Can I install a HEAVY cast iron sink in a Bowling Alley Wood countertop?
November 7, 2013 8:13 AM Subscribe
I bought this lovely '60s cast iron enamel kitchen sink on craigslist (and a "hudee ring"), and am obtaining some repurposed bowling alley wood out of which to cut a countertop. But it suddenly occurs to me that the sink may be too damn heavy... it's probably like 50 lbs or something.
Is this project doomed? And if there is anything I can do, do you think it worth the trouble? I like the sink a lot but it was only $10.
The weight isn't going to be a problem at all, but sinks and solid wood counters are not a great combination in terms of durability. It will be really, really important to keep the countertop finish in good condition, and to make sure the sink is sealed well to the counter surface so that water can't get in-between. I don't know what bowling alleys are typically finished with, but you'll probably want to scrape it down to clean wood and hit it with a few coats of polyurethane, which you will then allow to cure for at least a few days before carefully installing the sink so as not to scratch through the poly. Ideally you should cut the sink opening before doing the polyurethane, so that you can apply finish to the exposed wood inside the cutout.
posted by jon1270 at 8:34 AM on November 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by jon1270 at 8:34 AM on November 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
You could always get some 2 x 4s and brace the underside of the counter top where it adjoins the sink.
I wonder if refinishing the bowling alley wood with some marine varnish would help with durability.
Good luck -- sounds like an interesting project!
posted by Ostara at 8:36 AM on November 7, 2013
I wonder if refinishing the bowling alley wood with some marine varnish would help with durability.
Good luck -- sounds like an interesting project!
posted by Ostara at 8:36 AM on November 7, 2013
Seconding bracing the sink from below. You could do something really cleaver with wood, and add hooks from which to hang brushes and dish towels. A nice dowel behind to hook the sprayers on your spray bottles.
It can really add to your storage capacity.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 9:59 AM on November 7, 2013
It can really add to your storage capacity.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 9:59 AM on November 7, 2013
It's likely that the water in the sink will be heavier than the sink itself: a 22" by 15" sink with 6" of water in it contains 71 pounds of water. If you're worried, brace the cabinet. Stainless steel sinks aren't that light either: this fairly basic model weighs 38 pounds.
As others have said, if you have doubts, brace it.
posted by Monday, stony Monday at 10:06 AM on November 7, 2013
As others have said, if you have doubts, brace it.
posted by Monday, stony Monday at 10:06 AM on November 7, 2013
Response by poster: These are all great recommendations, the only thing i'd add is that the base cabinet is made out of thin metal.
Also, I'm not entirely sure what a "brace" would look like in this case, but based on the dowel link, I'm assuming it's a rod or beam that holds the upright sides of the base cabinet in place, parallel to the floor? And if so, do you think it possible to attach one of those to metal? Or is drilling metal really complicated?
I'm having someone help me with this, but he told me the sink is too heavy, and I wanted a second opinion.
posted by qzar at 10:33 AM on November 7, 2013
Also, I'm not entirely sure what a "brace" would look like in this case, but based on the dowel link, I'm assuming it's a rod or beam that holds the upright sides of the base cabinet in place, parallel to the floor? And if so, do you think it possible to attach one of those to metal? Or is drilling metal really complicated?
I'm having someone help me with this, but he told me the sink is too heavy, and I wanted a second opinion.
posted by qzar at 10:33 AM on November 7, 2013
Best answer: I guess I've got two suggestions here. Here's my Kohler porcelain over cast iron sink mounted in a "butcher block" countertop, note that it's got those vertical ¾" plywood dividers on either side of the sink. I've gotten up on that countertop (to put the cabinets above in) and seen no deflection.
My fear is that if you tried to support the sink just in the front and the back, then the sink is forward of the back by a couple of widths of countertop pieces, which means they might sag a bit, and if they start to sag then you're dependent on the cross-grain strength (and the glue holding those laminated pieces together), and that's not a good thing. And, similarly, on the front, you've got almost nothing underneath the sink where it rests on the countertop.
Thus you want to support the cross-grain bit of the countertop.
However, when you put something cross-grain across a big span like that, you need to be able to let the countertop expand and contract a bit, because it will. If you tried, for instance, to take a piece of angle iron and attach it firmly on either side of the countertop, the counter top will rip itself apart.
