How to Replace a Kitchen Sink

Replacing an old kitchen sink is a great way to refresh and modernise your kitchen. Following our step by step guide, you'll be able to successfully replace your kitchen sink and give your kitchen that much needed upgrade!

Your kitchen sink is one of the most used features in your kitchen, meaning they are exposed to plenty of wear and tear. Overtime, your kitchen sink may become scratched or discoloured which could make your kitchen look tired. Maybe your current kitchen sink has started to look dated and it is time to upgrade to a new, modern sink! Whatever your reason for replacing your sink, this is how it’s done.

Before You Begin

Before you start to replace your kitchen sink, there are a few things that you will need to help you along the way : 

• Stanley Knife
• Screwdriver
• Adjustable wrench 
• Silicone sealant 
• Bucket

It is also important that you have turned off the supply water in your home. This is usually done under your kitchen sink. If you forget to turn off the water, you will soon be faced with a very messy problem.

Remove Old Sink

1. Disconnect Water Supply

Now you can start to remove your old kitchen sink. Make sure that you have a bucket to hand to catch any remaining water in the pipes. Using an adjustable wrench, you can carefully disconnect the water supply pipes by loosening them, ensuring that your bucket is placed beneath the pipes to catch any water.

2. Disconnect Drain Pipes

With the water supply disconnected, you can start to loosen the drain pipe. To do this, take the adjustable wrench and carefully start to loosen the drain pipe at the connection point. Again, ensuring the bucket is placed beneath the pipe to catch any remaining water. At this point, you will be able to remove your taps.

3. Remove Taps

Whether you are adding a new tap or sticking with the same, you will need to remove the taps. Do this by loosening any screws that are holding the tap in place. Lift the old tap away and remove the pipe that connects to the tap.

4. Loosen Clips

Looking under the counter, you will see some metal clips that are keeping the sink secure. Tae a screwdriver and loosen all of the clips.

5. Remove Silicone Sealant

Now you can remove the sealant surrounding the sink. The best way to remove silicone sealant is to use a stanley knife to carefully cut the sealant away from the sink. Take extra care when doing this to avoid damaging your kitchen counters!

6. Remove The Sink

With everything disconnected, you will be able to remove your old sink. Some sinks can be very heavy, especially ceramic sinks. So make sure that you have an extra pair of hands to help you to safely lift the sink. The best way to remove a sink is to push the sink up from under the counter and then lift the sink up and away!

Install New Sink

1. Assemble New Sink and Taps

Before you start to fit your new sink, make sure that you assemble your sink as much as possible (if any assembly is required). Also make sure that you assemble any new taps as much as possible, as this can be harder to do once connected to supply pipes.

2. Attach Metal Clips/Fixings

The first thing that you will need to do is attach the metal clips to the underside of the sink. Make sure that you follow the instruction manual for your sink to ensure that you attach the metal clips to the right areas. Then you will want to flip them in towards the sink so that they won't get in the way when you lift the sink into place. We recommend that you attach the clips first as this can be harder to do when the sink is in place.

3. Install Tap

Now you can install your tap at the corresponding holes on the new sink. Make sure that you follow the correct instruction manual for tap installation. Again, we recommend doing this before lifting the new sink into place to allow for easier access.

4. Lower Sink into Place

After adding your tap, you can carefully lift the new sink and lower it into place. If your new sink is heavy, you may need some assistance with this bit!

5. Secure Sink

Now you can go ahead and secure the sink in place. To do this, you will need to return to the metal fixings and flip them so that they are facing outwards. Then, using a screwdriver, you will be able to tighten the metal  clips so that they won’t budge.

6. Reconnect Water Supply and Drain

With the sink securely in place, you can reconnect the water supply and drain to the corresponding pipes using the adjustable wrench. Make sure that you do not over tighten any of the pipes as this can cause breakage at the joints on the pipe.

7. Check for Leaks

Before you break out the silicone sealant, you want to be sure that there are no leaks due to damage or a fault. Turn on the water supply and allow both hot and cold taps to run. Whilst the taps are still running, check under the sink for any leaks or drips. Should you encounter any leaking, turn off the taps and the water supply once again and remove the pipes for further inspection. If you find any damage, you will need to replace the damaged part before you can start to use your sink.

8. Add Silicone Sealant

If you did not find any leaks or drips, you will be able to seal the sink using silicone sealant. This is a very important step as this will waterproof the edge of the sink and the countertop. Preventing any water damage.