# wall-mounted sink has become slightly detached from the wall



## TarheelTerp (Jan 6, 2009)

kevind said:


> I was doing some painting in the room the other day, standing on the toilet, and I put a foot on the sink for balance. Well, ...


I bet you'll never do that again.



> ...underneath looks fine, it just has a little wobble to it at the top.
> 
> So what's the *best way* to fix this?
> Clean it up, use some adhesive, then re-caulk and re-paint?


It's worth a try... and you might just luck out.
But it's probably not the "best way" that you asked for.


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

#1 Those screws are way to small, you may have pulled them out of the wall.


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## kevind (Oct 8, 2006)

joecaption said:


> #1 Those screws are way to small, you may have pulled them out of the wall.


So it sounds like maybe I need to take the sink off the wall and get a better look at what's going on?


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## ben's plumbing (Oct 6, 2011)

joe makes a good point very small screws ...should be a small lag screw..its not that big of a job to remove and use bigger screws on bracket....thats the proper way...ben sr:thumbsup:


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

When I mount one I first install a 2X6 that's been recessed into the wall, then I only use lags and washers as suggested.


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## 747 (Feb 11, 2005)

First thing i also noticed was the screws. Those should be lags.


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## kevind (Oct 8, 2006)

Okay, I took the sink off the wall; pics are attached. The blue spot marks where the drywall isn't stable; it gives a little. You can see from the pic that none are lag screws, and that the mounting hardware on the left is even missing a screw. Also, the left side doesn't seem to be completely flush; it looks like there's some compound or something that's pushing it slightly away from the wall (see pic #2).

So what's the best way to fix this, given that I'm getting the house ready to sell? It doesn't have to be perfect, but I want it to be good enough. Replacing all the screws with lags should be easy enough, but I'm not sure about that small patch of loose drywall. I could do a small patch there, but then would it be strong enough?


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## bbo (Feb 28, 2010)

those screws going into wood?

if so, this is what I would do.

1) replace the screws with lag screws, one at a time.
2) remove loose patching material
3) smooth with some joint compound.
4) paint if needed
5) put sink back up.

edit*
if no wood, I'd 
measure where plate is moounted from floor
remove plate
cut a square from stud to stud large enough to get a 2x6 in there.
then mount a drywall patch over that.
then tape and mud
then paint
then mount sink back up.


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## kevind (Oct 8, 2006)

bbo said:


> those screws going into wood?
> 
> if so, this is what I would do.
> 
> ...


Yep, it's wood. They at least got that part right.


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## kevind (Oct 8, 2006)

Ugh. Another update: I was wrong about their being wood behind the mounting. There's nothing; it's just drywall. Not only that, but the water pipe runs right behind the drywall where I would like to attach the 2x6. Any thoughts?

Edit: looks like the mounting hardware on the right goes into a stud. The rest is just in the drywall,


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## jagans (Oct 21, 2012)

They make these things called step ladders, and step stools.


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## bbo (Feb 28, 2010)

jagans said:


> They make these things called step ladders, and step stools.


huh?

related note, stepladders cost seems to go up exponentially as they get taller. I just bought a 12 foot one.

back on topic. pic of whats in the wall now?


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## kevind (Oct 8, 2006)

bbo said:


> back on topic. pic of whats in the wall now?


I couldn't get a great pic, but here's what I got. In the first pic, the big white thing in the middle is the water pipe; the white thing on the right is the drywall. In the second pic you can see the outside wall including the mounting hardware and inside where the pipe runs right next to the wall.


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## jagans (Oct 21, 2012)

put in a Vanity and a new sink and fixture. It looks like that one came out before power steering.


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## kevind (Oct 8, 2006)

jagans said:


> put in a Vanity and a new sink and fixture.


If I had more time, money, and we were going to be staying in this house for a while, I'd consider it. But I don't want to do all that work (I wouldn't even have the time) for a project like that.


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## bbo (Feb 28, 2010)

jagans said:


> put in a Vanity and a new sink and fixture. It looks like that one came out before power steering.


that's modern. I remember ones that had separate spouts for hot and cold.

made washing your hands an adventure.
like this


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## 747 (Feb 11, 2005)

jagans said:


> put in a Vanity and a new sink and fixture. It looks like that one came out before power steering.



I agree. Go to your home improvement center. Grab a vanity and top you can afford and install with faucet. Its the easiest fix. Best of all it will hide alot of the wall there.


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## dudleydoright (Feb 19, 2013)

*different approach*

Go to your steel supply and have them cut yo a piece of 1/4 inch steel plate. Chisel a recess across 3 studs(33 1/2) wide and anchor to studs flush.

Did anyone ask if the bracket was still tight to the wall ? Often the angled portion of the bracket will angle just a little bit more from use as a staircase or workbench.
Where was I, Oh yeah, test fit your plate then remove it after outlining the bracket fastener holes. Bring it to your bench and use drill press, or if not so equipped hand drill to drill holes and tap for 1/4 20 bolts. Install bracket when fitting drywall, use a few pieces of 1/4 inch all thread to locate the penetrations through the rock. Perfect time to add a GFI on a dedicated circuit as required by code, maybe redo the leaky tailpiece on the outlet of the sink where it has rusted over time. After finishing, use hex bolts, fender washers, flat washers and lockwshers for the bracket. .
BUT DO CHECK TO SEE IF MAYBE THE BRACKET WAS TWEAKED, as afterall, it is February and don't know about you but I am at my winter post holiday need to get moving weight.


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