Bathroom Vanity

I helped a friend renovate her basement to create a small apartment. There were a lot of moving parts and the bathroom included several. It originally had a pedestal sink in it. In my opinion, those are only good for half bathrooms. If the sink is going to be used for more than just hand washing, it should have a bigger countertop and storage. This was a pretty pedestal sink but it had to go.

This bathroom also had carpeting in it, which is just plain nasty so that had to go too. We found a very uneven concrete floor underneath so we bought self-leveling concrete for later. I've never used it but I'm hopeful that it'll be just what we need to prepare for new flooring. In the meantime, my friend picked out a new vanity and I decided to install it before the flooring.

When you buy a vanity, you have to choose where it's going, measure where the pipes will go through, and then cut a hole in the back. I always cut bigger than necessary. Maybe there's a good reason to not do that but I figure it's still nice and sturdy so I don't see the harm.

Once it was set in place, I found the studs and secured it with screws.

This vanity came with a counter and the faucet was purchased separately. The instructions said to install the faucet before setting the countertop in place. Once the vanity was set, I placed the countertop. The instructions said to put a blob of silicone on each corner of the vanity and then set it on top. I did that and then added a seal of silicone at the back of the counter to stop any water from falling down the wall behind the sink.

I've never been great at this next part and, of course, this time was no different. I made all the connections. I turned on the water. Water leaked out. I tightened everything. I tried again. It still leaked. When the plumber was there working on setting up the plumbing for the new kitchen, I asked him what I was doing wrong. He undid my work, did it himself, and it still leaked. It turned out the porcelain was chipped. We could either call and have the top replaced or put tons of silicone in place to stop the leak. I chose the silicone route.