Alterations or improvements to kitchens invariably start at the sink. Fashions and styles have played their part here over the years. Fine 'Belfasts' - deep, white glazed stoneware sinks were once seen as old-fashioned and were replaced in many homes by shiny new stainless steel all-in-one sinks and drainers. Now many have decided these are outdated: stainless and enamelled steel and plastic sinks in a huge range of styles and colours make for more contemporary kitchens, while other people are busy reclaiming and re-installing Belfasts to complete a country-cottage or period-style kitchen.
One-piece sink tops are made to modular sizes that fit standard kitchen base units. Furthermore, they are available with single or double bowls and left or right hand drainers.
To complement the sink, a range of styles of taps is also available. These are much like the taps used in the bathroom except that they have extended pillars to enable you to fill a bucket from them. There is also one other important distinction for a kitchen mixer tap: because mains water for drinking must not be mixed with water from storage cylinders providing hot water within a fitting, a sink mixer has two separate water-ways to isolate one supply from the other. If you are buying a mixer tap for the kitchen sink, make sure it is the correct one, and, if you are installing a double bowl sink, get a mixer with a swivelling spout.
Fitting a like-for-like replacement sink into an existing kitchen unit is pretty straightforward, but if you decide on a different size, combination or layout of sink, then you may have to replace the base unit as well - or at least replace the worktop surround. To do this, you could either purchase ready-made surrounds or make your own - which requires only basic carpentry skills.
Follow the later section on boxing in a washbasin but adjust the design depending on what you want to use the storage space in your kitchen for.
