Sink Cabinet

[Peter Stahl]

Any idea why they can't make all kitchen sink cabinets with no center support. What are us big old guys supposed to do? LOL

[Jim Becker]

I'm thinking you might want to 'splain that a little more, Peter... ;)

[Dave Richards]

I bet Peter's trying to get in under there to replace the faucets. I feel your pain, Peter. I feel your pain.

[Peter Stahl]

I bet Peter's trying to get in under there to replace the faucets. I feel your pain, Peter. I feel your pain.

Exactly Dave. I think everyone hates working under a sink and when you have to stay sideways because the openings are so small it makes it even worse. Need a really thin blade that I can cut the center support out with then pocket hole it back together when I finish.

[Dave Richards]

It would be a whole lot easier if they put the faucets at the front instead of behind the sink. :D

Can you just make a new stile to match?

[Peter Stahl]

Faucet in the front eh....... No. I don't think I'll cut it, I'll just rough it or find someone really skinny to help.

[Lee Schierer]

You can use your multi tool to carefully cut out the center support and then reattach it to one of the doors so when the doors are closed it will still be there.

[Jim Becker]

Ah...now I get it. When I designed our sink cabinet for the farmhouse stile sink that was going on it, I put double doors with no center stile which absolutely makes for easier access.

[George Bokros]

I have the same complaint. When I built our new vanity for the hall bath I left out the center stile for this exact reason. Men are built, even thin ones to fit into a 15" wide opening.

[Peter Kelly]

If ever there was an argument for frameless euro boxes...

[George Bokros]

If ever there was an argument for frameless euro boxes...

Frameless euro boxes are ugly!!

[Bruce Wrenn]

While on subject of sink bases. When building either a vanity, or sink base, I slope the floor 1/8" towards front. If it ever has a leak, there will be a puddle on the floor in front of sink, instead of bottom rotting out. Usually use a piece of vinyl flooring to cover bottom.

[Jim Becker]

Frameless euro boxes are ugly!!
While I'm not personally fond of them, it's a pretty subjective thing...many folks much prefer them and consider face frames to be, um...aesthetically unpleasing. :D

[Wayne Lomman]

Frameless cabinets are ugly? I don't get it, they are not seen as they are entirely hidden by the doors and panels. That being said, putting a muntin or a division in the centre of a sink is a design error of the first order. Find the culprit who built it and make them crawl in the space! Cheers

[Jerry Bruette]

This won't help you squeeze into the space but it might help take the strain off your back while you're in there. I've used a 40 or 50 pound bag of dog food to lay on while under a sink or vanity cabinet "shims" my fat butt up to the level of the cabinet bottom and saves my back.

[Peter Stahl]

Thanks for all the great replies. Can't cut the stile it's at my daughters house and don't want to turn it into a project. Looks like we could start a long discussion on frameless verses framed. I'll try and remember to let you know how I made out. Probably won't a chance to do it until Tuesday though.

[Jim Becker]

This won't help you squeeze into the space but it might help take the strain off your back while you're in there. I've used a 40 or 50 pound bag of dog food to lay on while under a sink or vanity cabinet "shims" my fat butt up to the level of the cabinet bottom and saves my back.
That would be expensive...I'd have to get a dog to go with the dog food. LOL (but yea, that's a good idea)

[lowell holmes]

Remodel the lower cabinet? Our sink has two doors under it. I can get down on the floor and do anything I need to do.

[Osvaldo Cristo]

My parents have one in their home. There are several different models available here - I guess it can be easily found also in the USA.

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Regards,

[Malcolm McLeod]

That would be expensive...I'd have to get a dog to go with the dog food. LOL (but yea, that's a good idea)

If it's at your daughter's house, you can just leave the food and the dog. Problem solved. ...All the joys, and none of the responsibilities!:cool:

[Brian Henderson]

I don't think I've ever owned a house where there was a center stile. We don't on the current kitchen cabinet, nor on the cabinets in the bathrooms. If I ever saw one, I'd just modify the cabinet to take it out.

