Undermount sink repair or replace

[Kim H.]

Ok so we have an Undermount sink basin in our rental that is cracked and needs repair from a tenant. I’ve found out that this isn’t an easy fix because the slab that the sink is mounted under is generally custom made for the sink. And most places won’t install an Undermount sink for you unless you pay for a slab too. The estimate starts at $750. 

I thought maybe I could just put a drop in sink instead but that sucker is like cemented in. See picture. 

So I’m thinking I’m going to have to repair the slab as well as the sink? And then get a plumber to install the plumbing fixture to the sink (additional $300). Sigh. 

Maybe remove it altogether? Get a stand-alone sink pedestal? 

Any recommendations or help on this? 

[Jim K.]

@Kim H.

Yeah, this is a messed up situation. God only knows what the tenant did to crack the bowl like that. I would look at an earthquake situation myself before I guessed a tenant did it. In any case, this makes a great case for not putting another undermounted sink on granite on a slab into a rental, however nice the rental is.

The sink is epoxied to the granite. You've got to take it out and flip it over (it will weigh about 100 lbs.), cut out the porcelain-on-cast-iron bowl out with a grinder equipped with a diamond turbo blade, and then carefully keep cutting small pieces until you get the bowl down to the granite. Then you grind off the last of it and much of the epoxy with a diamond grinding cup wheel and then do the last of it with a carbide rasp on an oscillating tool. Then you epoxy a new, correctly-sized bowl in. Not cheap at all, not easy, the granite people will charge you a fortune for the work and most handymen won't touch it.

So you should probably pull the vanity top (if it is a top and not part of a long slab) and put in a new one, pull the whole vanity if you have to. You should find a handyman who's willing to do that and transfer the faucet, not a plumber or a plumber tech. That's not complicated work. Hot tip, put in a new drain. Don't reuse the old vanity drain. It'll leak sooner or later.

Good luck, Kim. Sorry this is happening to you.