sink has clips to attach it to the underside of the counter top, you will only need to stick the sink in the hole, tighten the clips and caulk around the edge of the sink.

However, if your counter top is ceramic tile, it will likely be too thick to use the clips. Apply a thick bead of adhesive caulk around the edge of the opening in the counter top and, using the faucet as a handle, set the sink into the adhesive. Some caulk can stain porous stone, so read the label first.

Weight down the sink so that maximum contact is made between the sink and the countertop. Use a wet finger and smooth the caulk around the edge of the sink. This will keep the water from getting into the cabinet below.

Line up the P-trap to the tailpiece and tighten the slipnuts. Use Teflon tape and tighten the water supply nuts to the faucet. Reconnect the sink stopper.

Next time, don't be so clumsy.

Michael D. Klimek is a licensed contractor and president of Pro Handyman Corp. Questions may be sent by e-mail to questions@pro-handyman.com. Or, mail to 2301 E. Sunset Road, Box 8053, Las Vegas, NV 89119. His Web address is www.prohandyman.com.