[Jim Becker]

If it's at your daughter's house, you can just leave the food and the dog. Problem solved. ...All the joys, and none of the responsibilities!:cool:
Except that both of my daughters live here at home. The older has a Flemish Giant Rabbit (with three legs and pretty much near end-of-life) and those food bags are a lot smaller than dog food. Same for our Birds...small containers. I guess I'll just have to use some pillow should I need wallow under the sink someday. LOL

[Jim Becker]

I don't think I've ever owned a house where there was a center stile. We don't on the current kitchen cabinet, nor on the cabinets in the bathrooms. If I ever saw one, I'd just modify the cabinet to take it out.
The original sink cabinet in this house when we moved in had the evil center stile...and it was blue. And was supporting an orange laminate counter top. Yikes!

[Peter Kelly]

My parents have one in their home. There are several different models available here - I guess it can be easily found also in the USA.

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Regards,This design is totally the better way to go, just not that common in the US. Kitchens here are often built with the sink being centered on an exterior window so plumbing comes up through the floor to avoid frozen pipes.

[Brian Henderson]

This design is totally the better way to go, just not that common in the US. Kitchens here are often built with the sink being centered on an exterior window so plumbing comes up through the floor to avoid frozen pipes.

That's similar to one I had in the old house that was built in the mid-20s. The pipes came through the backsplash instead of through the sink. Granted, we don't have a freeze here so it didn't really matter, but when I had to replace the faucet, choices were extremely limited and I had to go to a specialty plumber to get parts that weren't available at big box stores.

[Yonak Hawkins]

I put double doors with no center stile which absolutely makes for easier access.

Do you have a gap between the doors or overlappng doors ? I've got cabinet doors to do and I'm undecided.

[Brian Henderson]

Do you have a gap between the doors or overlappng doors ? I've got cabinet doors to do and I'm undecided.

None of mine have a gap or overlap, they just meet in the middle.

[Jim Becker]

Do you have a gap between the doors or overlappng doors ? I've got cabinet doors to do and I'm undecided.

A gap, but it's only about 1/16" with the expected seasonal movement. It's dark inside the cabinet so nothing shows anyway. All my doors are inset, so nothing overlaps anything.

[Osvaldo Cristo]

Interesting.

Although the one we have in our home also is mounted thought the sink, there are a lot of models available like that one I posted and they are very common here. I will use one of them in a projected new home in few years as they are much more convenient than the model we have currently at home...

Of course we do not have frozen weather temperature there under the tropics!

[Jim Becker]

There are a lot of jurisdictions that "frown" on wall mounted fixtures if they are on an outside wall as they commonly would be in a kitchen. It can potentially make cut-offs proximal to the sink more challenging.

[Brian Henderson]

There are a lot of jurisdictions that "frown" on wall mounted fixtures if they are on an outside wall as they commonly would be in a kitchen. It can potentially make cut-offs proximal to the sink more challenging.

I can vouch for that, where in the old house, we had no shut offs in the kitchen period. The only way to work on the kitchen faucets was to turn off water to the entire house.

[Jim Becker]

Brian, that was actually how it was here when we moved in back in late 1999. The whole house was one zone. When two months later there was a leak requiring totally gutting the powder room off the kitchen, we had a manifold put in to separate the kitchen and then-two baths into separate zones so each could be cut off independently. The addition in 2008 became a fourth zone, although it was impractical to provide easy-access cut-offs for the two baths and laundry on that side of the house due to distance and it all being crawl space.

[Jared Sankovich]

Ah...now I get it. When I designed our sink cabinet for the farmhouse stile sink that was going on it, I put double doors with no center stile which absolutely makes for easier access.
I did the same when I retrofit a farm sink into my last house. I hate center stiles in any cabinet


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[Jared Sankovich]

This design is totally the better way to go, just not that common in the US. Kitchens here are often built with the sink being centered on an exterior window so plumbing comes up through the floor to avoid frozen pipes.

They are a kind of a pain to install compared to conventional faucets. And as noted shut-offs are even more work to do and make look decent.

I do really like the look in the right application though.

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[Jim Becker]

Yes, there's a very classy, retro appeal to that style!