You can transform a bowl into a stylish vessel sink. First, you need to know how to turn a bowl into a vessel sink. The project may seem a hard nut to crack, but it’s easy when using the right tools and procedure.
Bowl sinks are known as vessel sinks in the world of bathroom interior design. They look appealing and help add style to the sinks. Bowls are usually small, so you need to consider where to install one. It may not be ideal for the kitchen but works great in the bathroom.
You will need to consider some factors like the style to install and the faucet position for optimal results.
Table of Contents
4 Steps to Turn a Bowl into a Vessel Sink:
Step 1: Select a Suitable Bowl
If your free-to-use bowl gets made of porcelain or clay, it is ideal to use as a vessel sink. Not all bowl types are suitable for creating the sink. The fact that your bowl is lying idle does not make it fit to use. It must be of the right size and material.
It would be best if you also considered the countertop to use. Will you like the vessel sink mounted underneath or on top of the countertop? You will find bowls made with glass, stainless steel, clay, cast iron, and many other materials. Consider the material that will work out great for your usage and room.
If you decide to go for a bowl made with delicate materials like clay, crystal, and glass, use them in rooms not used frequently. Great examples are guest bathrooms and powder rooms. Otherwise, cracked or chipped bowls are hard to fix. You will have to install a new bowl if damaged.
Choose your bowls wisely. If you love glass, get a bowl made with tempered glass. It lasts longer and is safer than the common glass. Other durable bowls are those made from enameled cast iron, metal, ceramic, and stainless steel.
The bowl should blend well with the room’s color and interior décor.
Step 2: Construct the Pedestal
The pedestal is where the sink rests. Luckily, constructing it is a piece of cake. It entails four pieces of wood joined together to form a vertical, rectangular-shaped structure. First, you will need to measure the bowl size to know the pedestal’s size to make.
Measure the bowl’s height and width, and make a pedestal that will allow the vessel sink to rest on top as it supports the sink’s base. The bowl should sit snugly; therefore ensure that you trim the wood’s curves. Then remove the sink’s center base to access the pedestals inside. With this space, you will put the pipes.
If the pedestal’s size can allow it, you can install the faucet through the bowl’s body. If not, you’ll have to run it from behind.
Step 3: Make the Vessel Sink
After making the pedestal, it’s time to prepare the sink. Your sink should contain a water filter; you, therefore, need to have a hole for it. Make a hole where the pipe from the pedestal can fit and enter into the bowl. Measure the pipe’s diameter to guide you on the size of the hole to drill.
You will need to use a masonry drill bit a bit larger than the pipe’s diameter. Make a hole on the bowl’s bottom. Ensure that it gets drilled at the bowl’s center. Make the hole from the bowl’s bottom. The bowl may get damaged by the heat or force while drilling the hole. Request someone to help you spray it down to prevent this.
Step 4: Install the Sink
After drilling a hole into the bowl’s bottom, start assembling the sink. Start by fixing a pipe through the pedestal. Secure it around using waterproof epoxy. Then pick the bowl and place it on the pedestal’s top. Then take the pipe from the pedestal and put it through the bowl’s hole drilled at its bottom’s center.
Use a marker to trace the pipe’s circumference and cut along the marked area. After putting the pipe through the bowl, use waterproof epoxy within the bowl and out within the pedestal to secure it. Then adjust the bowl to sit properly.
Ensure you wipe away any epoxy that might have spread around. When through, take the water filter and place it inside the bowl. Viola! Your vessel sink is ready for use.
Installation Style
You can either of the two major installation methods for your bowl sink. You could install it above or beneath the countertop. You may have a manufacturer’s template for hole cutting in the countertop for both installation styles. If not, use the bowl to indicate where to cut.
How to Install a Vessel Sink Using the On-Top Installation
First, take the bowl and place it at the center of the countertop. Use colored masking tape to mark the bowl’s outline of where it sits. If the countertop comes with a hole, use it to trace the countertop’s circle. On the traced circle, drill a 3/8 – inch hole. A saber saw, or any other ideal driller will help with the hole.
