This weekend after filling our dogs’ water bowl using the sink in our half bath downstairs, as I was walking out of the room I heard dripping water. Turns out the faucet wasn’t leaking in to the basin, but down the cold water supply line and from there dripping on the floor. I couldn’t figure out why it was leaking with my head jammed up between the pedestal sink and the wall, the faucet is the one the builder installed when they built the place in 2000, and its white enamel was starting to peel off, so I figured it was time to replace the faucet. I got out some wrenches and started taking things apart.
I turned off and disconnected the supply lines, but couldn’t get a big enough wrench between the pedestal and the wall to loosen the drain from the sink basin. “Ok,” I thought, “I’ll just unmount the basin; it’ll be much easier to work on that way”. I got out a utility knife and started to cut away the clear silicone between the back of the basin and the wall.
I was a bit surprised to note there didn’t seem to be any bolts mounting the basin to the wall, and after I cut away the last of the silicone, I verified that by easily lifting the basin off the pedestal. Not only that, but there were no bolts securing the pedestal in place on the floor! My kids practically climb in to this sink from the toilet when they use it to wash their hands!
I’ve told this story to several people in person, and very few of them are surprised at the lack of mounting hardware. In a classic case of good timing, we went to Lowes to check out options for either mounting the pedestal more securely and replacing the faucet, or replacing the pedestal with a small cabinet sink. The day after looking at drop-in cabinets, one we liked went on sale. It’s not that I’m against pedestal sinks; some are very nice, but ours is one of those builder-grade pieces that’s trying too hard to invoke the old Southern plantation look, while somehow completely missing the point, and just ending up looking awkward as a result. Lots of the decorative touches in our house are like that, for example there are crown molding and chair rails practically everywhere.
Anyway, we bought the new vanity and I got it installed just in time for the annual Halloween party. I used some lag bolts to secure it to the wall, so even if the kids climb fully in to the new sink, they won’t be able to tip it over. It’s a little bit too far from the wall due to the molding, so I need to cut slots in that so the piece can mount directly to the wall.