Installing a non-Ikea farmhouse sink in Ikea cabinets... help! Anyone done this?

[LeeMiller]

Hi all,

So, after months planning our new kitchen we got to IKEA today and were told that the Domsjo double sink is unavailable for the indefinite future due to supplier issues. Very annoyed as I had specifically checked availability using their online chat service 2 weeks ago! . We can only wait a week or 2 as we're moving in mid-September and there is currently no kitchen at all, so we need a plan B.

We are pretty set on a farmhouse style ceramic sink but I really can't face the thought of researching a whole new kitchen so would prefer to stick with the IKEA cabinets if possible and just stick a different sink in. Ideally we'd like something similar to the domsjo: 2 sinks, no draining board (as we'll have drip-dry cabinets above it), apron/butler front. The Ikea cabinet/gap for the sink is 80cm x 60cm.

So, has anyone succesfully installed a different sink into an Ikea base cabinet ? If so, which style/brand did you use? (We are in Italy not the UK but can find most brands/get them delivered here, though at a less friendly price than the IKEA one of course ). Did you have to adapt the cabinet to fit the sink, and if so how did you do it and was it hard?

Most sinks I've seen so far aren't as deep as the domsjo so we'd be left with a gap between the sink and the tiles - do you think this would be a nightmare and go manky if the worktop was wooden butchers block? I think if the sink is more expensive I'll have to say goodbye to my planned marble worktop...

Hoping that mumsnetters can share their wisdom with me (again)

[trinity0097]

Surely all kitchens come with solid worktop and the hole is then cut out by the fitter to fit the sink/taps etc... Doesn't matter where you buy the work top or wink from as long as the base unit it is going in is wide enough

[LeeMiller]

With the Domsjo and similar sinks that run from front to back there is no hole cut out - the sink hooks over a piece of worktop on either side.

I can't find any that fit the ikea base, instead I've found a few sinks of the correct width but not width and length, like this eastcoastkitchens.co.uk/belfast-butler/2736-villeroy-boch-farmhouse-80-butler-belfast-sink-ceramic-white.html
The ikea cabinet would need strengthening somehow to support it as it doesn't rest on the worktop but is undermounted. We won't have a fiitter... which is why I need the help!

[Dontyouopenthattrapdoor]

This won't help (sorry) but a kitchen fitter friend of mine won't touch ikea kitchens because he says they're such a nightmare with non standard fittings etc. If you're mixing and matching I really wouldn't DIY!

[TeddyBee]

Could you get someone to pick one up for you - Lakeside IKEA claims to have one in stock for example.

[TeddyBee]

Or could you beg them to sell you the one from the shop floor?

[LeeMiller]

Dontyouopenthattrapdoor that is what I'm afraid of . Ikea cabinets are SO much cheaper than our other options here (Italy) though particularly if you want to pick and choose not buy a complete kitchen. And farmhouse sinks only come in high end €€€€ kitchens which are not an option. So we'd have to comission an Ikea sized cabinet to fit in with the others... which seems ridiculous!

TeddyBee unfortunately we are in Italy not the UK and I'm worried about getting one shipped.. it's different if a shop does it as it'd be insured but it wouldn't feel right to give family/friends the responsability of packaging it up... I have tried calling and Instant messaging Ikea but no date so far for when they'll be back in stock, and apparently none in any Italian stores..

[LeeMiller]

So far I've found these Villeroy & Boch ones:
This which is 80cm wide but doesn't go back to the wall... eastcoastkitchens.co.uk/belfast-butler/2736-villeroy-boch-farmhouse-80-butler-belfast-sink-ceramic-white.html

Or this which would go back to the tiles but is 9cm too wide (could I add a strip down each side of the cabinet?)
www.google.it/search?q=villeroy+double+sink+butler+uk&client=firefox-b&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwih6ZaQstPOAhVEvhQKHQzNBNMQ_AUICCgB#imgrc=UNwo5cYTCFK3eM%3A

Does anyone have these? What doesn the cabinet look like underneath - how are they supported... with a shelf or a bracket?

[IntelligentPutty]

What is a drip dry cabinet? I really wanted no drainer and in the end was pleased we got one.. What's this alternative. Very interested...

[LeeMiller]

IntelligentPutty I'm sure they have a proper name but basically just a cupboard with no base and drying racks in so the water drips into the sink.They are pretty standard here. Ikea do them now although their cupboards have a tray - we'll remove the base instead though.
www.ikea.com/it/it/catalog/products/90204615/

[Pradaqueen]

This is the time of the year when Ikea change their product range. Have you asked what they intend to replace the sink with? Often it is something very similar. The kitchen guys at Lakeside are really helpful so give them a call as they will give you advice or maybe get a way of sending you the one in stock?

