Decided to finally ditch the old boring bathroom sink and go for one of those vessel sinks that sit on top of the counter. Honestly, thought it'd be simple, but ran into a few hiccups along the way. Figured I'd share what worked for me and see if anyone has better tips.
First off, I removed the old sink and faucet—pretty straightforward, just disconnected the plumbing underneath and lifted it out. Then I measured and drilled a hole in the countertop for the drain (nerve-wracking moment, you know, drilling into perfectly good counters). Next, installed the faucet separately behind the sink, since vessel sinks usually don't have faucet holes. After that, applied some silicone adhesive around the bottom rim of the sink, carefully placed it over the drain hole, and pressed down firmly.
Finally, hooked up the plumbing again underneath and checked for leaks (had a tiny drip at first but tightened things up and it stopped).
Overall, turned out pretty nice, but I'm wondering if maybe there's an easier or cleaner way to do this? Curious if anyone else has done this differently or has some tricks to make it smoother next time.
"Then I measured and drilled a hole in the countertop for the drain (nerve-wracking moment, you know, drilling into perfectly good counters)."
Haha, totally feel you on that countertop anxiety—I had the same hesitation. Honestly though, instead of silicone adhesive, I've found that using a rubber gasket under the vessel sink works wonders. It's cleaner, easier to adjust if needed, and makes future removal way less messy. Silicone can get pretty stubborn over time...just my two cents from tackling quite a few bathroom renos.
I totally get the hesitation with silicone—been there, done that. But honestly, I've had mixed results with rubber gaskets alone. A couple years back, I installed a vessel sink in my guest bath and went gasket-only at first. It seemed fine initially, but after a few months of regular use, I noticed some slight shifting and water seeping underneath. Nothing major, but enough to bug me.
Ended up redoing it with a thin bead of silicone around the gasket (just a tiny amount, not overkill). That combo worked perfectly—no leaks or shifting since then. And when I had to remove another sink later on (different bathroom), the silicone wasn't too bad to deal with as long as it was applied sparingly.
I think the key is moderation. Silicone can definitely be messy if you go heavy-handed, but a small amount can really help secure things long-term. Just my experience though...every install seems to have its quirks!
