This is how I installed my under-mount apron sink. If you are installing an over-mount sink, your process will be different.
The first thing we did was to detach the face frame from the cabinet. Most stock cabinets built in the last 20 years have face frames assembled with pocket holes. To remove the frame, I simply had to unscrew a handful of screws. I only needed to remove the two horizontal pieces and center dividers. I made sure to keep all the pieces for later use.
This is how the cabinet looks with the frame removed.
With the face frame gone, the next step was to measure 1/8″ from the top edge of the cabinet sides and to ascribe a line.
Apron sinks are typically pretty heavy and need a sub-frame to support their weight. I first measured the underside of my sink to determine how deep the frame needed to be. I then cut the top plate to length, and cut the legs long enough so when the top plate was attached, the sub-frame would come up to the previous line, 1/8″ from the top edge.
My cabinet being 36″ wide and my sink only 30″ wide, I built the sub-frame on both sides of the cabinet, from 2 x 3 lumber. I attached the top plate to the legs and attached the entire sub-frame to the cabinet using 3″ wood screws.
At this point we could lower the sink in place for a test fit. The wings of the top edge of the sink set perfectly on the sub-frame. I then took a leftover, horizontal piece of face frame and attached it to the sides of the frame, directly under the apron of the sink. I used *1-1/4″ pocket holes screws
, through the pre-drilled holes.
I was also able to reuse the original center divider. It had to cut it down in length, and two new pocket holes drilled. Then it was just a matter of clamping the center divider in place and attaching it with *1-1/4″ pocket hole screws
.
Our cabinet is 36″ wide, but the sink was only 30″ wide. If we had dropped the sink in at this point, there would be sizable gaps on either side. We needed to swap out the top sides of the face frame with something wider. First, using a multi-attachment tool, we made a horizontal cut, right above the horizontal support. We then used the cut off pieces as a template to cut wider boards to length.
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| “Adobe” Inset Panel Cabinet Doors – red oak |
and added the decorative hardware. Here’s how it looks now.
I freaking love this sink! Its so deep and large, I can hide dirty dishes without guests catching glimpse. The modern design of the STo faucet blends contemporary with traditional. I get compliments on my apron sink and faucet every time someone comes over.
If you’d like to see the full kitchen reveal, click over here. More tutorials are coming soon!
I always wondered if we could do this in our kitchen, so thanks for the tutorial to show how it's done! I'm trying to front load some of the costs of our future kitchen remodel, and a new sink and faucet would be something that I would love to get some use out of now rather than wait for the remodel.