We need an old cracked tile sink vanity top broken up and removed, and a new one, plus faucet and other hardware, installed.
I’m not sure who to call. A plumber? A tiler? A handyman? A general contractor sounds right, but this might be too small a job.
Which one should I call?
A handyman. If you are replacing the tiled countertop with more tile, make sure he’s an experienced tile setter.
But, this isn’t a complicated job.
If it were me, I would start with a handyman. At least where I live, they are usually cheaper than plumbers and contractors. As long as the main plumbing doesn’t need to be moved, almost any of them should be able to do that kind of job. As always, try to ask around and see who your friends and neighbors are using. At the very least, get some references from them.
If you’re replacing it with granite or marble or similar, the granite people can do it. They might not be willing to hook up the plumbing, but that’s super easy and you could do it yourself.
Yep, handyman.
Think of a handyman as a really, really informal general contractor.
And before he retired my old handyman wouldn’t hesitate to tell me, “Nope, call an X.”
Thanks for the advice. I found a handyman, and he has visited and will give us an estimate. We get to pick out a vanity top at Home Depot or Lowe’s, and he installs it. Just to make things fun, our vanity is a non-standard size, so none of the sizes of sinktops available at Lowe’s or Home Depot will fit. I have to buy one, then take it to a granite cutter and have him trim the sides so it will fit. Lowe’s won’t do it.
Why not just replace the whole thing? You can get a vanity with a marble top and mirror for under $300 from Home Depot.
Note that Lowes, Home Depot (and all the other possible online options) have a much greater variety of stuff online than they do in stores–so you may be able to find your exact size online somewhere.
I would strongly recommend looking for granite countertop dealers in your area. I’d be willing to bet you can find one that can beat the price on that Lowe’s plus a cutter deal.
Definitely. They’ll probably have remnants big enough. Going through Lowe’s first really doesn’t make sense. Just for reference, we just had quartz counters made for our bathroom vanities and it was $40 sf installed. Sink was another $65. They would have removed the old counters if we’d asked (we had new vanities, so it wasn’t an issue.)
I’d like one, but our tile floor goes up to the edge of our existing custom-built vanity, and doesn’t go underneath. To put a new vanity there would mean re-doing the tile, and we’re trying to keep the cost down.
I did call a granite countertop company, and it looks like they’ll trim it for us. But I’ll also ask them what a custom-sized one, built by them, would cost.
Another option: I looked up on youtube what’s involved in trimming a cultured marble vanity yourself, and it doesn’t look too involved. Put a carbide masonry blade on your circular saw, tape up the cutting line, and saw away. This might be something Mr. brown would be interested in doing.
If it makes you feel better, you know those endless rows of post-war suburban homes? Turns out none of them had fixtures that would be considered “standard” today. Our local Ace Hardware stays in business stocking stuff in odd sizes. For that matter, my parents had a custom home built for them in 1962, and soon discovered that no corner in the house met at a 90 degree angle.
Another suggestion; buy a vanity top with sink made out of Corian or other solid-surface material. I think you should be able to cut it to length yourself.
We’ve switched to a quartz vanity top, as that is much more suitable for cutting and polishing. I’m still calling/begging/groveling to try to get a countertop and granite cutter to trim it for us. They don’t want to deal with measly little jobs like mine and are reluctant to call back and/or commit to it.
I’ve got a headache from this and it’s just one little sinktop.