Replacing seal between S/S sink and the worktop

[Henry Law]

I have to replace a monobloc tap in my kitchen. It seems to me that the easiest way to get at the tap is to remove the sink from its hole in the worktop by undoing the clamps (after disconnecting the sink tails, of course); less lying around under the sink with pongy waste bin close to head ;-). That means for sure that the squidgy (TM) sealing strip on which the sink top is bedded will need to be replaced. (I did the kitchen originally so I know where everything is).

I've Googled this group and gathered (a) that a new squidgy strip will be hard, probably impossible, to obtain; and (b) that a good alternative is to use silicon sealant.

I need to get all this done in one go so I'm trying to visualise in my mind the sequence of things to do; I'm having trouble working out how the sealant should be applied. So to the questions:

1. The existing squidgy rubbery strip is compressed by the sink top but still has some thickness between the steel and the laminate; do I apply a bead of silicon in place of the rubber and let it solidify in order to get the same effect? Or do I just lay down a bead of silicone and let the steel press right down through it, so there is effectively nothing between the "joint face" of the steel and the plastic laminate? I hope this is understandable.

1. Once the sink's down and the sealant has dried, do I trim it off tight to the steel? In my mind's eye that would result in more or less no thickness of silicone either under the steel or at the edge, except where small imperfections in the laminate surface had been filled up by equally small amounts of silicone. In other words there's almost none left except _inside_ the sink Is that right?

2. Is the silicone just "kitchen and bathroom sealant" like the stuff you apply with the sub-machine-gun round the edge of baths and sinks and so on? Or is it some more capable stuff specially made for bedding down sink tops?

All other comments on my proposed method also gratefully received.

[Alex]

You can buy replacement tape from Howdens ,or you can use silicone .if the later let it set first saves a lot of mess,its the compression of the sink fittings that should make a descent seal.

[Lobster]

If you can find a new sealing strip, well and good, but I think silicone will do the job fine. That's what I used myself when doing the same job recently. By the way, the other bloke mentioned Howdens as a source: however you need to have a trade account to buy from there. They are the 'trade' arm of MFI, which suggests that MFI might be worth a try?

Anyway - first, once you've got the sink off, it and the worktop will need a damn good clean up so silicone will seal properly - I finish with meths to get rid of all grease etc. If the cut worktop edge under the sink wasn't sealed originally, take the opportunity - belt and braces approach, but avoids trashing a worktop by swelling if any water does seep past the new seal. Just paint the sawn edge liberally with varnish of some sort.

I'd just squirt a decent bead right round the hole, at the position where the flat face under the sink touches the worktop.

Place the sink down on the fresh bead in one movement, then tighten up the clamps underneath - not too tight as you don't want to force out too much silicone from between the faces. But TBH, even if you screwed themn down as hard as you can you wouldn't squeeze it all out, as you suggest. A lot of kitchen fitters don't actually bother with the clamps or tape; they just rely on silicone to 'glue' the sink in place. Having had to dismantle such installations in the past, they are probably right!

Yep, standard kitchen grade sealant.

David

[Henry Law]

Lobster and Alex, thank you. I've got a much clearer idea what to do now. So, off to buy a tap: turns out that my wife has never actually liked the one we have so now is the chance to get a different one.

[Henry Law]

OK, more questions. Having seen another post in this group I'm thinking about flexible tails rather than the rigid copper ones that are there at the moment; most of the taps we looked at today come with those too. But I've also seen concerns expressed about the fact that the copper tails give the tap some extra rigidity; if I put in flexible ones how likely is it that the steel of the sink will flex?

It's a Franke sink, as I recall, and when I fitted it (way back when I was young) I don't remember thinking it was particularly cheap and nasty.

[Stuart]

I think some people have found that the s/s sink flexes with flexible tails .I know mine does .I seem to recall a "fix" for that being suggested on here .....maybe somthing like fitting a pece of ply or somesuch between the underside of the tap and the sink to stiffen it up a bit .Dunno if that would help .

Stuart