TikTok Warns Homeowners About Possible Sink Catastrophe To Look Out For
When remodeling the kitchen, you may spend quite a bit of time choosing which style of undermount sink you want. However, you need to spend time thinking about how the installation will go as well. You don't want to repeat mistakes people make with their kitchen sinks, as some errors can be disastrous. TikTok's Hammsmom – Shayla nearly found out the hard way that having an improper installation could cause the unit to fall out of place when it's filled with dishes or with water when giving the baby a bath.
The undermount sink in the TikTok video, installed by a previous homeowner, only had a bead of silicone holding it in place. Instead, the undermount sink needs brackets, braces, clips, or potentially glue to help support the weight safely. Although silicone does work as a bonding agent, its strength depends on the grade of silicone you select. Silicone that's highly diluted, which is common, doesn't have the bonding capabilities to replace glue.
Undermount sinks can be quite heavy on their own, which explains the need for additional support. A stainless steel double bowl model often weighs 15 pounds or more, while a cast iron model can weigh 130 pounds. Considering a typical double bowl undermount sink could hold 20 or more gallons of water that weighs around 160 pounds, it's easy to understand why proper support is a necessity.
How to make sure your new undermount sink is safe and secure
You have a few options to install the undermount sink in a safe way that supports its weight when you fill it with water. A loosely hung mount that only has silicone holding it in place could even jiggle out of place over time through the vibration from using a garbage disposal.
If you want to determine whether you have the proper support for your undermount sink, grab a flashlight and look underneath. Look for a support base made of wood or, more likely, the use of clips and brackets that hold the underside of the lip of the sink. Typically, seeing four to six of these clips around the edges is common. They will be screwed into wood studs that you often glue to the underside of the counter. If you don't see any support brackets or clips, the undermount sink may be in place with silicone only.
Now, you will need to use silicone caulk around the lip of the undermount sink where it attaches to the underside of the counter. This caulk provides a watertight seal. However, it should not be the only thing used to hold the unit in place. For example, in addition to using brackets, the plumber helping TikTok's Hammsmom – Shayla built a base out of wood to further support the sink, so you have multiple options to make sure you have the necessary support to avoid a collapse.