I’m replacing a wall mounted sink with a pedestal sink. I found that the wood support beam for the wall mount is higher than where it needs to be for the pedestal sink mounts.
I’m going to take the drywall away where the new support should be and insert one. My question is this – Should I toe nail in the 2×4 support in between the two nearest beams or notch the beams out and insert and screw it in that way?
ps – in case anyone wants to know, this has been my personal best for projects from h-e- double hockey sticks…. well thats another story
Larry
Replies
A toenailed piece of blocking would work just fine. Using appropriate screws (not just drywall screws) would be better.
Jon Blakemore
another question if you dont mind. The floor slants a bit away from the wall so when the sink is on the pedestal, it pulls away from the wall. Should I just shim the bottom of the pedestal? Its a Kohler pedestal so you have to drive this screw through the bottom of the pedestal into the floor.
Shim the base of the pedestal so the basin is level. Nevermind what happens at the wall, the basin needs to be level and the pedestal needsto be plumb. I saw some shims in HD or Lowes last week, made of stuff like trex deck. That would be a good choice for you ... stiff enough to support the ped, won't rot or swell if it gets wet, easy to trim. You might also have to shim between the back of the basin and the wall.
Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell'em "Certainly, I can!" Then get busy and find out how to do it. T. Roosevelt
Ed, shim between the back of the basin and the wall? How would you cover up the gap? On this Kohler sink, the bolts are at the bottom of the basin, therefore tightening these wont bring the top of the basin to the wall.
Should I add caulk to fill the gap?
Also the instructions say bolt the pedestal to the floor. I already have porcelain tile down. How do I drill a hole through the tile?
Edited 9/7/2004 8:05 am ET by Toolsguy
Filled gaps at the floor will be less obvious than filled gaps at the wall.
>How do I drill a hole through the tile?
There are tile drill bits. Usually in a pack of 4, diff sizes. Poke the bit into the tile to break the surface before drilling.
Where do you get those bits? None of the hardware stores here had them
You can find the tile bits at HD & Lowes or a good tile store. They have tips that look like arrowheads. Or you can use a carbide tip hammerdrill bit, a masonry bit, but use a regular drill, not a hammerdrill.
Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell'em "Certainly, I can!" Then get busy and find out how to do it. T. Roosevelt
If I rememeber the original question (I didn't go back and read it) you wanted to know about putting blocking in the wall to secure the sink to the wall. My comment was that you might have to put a shim between the basin and the wall so you don't pull it out of plumb when you tighten the screws.
Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell'em "Certainly, I can!" Then get busy and find out how to do it. T. Roosevelt
On my Kohler, the pedestal the base isn't attached. Hmm. But regardless, I'd also shim it, and then either grout with same as for tile floor to mask the gap, or caulk. Whichever would better make it disappear.
The pedestal carries the weight of the sink. The holes in the basin for the screws keep the basin from shifting as it is two pieces. If you do not need to remove the drywall for any other reason than fastening the sink, then cut a rectangular hole in the wall for blocking. Hole can be about 8" high and 3" wide, slip a 12" 2x4 in the hole and screw above and below hole. A screw partially driven in the center of the blocking gives you a handhold. Adhesive on the blocking is a good idea. You need a hole on the otherside too. You can do this with one longer piece of 2x blocking if a stud is not in the way, you mount it horizontally, use a 2x6 instead.
It may be possible to elimate all blocking and use toggles, up to you.Plumb the pedastal ,shim and if the floor is ceramic tile use grout under the low end.
mike
They have some pretty big toggles for that purpose, saves a lot of work.