# Base for a farm sink...



## Charlie5791 (Feb 21, 2012)

Last "cabinet" to build is for a 36 inch wide x 10 inch deep stainless steel farm sink. After looking around I can thank my lucky stars that my wife didn't want one of the fireclay farm sinks. Seems they're never true and they weigh a ton. This stainless sink I can lift myself.

SInk:
It's a Kraus KH-203-36 measuring 35-7/8×20-3/4×10. 16 gauge stainless
It does NOT have a flat bottom and a call to the manufacturer to confirm installation tells me it only needs to be supported at the sides. Does not need or benefit from bottom support. By "supported at the sides" I mean that the sides come down 9 inches from the top of the sink and return toward the bowls, forming 3/4 inch wide rails for the sink to sit on. This 9 inch "shelf" continues around and across the front of the sink. The actual bottom of the sink is an additional inch lower. So essentially I can support it on 3 sides (2 sides and the front) by sitting it on 1 inch tall support rails, about 3/4 inch thick. 
To the left of this sink will be a 36 inch drawer base. To the right will be a dishwasher.

So…. I have to build a base. If we fill both bowls completely with water, the water would weigh 187.2 pounds (I can't see us EVER filling both bowls like that, but….. should be able to if they're there). The sink itself might be another 50 pounds if that. So let's say 250 pounds. I'm ordering 4 of the Blum 450 pound leveling legs (rated 450 pounds each). I was thinking I'd build like stub walls from 2×4 (cleaned up so they might end up at 1-1/4×3 actual size). Nice dry ones. Make these stub walls 20-1/2 inches tall. Set the leveling legs at 4 inches (they go 3-3/4 to 6 inches), put the 1 inch support rails on top of the 2×4 "walls" and that will get me to 34-1/2 total height.
On the left side I can secure the "wall" to the adjacent cabinet (the cabinets have 3/4 inch sides of the carcass). 
On the RIGHT side, there's no cabinet because the dishwasher is there. On the right side I was planning to build a frame, almost like a face frame with 2 inch stiles and a 3 inch top rail, and once the sink is mounted in its base, secured to the cabinet on the left, I can screw this frame to the right side of the sink base so the top of the frame is even with the top of the sink. This would provide about 3/4 inch of space between sink and dishwasher, but more importantly it would provide support for a countertop so the sink itself isn't the support. It also gives me a little bit of a side frame to secure the dishwasher since I won't be able to screw up into the underside of the countertop. 
I'd dress the face of the support base with maple like the rest of the face frames (which are painted), put a rail under the front of the sink to hide the connecting 2×4 and sink support rail.

Does this sound like massive overkill for the base? I don't have the luxury of being able to make a cabinet with thicker sides going all the way up both sides of the sink and really, once you get to the bottom of the sink, the cabinet sides aren't secured to anything if I did that. I need to keep the underside as open as possible to be able to get at the plumbing and I will probably open the wall BEHIND the sink to access it from the back (basement stairwell). I've seen some pretty massive farm sinks sitting in modified cabinets on 2×4 runners, but those runners are screwed to the cabinet sides which are, at most, 3/4 thick.

This is the last cabinet I need to build and I think I'm getting punchy.  Thoughts, tips, and advice appreciated


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## Gene01 (Jan 5, 2009)

We built our farm sink cabinet with a wall on the back and 2 sides. On the dish washer side, the stile is flush with the 3/4" thick wall. We made inset doors and used Blum European hinges, but overlays should work, also.


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## Charlie5791 (Feb 21, 2012)

Gene, did you just build a regular cabinet? I mean, what were the sides? 3/4 inch? And how is your sink supported? I'm finding that really no 2 are alike, but there seems to be a lot of them in regular cabinets. Maybe my 2×4 construction is a bit of overkill. Theoretically I could just build a table with a big hole in the top. My lack of experience is showing, I'm afraid. I know the sink has to be dead-on level. I also know people do these all the time and I'm getting frustrated at not being able to figure out a good, solid way to do it.


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## Gene01 (Jan 5, 2009)

Charlie,
I built a "full" cabinet with a 10 1/2" apron in front. That gave me a " 1 1/2" "rail". The apron was 3/4 solid oak. Also Pocket screwed from the back side into the face frames. The sink just drops in and is held in place by it's own weight and the silicone between the sink lip and the granite top. Believe me, it won't move.
For the sink cabinet only, I used 3/4" for all sides and back, and pocket screws and glue on the back where it joins the sides. Whereas, the other backs were 1/2". Face frames were 3/4"X 1 1/2".
I connected the cabinets with wood screws into the face frames only. Each of the backs has a 3/4X1 1/2 "nailer" running from side to side at the top to allow for screws into the wall studs. 
All the floors fit into dados in the sides and are pocket screwed and glued into the bottom rail. They could have been dadoed into the bottom rail too, I guess. 
The kick is 4"X4" with a 3/4"X4" plate, leaving 3 1/4 of toe space. The plate is also pocket screwed and glued to the sides and floor. Lots of folks use plywood for the kick plate. I used solid oak. 
Our cabinets are very strong and solidly built, but heavier than h3ll!
BTW, unless your floor is really uneven, shims are a lot easier than adjustable feet. You may need shims at the back of the cabinets, as well. Strike a chalk line on the wall to set the bases to. Set them all in, line them up and then shim as needed before screwing them into the wall. I use a level at the back, then screw the backs and finally, shim the bases before clamping the face frames together and screwing them.
Good luck. It's a lot easier in practice than reading about it.


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## Charlie5791 (Feb 21, 2012)

I keep looking at this and not DOING anything. 
For my installation, I don't need a true cabinet. Basically I need a table without a top, and to which I can attach a face frame. The "guts" actually COULD be 2×4s with a 1 inch tall by 1 inch wide rail sitting on top (both sides and the front). So if I think like it's a table, slid into a cabinet row, with a sink sitting on it…. maybe I'll get off my butt and build it.


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## Sawkerf (Dec 31, 2009)

I think that you're overthinking this. If you're going to use leveling feet, four should be plenty. Even in your "worst case" scenario, the feet would only have to carry ~60 lbs.


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## Charlie5791 (Feb 21, 2012)

Overthinking things is my specialty according to my wife.


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## Charlie5791 (Feb 21, 2012)

OK, you're right. Overthinking. I just ordered the Titus adjustable legs. They can hold 450 pounds per leg. That should be plenty. Just have to build 2 sides and a face frame and connect the dots. Should be plenty strong enough.

thanks for helping me get off my butt!


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## Charlie5791 (Feb 21, 2012)

Basically… this is it. Have to trim it out with maple and wait for the legs to arrive, but…. here's the guts…


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