Upmounted Farm Sink

An upmounted farm sink sits slightly above counter level and shows off the shape of the basin.

Among the most difficult ways to install a farm sink slightly above counter level. The question is always: how far above? Another question is why it’s not more convenient to have the sink edge sit just below the counter so everything can be swept right in. The answer, in the case of my kitchen, was that I wanted the basin look, which meant having the curved sides and rim exposed.

Another consideration is the counter material which must be fabricated to fit very snugly around the outside. A fireclay sink like my Rohl/Shaw’s is is handmade and slightly irregular. The tiny space left between the sink and counter always requires caulk unless you want leaks into the sink base.

With my 30-inch Shaw’s fireclay farm sink, I chose the hardest of all installations. I wanted it upmounted above a stainless steel counter. We decided that 3/8-inch above, with the entire rim exposed, would look good and not be too high. That calculation proved to be just right.

My upmounted farm sink also was to be pulled forward in the sink base cabinet, both to create a focal point below the window and to be comfortable. When a sink is pulled out in front of the face of the cabinet the user can stand against the sink — not the cabinet — so there’s no leaning in when you’re washing or rinsing. To make my sink and its cabinet a focal point, we decided to pull it out 4-inches in front of cabinets on either side. I call this an  “upmounted, double bump out” approach — meaning the sink rim is exposed, the base cabinet is pulled out by two inches and the front of the sink is pulled forward as well. The bonus with this arrangement was about 7-inches of space in back of my faucet. Additionally, I wanted the sink to sit in a curved cradle. So the Plain & Fancy sink base was ordered with a full panel and the installer cut it so the radius curves of the sink bottom fit perfectly. That was a delicate task only achieved by an exceptionally skilled installer.

Since upmounted sinks must fit the counter snugly, caulk is required to fill the gap all around. With stainless counters this was doubly tricky since the fabricator had to template precisely around the outside of the sink to keep the caulk to a minimum.  My contractor used clear caulk for the job, which unlike white, became barely visible as it took on the color of the stainless. The photo (above) shows how the sides of the sink look  and the snug fit between the sink and counter.

When both the sink base and the sink are bumped out, the front and sides of the counter top adjacent to the sink need consideration. The counter cannot go straight across — it must protrude to cover the narrow sides of the cabinet that also are set forward to hold the sink in place, creating a little “ear” on each side. This same cabinet configuration with ears also was used for a Kohler Gilford utility sink in the Gilford Cottage Kitchen where both the sink base and the sink are bumped out and the sink rim is exposed.

Our Bumped Out Farm Sink post shows another example.

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