Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
OK I have a question: I am thinking of buying this house. There are however a handful of things that bother me in the kitchen and the kitchen is important to me.
One of the things that obsess me is those tiny kitchen island sinks. I dislike them intensely. They eat up a lot of valuable counterspace and in this house it is particularly ill-placed since it is right across from the stove (aka where you'd want to put down hot dishes after you take off the fire) and only a couple of feet from the proper kitchen sinks so not even particularly useful.
Anyway I hate it and wanna get rid of it. Is this hard to do? Is it easy enough to just unscrew the faucet, block the water line and cover the sink (I guess change this particular countertop to cover everything smoothly altogether) or does this require a major redesign of the kitchen? I would hire a professional, mind you, but I am weighing my dislike of it with the hassle it would require if it necessitates a major kitchen redesign.
You might want to live with it for a few months to see if you really do want to get rid of it. I can see where it would be helpful if there were several people helping to prepare a meal.
But, yes, it would be very easy to shut off the water, disconnect the faucet, and cover it with something. For a quick fix, you could set a wooden cutting board in the sink area so that it's flush with the counter, and cut to fit exactly. Then it would be useful for chopping, or setting a hot pot on top. Leave a little "thumb hole" or other gap so that it could be easily lifted out to access the sink - which is now a handy storage area.
When and if you do take out the sink, you have to put in a new countertop and depending on your choice of materials that can add up quick for islands. I do like the custom cutting board idea Blinx suggested for now.
I too have seen more than a few of the "bar sinks" plopped down in a way that does not truly make the kitchen any more convenient / add multiple work stations. When it is too close to the cooking area is may actually detract from the flexibility of a nice island.
That said if you do decide to buy this house I too would recommend agsinst any hasty removal of plumbing. It is it about costs (ding on how the sink is set into the island a simple wood filler might be very effective...) it is more about function / utility / logic -- if it turns out that one can in fact accomodate multiple users with the exsitig sink I can just about guarantee it would cost a whole more to re-install ...
Btw This could very well be a cheap DIY project, new countertop is very likely the most costly part. If you do remove the sink be sure to properly cap the drain line -- once the trap dries out you wil get sewer gas building up. Not good.
We did it in our house, only ours was not in an island, but on a different part of the cabinets. It was a stupid waste of space. We removed the sink and faucet and capped off the plumbing where it came into the cabinets instead of completely removing the pipes; that way it could always easily be reinstalled in case we wanted to. It was easy and cheap. We built drawers for where there were false drawers and added a pull out shelf on the side that no longer needed the space for pipes. The side where the pipes were capped we left as a shelf-less cabinet. The only really expensive part was replacing the counter top. We never considered a fitted cutting board but that certainly would have been cheaper. I am very pleased witht the extra counter, drawer, and cabinet space.
But if it is in a larger island then the premade countertops depth won't fit and they would have to have custom made countertop. That's a cost to look into before making any decisions. Measure out the countertop and get a quote.
So the main issue you guys see is mainly the cost of it rather than the difficulty?
And I understand most people swear by prep sinks but they are a pet peeve of mine LOL Totally understanding why people love them but I prefer more space and just use the large sink.
Thanks for everyone's tips! I wasn't planning to remove the plumbing since someone else may end up wanting to reput the sink. I just wasn;t sure if countertops are "removable" or if it means changing the whole space.
Your experience was very interesting Oldhag.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