What you want is something that goes from front or back that's firmly attached to the vertical bits, but that lets the countertop move a bit. Within the existing cabinet, do you have either dividers fairly close to the edge of where the sink cut-out will be (like my cabinet), or a front and a back you can attach to?
If the former, put the sink in. If the latter, I'd take a piece of 2x4 between the front and the back and attach it with 3 or 4 2" steel screws.
And on finish: I've got a piece of bowling alley I use in my workshop that got all sorts of outside abuse that's held up really well. The initial finish is pretty damned good. On my kitchen countertops, I've finished them with several layers of marine spar varnish, and as long as I can keep guests from trying to cut on them (treat it like a table top, use a damned cutting board), it's been pretty darned solid.
posted by straw at 12:20 PM on November 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
My fear is that if you tried to support the sink just in the front and the back, then the sink is forward of the back by a couple of widths of countertop pieces, which means they might sag a bit, and if they start to sag then you're dependent on the cross-grain strength (and the glue holding those laminated pieces together), and that's not a good thing. And, similarly, on the front, you've got almost nothing underneath the sink where it rests on the countertop.
Thus you want to support the cross-grain bit of the countertop.
However, when you put something cross-grain across a big span like that, you need to be able to let the countertop expand and contract a bit, because it will. If you tried, for instance, to take a piece of angle iron and attach it firmly on either side of the countertop, the counter top will rip itself apart.
What you want is something that goes from front or back that's firmly attached to the vertical bits, but that lets the countertop move a bit. Within the existing cabinet, do you have either dividers fairly close to the edge of where the sink cut-out will be (like my cabinet), or a front and a back you can attach to?
If the former, put the sink in. If the latter, I'd take a piece of 2x4 between the front and the back and attach it with 3 or 4 2" steel screws.
And on finish: I've got a piece of bowling alley I use in my workshop that got all sorts of outside abuse that's held up really well. The initial finish is pretty damned good. On my kitchen countertops, I've finished them with several layers of marine spar varnish, and as long as I can keep guests from trying to cut on them (treat it like a table top, use a damned cutting board), it's been pretty darned solid.
posted by straw at 12:20 PM on November 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: The cabinet is 40" wide and the sink is 24" wide. One side will be almost directly supported by the cabinet's side walls, the other side has a good 14-15" space between cabinet edge and sink edge. Here is a pic of the old sink before we ripped it out.
The floor is also getting new linoleum and some oil based paint over it.
posted by qzar at 12:32 PM on November 7, 2013
The floor is also getting new linoleum and some oil based paint over it.
posted by qzar at 12:32 PM on November 7, 2013
How deep is the sink relative to the countertop? Based on that picture, and that the sink is only 50 lbs, I'd say just put the new sink in place. Unlike mine, which has very little support in front of the sink because we're going to do a tip-out drawer, that cabinet supports the front, and probably the back fairly well. If you've got 3 sides really solidly supported, the 4th takes care of itself.
posted by straw at 12:46 PM on November 7, 2013
posted by straw at 12:46 PM on November 7, 2013
Don't forget that you're likely to lean on the sink in front of the mirror-build a strong cabinet or support it from the bottom.
posted by fake at 1:08 PM on November 7, 2013
posted by fake at 1:08 PM on November 7, 2013
There are premade braces, like the PW-104-P by Sink Setter. Drilling in thin sheet metal is fairly easy: you can use a normal drill bit, just remember to use lubricant (vegetable oil works) and take your time. If you're not confident in your cabinet's ability to take the weight, you could reinforce it, for instance by bolding plywood sheets to the sides, back and bottom of the cabinet and adding a wood piece that goes from one side to the other in the front, at the top of the cabinet.
posted by Monday, stony Monday at 2:14 PM on November 7, 2013
posted by Monday, stony Monday at 2:14 PM on November 7, 2013
Small side-note. I knew a community kitchen that had a beautiful bowling alley countertop and they had to be really careful to never use it as a cutting board. Apparently you can only sand it down so many times.
posted by aniola at 4:01 PM on November 7, 2013
posted by aniola at 4:01 PM on November 7, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
If you have a longer span then it might be different, but... in general, I think that fixed furniture should be strong enough for me to walk on. If it can handle me at 160 lbs bouncing around on it, half that weight in a sink is nothing.
posted by straw at 8:17 AM on November 7, 2013