There Are Basically 3 Ways Kitchen Sinks Can Be Installed

There are basically 3 ways kitchen sinks can be installed: - Self-rimming (drop-in) - Undermount - Flush mount Self-rimming or drop-in sinks as they're sometimes called are the easiest to install. They simply fit into a cutout in the countertop on top of a base cabinet, supported by the flanges of the sink that overlap the cutout. The main disadvantage of a drop-in sink is the barrier between the countertop surface and the sink bowl formed by the lip of the sink. You can't sweep food and liquids into the sink or if you try, you end up catching debris at the edge where the sink and countertop meet. Undermount kitchen sinks are fitted under the countertop. The either hang from the underside of the countertop or are supported from underneath by the base cabinet structure. An undermount sink allows you to brush items from the countertop directly into the sink without any "catch points" that can harbor food stuffs and bacteria. Undermount sinks require clips and other mechanical types of fastening devices to attach it to the countertop. Heavier kitchen sinks like ones made from cast iron or stone require a well-designed mounting system in an undermount installation. A solid surface sink combined with a solid surface countertop is another form of undermount sink although it may not appear as such. In this situation the sink is glued to the underside of the solid surface countertop. The fabricator then smooths the joint between the two surfaces making the seam between them invisible, similar to what's shown in the picture on the right. An undermount sink's "reveal" refers to the degree that the countertop extends over the edge of the sink. A positive reveal means the lip of the sink juts out slightly from the edge of the countertop. A negative reveal means the countertop surface overlaps the edge of the sink. Flush mount sinks are also called "tile edge" sinks. They're similar to a drop-in sink except they're used with a tiled countertop. The tile is installed so that it's flush with the mounting flange of the sink providing a flush surface between the sink and countertop. There's usually a grout line between the edge of the sink and the tile. Source: Home Style Choices