New Countertop and Sink


Last Changed 7/1/2011
This started with a problem we had with the original stainless steel kitchen sink. When it was installed, a clip that was supposed to hold the sink to the countertop had not engaged the sink. This was on the lower left corner. Over time, the lack of support from that clip allowed the sink to separate from the countertop in the corner. A temporary fix was applied a couple of years ago by using a lot of silicon caulk to secure the sink to the countertop. The situation with the clip was not known at that time. But the silicon eventually gave way. This time a closer inspection found the clip not engaged with the sink. To complicate things, there was a cabinet frame that ran under the clip so that it could not be moved into proper position and tightened. The solution was to raise the top and fix the clip. Stainless steel sinks are not one of Dale's favorites things. Therefore, if the countertop was coming off, the sink was going to be changed. First step was to find a replacement sink. We had a 33" x 18" hole which is not a standard sink. Days of Google searching finally discovered the key words were "mobilehome sink," We found a mid quality man-made material undermount sink we could get from Home Depot. The question was should we tackle this project ourselves? We contacted Midwest Custom RV, our favorite service place, to ask how the countertop was mounted. We were told that the countertop is only secured with caulk to the cabinet tops. Since we were going to be in Elkhart, IN, we decided to let Midwest Custom RV do the sink replacement. Now the project evolves, as we were planning to order the replacement sink, we contacted Midwest Custom RV to see if they knew of other sink sources. Bishop Christensen recommended we talk to Jack Jesse ,who originally made our countertop for Travel Supreme. In discussion with Jack, the option of using a Corian sink arose. This was a more appealing option than the rather cheap man-made material sink we were looking at. The Corian sink would be a little smaller than 33"x18" so Jack would have to append material to the countertop. We decided on the Corian sink and changing our countertop to fit. When we stopped at Jack Jesse's Jessco company, we assumed Jack would take our countertop off, make the changes and Midwest Custom RV would do the necessary plumbing changes. First we found that Jack doesn't take countertops out, he only makes or alters them. But we reviewed what the changes to the countertop would entail. Seeing the amount of material that would have to be added around the new Corian sink, we became worried about how well the new material would match the old. After a lot of discussing, we decided to get a new countertop with the Corian sink bonded in. While we were getting a new countertop, we decided to change the edge of the new counter to a simpler rounded edge. The old countertop had a fancy shaped edge with many grooves that attracted dirt. More changes. Since the faucet will now be mounted on the countertop instead of being on the back ledge like it was on the stainless steel sink, we didn't need to have the faucet plate that covered three holes. Of course the trim ring that originally came with the faucet for a single hole installation was not retained when we replaced the faucet a couple years ago. We ordered one off the Internet. So we arrived at Midwest Custom RV to have our countertop replaced.
	The first job was to remove the old countertop. This was supposed to be a relatively easy job, just break the caulk seam loose.
	The joy of owning a Travel Supreme is how well built it is. The disadvantage of owning a Travel Supreme is how well built it is when you want to remove something. After several hours of trying to gracefully remove the old countertop, it wound up coming off in pieces. We are glad we decided against doing this ourselves. Thankfully, the big pieces survived. We will used them new year when we change the range countertop.
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	When the old countertop was removed, we found we had this space we didn't know about at the wall end of the counter.
	Kyle of Midwest Custom RV brought in an oscillating saw and cut out the panel sealing that space from another compartment by cutting inside the cleats. Now we have more space to hide stuff.
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	Jack Jesse of Jessco arrived with the new countertop.
	The Corian sink uses a smaller hole in the countertop but has bigger bowls. The old stainless steel sink had ledges on all four sides. Also the new Corian sink is 3" deeper than the old sink.
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	One of the custom jobs that Midwest Custom RV had to do is to remanufacture the drain connection pieces. The new sink has the drain holes closer together. The complexity to the drain system came from the connection to the dishwasher. Not as much space to work with as in a house.
	The faucet being installed in a single hole with the trim ring we ordered. A much cleaner look without that three hole plate.
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	Dale is excited with her larger and deeper sink without the dirt collecting ledges the stainless steel sink had.
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