[TheBeanpole]

We've had the same problem although they told us the day the order was delivered- it is apparently a faulty batch which were withdrawn although I do need to chase up again with their customer services.

We've ended up getting a second hand Domsjo from ebay instead as we needed something asap and I couldn't find an equivalent online (the bloody kitchen still isn't in, but that's another builder related saga). Although it's not in perfect nick- Ikea are apparently going to compensate us so I'm asking them to also pay to re-fit the new one when they come back in.

I am assuming they are keeping them as Metod is all quite new and they are in the new shop floor displays.

[LeeMiller]

TheBeanpole How frustrating! Now I feel lucky we didn't quite reach that stage. I've saved an ebay search but nothing on there at the moment.

I think they are keeping them Pradaqueen the issue is when they will be available again, which is a question no-one seems to know the answer to! The man instore was pessimistic but I'm not sure what that was based on. From past mumsnet threads this happened a few years ago in the UK and it took several months to be resolved. I'm not sure we can be without a sink for that long! Just want it all sorted! I will try the remaining numbers and email addresses I have for Ikea Italia today though and beg them to find me something.

Right now I'm thinking the best solution is another sink the same width so it doens't throw everything else off, and then strengthening a regular ikea cabinet with a plywood shelf/some brackets. Does that sound like a bad idea? Looking at belfast sink units like this B&Q one the sink basically just sits on a shelf: www.diy.com/departments/it-kitchens-white-belfast-sink-base-cabinet-w600mm/37293_BQ.prd

[SafariSoGood]

so we'd be left with a gap between the sink and the tiles - do you think this would be a nightmare and go manky if the worktop was wooden butchers block?

A disgusting manly mess, avoid at all costs!

We have the gap, if other people use your sink (guests etc) you can't police how they use it and it just gets worse

When we return the kitchen to the ground floor (out of the basement) there will be no gap and probably won't use a wooden worktop as it is high maintenance when you live with messy people who use it as a chopping board/place for wet pots

[TheBeanpole]

Yes our problem is that we are having laminate worktops as well so can't use a different sort of belfast sink because we need the lip...

[LeeMiller]

SafariSoGood Oh I knew that would be the case . We have a small inset domsjo in laminate in our current flat and there are permanent pools around the taps... maybe I am an overly vigourous washer-upper! In your experience does the wood go manky around the sides of the sink too, or mainly where the taps are? Wondering if an option would be to put in a marble strip under the taps like in these DeVOL kitchens :

[LeeMiller]

TheBeanpole Yes no lip limits your options doesn't it. I do hope Ikea compensate you properly. I'm mostly annoyed at the time wasted and the hassle... wish they had put a sign up in store or on the bloody wesbite! I know it's not the worst problem in the world but moving/rennovating are stressful enough anyway.

[homeaway]

Can you do a trip to France or Switzerland over a weekend to buy one ??

[LeeMiller]

homeaway that's a last-ditch option as we're a long way from both and don't have much time. Plus I'm afriad of getting there and being told it's unavailable even if we've ordered it (like in Beanpole's case).

[TheBeanpole]

I just called them actually and the anticipated due date for them is October 3rd. Apparently not a sink problem but a minor problem with the waste trap.

[LeeMiller]

Ohhh interesting TheBeanpole ! I will contact them in Italy and tell them what I've heard, see if they can confirm if it's the same here...

[TeddyBee]

I was in this afternoon (I need the single) and they were pretty optimistic they'd have them in again in a month or two. I considered chiselling one out for you and sneaking it out in my pushchair. Then I calmed down and just bought more chalk.

[LeeMiller]

Ahh thanks TeddyBee ! Yes it's annoying that their displays are littered with them. I was too busy to call the Italian number today but will try tomorrow, just want to check that it's the same issue and not a seperate Italian one before I get too optimistic. Never knew Ikea sold chalk either... but then they even do bikes now so why am I surprised!

[LeeMiller]

although 2 months with no kitchen would be tough... hopefully it's more like one!

[Believeitornot]

We had no problems with our ikea kitchen fitting.

I think some fitters spin the "it's tricky" line because it means slightly more work (in our case re routing the plumbing to be lower).

Any decent kitchen fitter should be able to use a different sink.

We had a wooden work top and invested the time upfront to oil it properly with decent oil.

After 4 years (we then moved), not a spot of mould/rot

[LeeMiller]

Believeitornot I agree, we put the Ikea kitchen in our current place ourselves (well mainly DP and FIL) - they did the plumbing, cut the hole for the inset sink (with much huffing and puffing) etc and it's all held up well. Which is why we were thinking of doing it ourselves again this time -it's all in a row so no difficult corners etc- and why we need to be sure about fitting an alternative sink correctly if necessary.

Your worktops sound great. Is oiling enough or are you very careful with immediately wiping up splashes? Is your sink undermounted?