DIY Project – Kitchen Countertops – Kitchen Sink Installation – Part 1

The next morning, I went around the kitchen and lifted on the three countertops to make sure they were glued in place.  I gave a couple of lifts around the peninsula. Confident that the countertops were glued down, it was time for the sink installation.

Since the sink was a clearance item, I did not have a template to cut the hole.  I decided to lay the sink upside down and align the sink on the window.  Eyeballing it, I had the sink where I wanted it.  With a pencil, I drew an outline around the lip of the sink.  I measured the lip.  I removed the sink.  I would transfer the width of the lip of the sink to the inside of the drawn outline on the countertop.  I applied masking tape approximately where the inside lines would be located. Using a builders square I drew four lines on the masking tape.  I removed the outside line with a soapy rag.  I now had the cut lines for the sink. After a couple double checks of the lines compared to the sink, I was ready to cut the hole.  I would get one shot at it.

I first drilled a hole at one of the corners. Using my Sears-Craftsman® jigsaw, I started cutting on the line at the hole.  I did not know if the blade was dull, the saw did not have the cutting power, or the composite material of the countertop was hard, but I could not cut through the countertop.  Pressing hard on the jig saw, I broke not one, but two blades.

I was done with the jig saw.  I opted to use my Sears-Craftsman® circular saw. I first drilled holes at all four corners of the outline.  As I tried out my saw, I found a problem.  The shoe (the bottom of the saw) was too wide to cut the back line near the backsplash.  I had an old Black and Decker® circular saw that had the shoe removed. (There was a reason for this, but that would be for another time.)  I could use this saw to cut that part.  Knowing I did not have to be too accurate; I was ready to make my first cut.  I pulled back the saw blade guard and plunged the running saw on the front line.  Once I got it started, I moved the saw along the line until I got to the other corner.  Well, that worked okay.  I cut the two sides, but I learned that the shoe hit the backsplash before I could finish the cuts. I would need to finish them with the other saw.

The blade on the Black and Decker® was not very sharp.  As I cut the countertop, the saw blade screeched and smoked.  It did the job.  The sink cutout piece fell hard and banged around the plumbing in the cabinet below.  I removed the cutout and checked the pipes.  All good below.  I checked my cut job.  Not that great, but it should work.  I was finally ready to finish this project.

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