replacing kitchen sink seals

murfilein

we had our new kitchen countertop fitted like 1.5 years ago.

it's over of that pseudo stone countertop - a mix of mineral and plastic or so. the sink is screwed in from the bottom, see image.

as you can see, the silicon seal was not done well and mold our whatever is growing on it now.

it's this something i can do myself? I'm not too confident honestly. who could i do this myself? unscrew, remove the silicon, screw back and fill with silicon?

or, what guy (ie. what profession) can i call to do that? plumber? carpenter? the countertop was fitted by a carpenter, but he is not working anymore. weeks think that this job alone would be too expensive.

Deregos.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058237472/replacing-kitchen-sink-seals

I can tell you're not feeling confident but this really is something you can do yourself.

And there's no need to take off the countertop just to reseal around the sink with new silicone.

I found this video of a similar situation, unfortunately it uses American terminology but the same basic principles apply.

https://youtu.be/qZONcUrbcag

Use a Stanley knife to cut away all the old silicone, if you cut along the top then bottom edges it might just pull out.

Clean out and around the gap as best you can with spray bleach, one of those nylon scouring pads is also good then dry off with some paper towel.

I'd suggest you use a black silicone as it would be less visible, don't worry about it being a bit messy as you can always clean it off anything with white spirits while its still wet and any little stray bits can be scrapped off once it's dry.

Go on, give it a go.

Deregos.

Oh yeah, and when you're in the hardware store be careful not to ask for caulk. 😉

https://youtu.be/rFaradY3EEk

murfilein

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118789566#Comment_118789566

thanks for the reply! just hearing/reading that i dont need to uncrew the sink already relaxes me a lot lol

i have a cutter knife so thi smight actually be possible to do myself after all! thank you very much!

by the way, while i'm at it: where do i get rubbing alcohol in ireland? havent seen that anywhere. where i'm from you can just grab a bottle from any random DIY shop. not so here. is "spirit" (or some similar wording) the same thing?

murfilein

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118789707#Comment_118789707

bro, haha :D

Deregos.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118790309#Comment_118790309

Nah, you don't need rubbing alcohol (or 'surgical spirits' as it's known here). Once it's clean and dry it'll be fine for the silicone.

Try and get a good quality silicone like Tec7 in black and it'll be neater to use, look and last better.

jack of all

I think you should use a bit of alcohol to degrease, I use some methylated spirits on kitchen towel to degrease surfaces before sealing with silicone. If the surface is cold a quick few passes with a hairdryer will drive off any moisture and warm the substrate for good adhesion- maybe not essential but works for me.