T@B 400 Kitchen Faucet & Sink Upgrade

casadesaraymatt

Made some upgrades to the sink and faucet of our 2019 T@b 400. Installed a new pull-out faucet on the counter top, and installed a new sink that is about 2” deeper and 1” larger diameter. The sink has a lot more usable space now. The factory sink and faucet were too awkward to use for washing large plates or pots/pans due to the limited depth under the faucet.

Overall an easy project, but it did require a few mods to make it work:

1) Cutting a larger hole in the countertop for the wider sink.

2) Modifying the drainpipe to allow for the additional depth of the sink.

3) Drilling a hole in the countertop for the faucet (after making sure there was enough clearance below).

4) Moving the upper hinge on the left-side cabinet door lower due to the new sink being wider at the bottom. (Did not anticipate this, but it actually worked out just fine.)

Faucet and sink purchased from Amazon. Total project cost was just under $250.00

mjpalmer

Wow, that's really nice.  I love it.  We may have to do this too.  Do you happen to have the link for this sink on Amazon?  And where did you get the faucet?  Super nice!!!

casadesaraymatt

@mjpalmer.
Faucet: Bar & Prep Sink Faucet with Magnetic Docking Sprayer, Pull Out Bathroom Faucet in Brush Nickel, Wet & Mini Bar Faucet https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MDVYCCG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_PQ4NFbTKTFHA5

casadesaraymatt

@mjpalmer. 

Sink with Rack and Cutting Board:
465 18 Gauge Stainless Steel Kitchen Ensemble (Bundle - 4 Items: Sink, Basket Strainer, Sink Grid, and Cutting Board) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JV6R8P4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_PR4NFbKA0THPV?psc=1

mjpalmer

Thank you for the links!  I think this is a must for us.  So glad you shared this

Jyll

Love this mod!  Just curious, why did you go with the 18 gauge instead of the 16 gauge sink?

Denny16

I think the 18 gauge gives the sink more solid feel  adequate support whilst using it, except perhaps for heavy pots.
cheers

Jyll

@Denny16 I believe 16 gauge is thicker than 18 gauge?  

Denny16

Jill, you are correct, my bad    16 gauge stainless is 1.59mm, whilst 18 is 1.27mm.  I had it the wrong way round,  thanks.  The difference is 0.32mm, not much, and not really that noticeable for a small sink like this.
cheers

Horigan

@casadesaraymatt

Can you please expand on how you did a couple of things?

How did you create the new hole pocket in the door to accommodate the lower hinge?

How did you shorten the black vertical drain pipe to accommodate the lower drain?

This is a great mod.  My wife is psyched to see it happen in ours.

rhyno

@casadesaraymatt - How difficult was it cutting through the countertop? Did you need any special tools to drill the hole for the faucet or to widen the area for the sink? I would be worried about chipping the countertop.

casadesaraymatt

@Jyll When we purchased the sink a couple months ago the 16ga was about $50 more, and I didn’t think it would be worth the extra money. So far the 18ga seems pretty solid, and we’re very happy with it.

casadesaraymatt

@Horigan

The hole in the cabinet door for the pocket hinge was made using a 1-3/4” (correction: 1-3/8”) forstner drill bit. It allows you to drill a flat bottomed hole...without going completely through the door!

Cutting the black ABS drain pipe was a bit tricky because of the tight location, but I was able to use a hacksaw blade with a stubby handle. I had to cut from both sides of the pipe until I made it completely through. 

casadesaraymatt

@rhyno

The counter top is standard laminate over plywood. I used a 1-3/4” (correction: 1-3/8”) forstner drill bit to drill the hole for mounting the faucet. It made a super smooth hole with no chipping of the laminate. To cutout the (larger) hole for the sink, I used a jigsaw with a fine toothed laminate blade which also cut smoothly and left no chipping.

Horigan

Thanks @casadesaraymatt.  I never heard of that bit.

Looking at the faucet (arrived today!) and the existing hinge pocket, I think a 1 3/8" bit would be more appropriate if folks were to buy one for this project.

Denny16

• The hinge pocket hole is a metric size hole, and you can buy the bit for boring these holes.  My kit uses a special router cutter that plunges to make the hole without going too deep.  The depth is where yiu need to be careful.  A Foster bit works well also, jut go slow and easy.
• Cheers

casadesaraymatt

@Horigan. You are correct. The bit I used was 1-3/8”. My mistake, as I was obviously typing too fast and not paying close enough attention. 

Dutch061

Kreg sells a jig with a bit for about $30 (or less), I bought one about 3 years ago to make cabinet doors for my kitchen. Works great, controls depth, allows consistent placement etc.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Kreg-Concealed-Hinge-Jig/1000422553?cm_mmc=shp-_-c-_-prd-_-tol-_-bing-_-lia-_-129-_-benchtoptools-_-1000422553-_-0&placeholder=null&msclkid=b0a46b7a4836169900a734d8d9d1120f&gclid=b0a46b7a4836169900a734d8d9d1120f&gclsrc=3p.ds

Brad. 

dragonsdofly

@Dutch061, thanks for the link. I can make use of that jig for an unrelated project I'm working on. -Denise

Horigan

@casadesaraymatt

My sink arrived yesterday.  Thanks again for this post.

Did you secure the sink to the countertop in some manner, or just rely on the snug fit in the hole and the stiffness of the drain plumbing to keep it in place?

casadesaraymatt

@horigan I used a silicon adhesive under the lip of the sink to secure it to the countertop, then used silicon caulk to give a finished look to the edge. Adhesive might not be necessary, but I wanted to make sure it didn’t move around while towing and put unnecessary stress on the plumbing connections.

Horigan

Sounds good.  Thanks again.

Denny16

Didn’t the sink come with mounting clips, thst go up under the counter.
cheers

Horigan

It comes with clips for an under mount installation to hold the sink up against the bottom of the counter, but nothing for a top mount installation.  There's nothing on the side of the sink for a bracket to attach to for a top mount installation.

Horigan

For anyone contemplating this mod be aware that you'll need to create a custom 90deg drain elbow using a 1.5" PVC male to female elbow, a section of 1.5" sink drain tubing, and a 1.5" sink drain nut and conical washer.  I shortened the male end of the PVC elbow and glued in a section of sink drain tubing to interface with the horizontal "P-trap". 

The tube to elbow interface is loose, so you'll need a thick adhesive.  I used 3M 4200.