Then take the bowl and put it upside down. On its bottom, run a sealant line. When through, turn it over and align the bowl’s center hole with that on the countertop. Then ensure the tape marks on the countertop and bowl aligns. Ensure the bowl is well secured to the countertop.
How to Install a Vessel Sink Using the Set-In Installation
Start by turning the bowl upside down and placing it at the countertop’s center. Then mark the bowl’s rim on the countertop. When through, take the bowl and keep it aside. Then draw a line of ¾ – inch from where you’ve drawn the first line. Inside this second line, drill a 3/8 – inch hole using a saber saw.
Then take the bowl and place it in the hole. Ensure it fits. When it does, turn it upside down and apply sealant under the bowl’s rim. When you’ve run a proper line of sealant under the rim, turn the bowl to sit properly.
Then insert it on the counter hole, pressing it gently to sit properly until the rim rests on the countertop. Ensure the bowl’s top seals tightly on to the countertop.
Give the adhesive sometime to dry, then seal the bowl by caulking its outside edge to the countertop. It doesn’t matter the installation style you go for; the drain and faucet connection is the same as illustrated in the above step by step guide.
It is easier to install the faucet before the bowl. Drill its hole on the countertop. Afterward, install the bowl and connect it to the water line and drain. Your vessel sink is ready for use!
Most sinks found in homes and other places like restaurants and hotels get made with stainless steel. You could have a stainless bowl you want to turn into a vessel sink but don’t know where to start. No need to fret; here is a step by step guide on how to do it.
How to Turn a Stainless Steel Bowl into a Vessel Sink
Step 1: Prepare the Bowl
If you don’t have the stainless steel bowl, get one from your nearest store. Stainless steel bowls cost less. It can hardly affect your budget. Then turn it upside down and drill a hole using a drill bit. Because the drill bit usually heats up fast, spray some WD 40 to cool it. Ask someone to help you with the spraying as you drill the hole.
The drilled hole should be the size of the strainer you’ll use. You need to measure your strainer’s size first before drilling. Most strainers are usually 1.25- inches.
Step 2: Insert the Strainer into the Bowl
After drilling the hole, turn the bowl over and insert the strainer into the made hole. The strainer should fit into the hole, and its rim should sit comfortably on the bowl’s bottom around the hole.
If the fitting is okay, but an adhesive under the strainer’s rim and above the hole where the rim sits. Press the strainer’s rim to seal with the bowl part around the hole.
Step 3: Prepare the Countertop
If your countertop doesn’t have a hole, you will need to drill one. Use the owl to know where to make the hole. Start by placing the owl at the center and mark its sides.
Then mark the center where the bowl sat and drill a hole. But if it comes with a hole, ensure it’s the same size as that of the strainer.
Step 4: Mount the Sink
The sink could get mounted on or below the countertop. It depends on your preference. The process is no different from the one discussed above.
As advised earlier, connect the faucet before installing the bowl. Then connect to the pipes. The water source connection should be the last.
Test your newly installed stainless steel bowl sink b opening the faucet and checking out the drainage. If all are working out well, you’ve done an excellent job. If not, disassemble the sink and install again without skipping any process. Ensure all parts are properly fixed.
Conclusion
Though not all bowls are ideal for making a sink, because they come in different sizes, designs, and materials, you get to choose what you like.
The prices, too, vary, and you get one based on your budget. But if you have no money to get a bowl for making your vessel sink, you can use or recycle what you have at home. The process of turning a bowl into a vessel sink may seem complicated and tedious, but as demonstrated above, it’s not the case.
Using the step-by-step guide given above, you can easily make a vessel sink with a bowl. With the right tools, you don’t need the services of a professional. It is an excellent DIY home project. Follow the guide provided above to make a vessel sink from a serving bowl.
