How to Install a Wall Mounted Pedestal Sink

How the heck do you install a wall mounted pedestal sink?

Today we’ll show you…and you’ll be ready to tackle your own project. A wall mounted pedestal sink is awesome if your bathroom is super tight and you want extra storage. The space under the floating pedestal can be used for anything – step stools, baskets, scales, magazines, dirty laundry….okay, maybe not dirty laundry! Plus, wall mounted sinks show off tiled bathroom walls and create a more open space versus traditional pedestal sinks. Installation can be tricky. We made a few mistakes ourselves. But you’ll be more confident and love the look of your bathroom after our tutorial.

Here are the supplies you need:

American Standard Ravenna Sink Basin in White ($137)

Standard Ravenna Semi-Pedestal Sink Leg in White ($107)

1/4″ P-Trap Kit ($6)

1/4″ Extension Tube – 12″ in Length (optional) ($7)

Single-Handle High Arc Faucet ($248)

Tape (FREE or $10)

Shut Off Valves (optional) ($10)

Foot Level (FREE or $10-$20)

Drill & Driver Kit (FREE or $129)

Bits (FREE or $15)

Diamond Hole Saw (optional) ($9-$20)

10″ Tongue and Groove Pliers ($15)

Caulking Gun ($5 to $15)

Clear Silicone ($4 to $8)

Ratchet and Socket Set ($20 to $30)

Tail Piece Extension Cutter ($28)

Combination Wrench Set (FREE or $20)

The most important thing for wall mounted sinks is to have wood blocking in the wall.

Plywood is inside the wall in the picture below.

This plywood is for the wall mounted sink. Steve added drywall to the studs and tiled over it.
Screws will be anchored to that plywood and hold the sink securely to the wall. If you want a super solid installation you need wood blocking. A piece of 2×10 wood can also be used in place of plywood. Either toenail the wood or screw it to the adjacent studs. In any case, wall mounted sinks need wood blocking!!

Floating wall mounted sinks can be set at any height.

34 to 36 inches would ideal. In this project we placed a mark on the wall at 35 inches since that’s the height we chose for the sink top.

Choose a height for the sink top from the finished floor and stick with it.
Furthermore, this will be a reference mark for the floating pedestal. More on that installation in a bit.

In the video Steve mentions a potentially fatal mistake:

Incorrect valve stem spacing. Get this wrong and your project could be a nightmare. Valve stems for the Ravenna need to be 3 inches apart.

Otherwise the shut off valves won’t fit inside the pedestal.
Bottom line, adjust your plumbing before finishing the wall. The height of the shut off valves should be around 24 3/4″ off the finished floor.

Drains should be 21 inches off the finished floor.

Here’s a BIG tip:

Turn off the water to the house before installing the sink. That way, if one of the shut offs is bumped it won’t leak. The next step is to install the floating pedestal. Can you do this by yourself? You bet, we’ll show you.

In the video Steve explains that from the top of the pedestal to the top of the sink is about 7 inches.

Remember that reference mark for the sink height…yep, it’s important. Measure down 7 inches from that 35 inch mark and that’s the height for the pedestal. Set a level on the pedestal and mark the position of the pedestal holes on the wall.

There’s a third hole in bottom center of the pedestal. We opted not to drill out this hole because the screw would have pierced the drain.

This is super important:

Know the location of the pipes in the wall before drilling holes!! Holes in water supply lines or drains are not good. That’s obvious, but nonetheless you could get caught up in the moment and not realize a hole is being drilled into plumbing. We had to cut holes in the wall tile using a diamond hole saw.

The proper technique for doing this is to hold the bit at a 45 degree angle to get it started in the tile.
Then slowly tilt the bit to 90 degrees.

Our video shows this is detail. We used a 1/2 inch diamond hole saw with a standard drill but you can also use impact drivers. Thread the screws for the pedestal into the wood blocking using pliers. Just be careful not to damage the threads for the nuts.

Then temporarily mount the pedestal to the wall using washers and nuts. It doesn’t have to be super tight at this point.

In addition, check the pedestal is level.

Place the sink on the pedestal and double double check for level (yes, I meant to say that).

It never hurts to double or triple check.

Then mark the holes for the sink and cut them using the diamond bit. The lag screws for the sink were bigger than those for the pedestal. So we predrilled the wood blocking with a 1/4″ drill bit and installed the screws with pliers.

In the video we test the fit the sink with the screws to ensure it would work. Once the wall is prepped for the sink, the next step is to install the faucet. I think you’ll be pleased with how easy this was to do.

Faucets are way easier to install when the sink isn’t mounted to the wall.

We used the American Standard Portsmouth single-handle faucet on this project.

Side note on single-handle faucets:

They’re my favorite choice in bathrooms because there’s only one cartridge to replace. In addition, I think it’s easier to clean single-handle faucets. Just my opinion for what it’s worth.

The Ravenna already has the supply lines connected to it. Which is great because it’s one less step.

Plus, the speed connect drain control cable makes the pop-up assembly easy.
I hate messing around with traditional pop-ups and love the speed connect.

Start watching our video at the 10:00 mark to see the faucet installation in detail.

Disassemble the faucet retaining nut and slide the faucet onto the sink. Just make sure the rubber gasket is between the faucet body and sink. Then position the washer between the underside of the sink and retaining nut. Tighten the nut with pliers and your done. The Portsmouth drain has foam gasket that seals it to the sink.

There’s no need to use plumber’s putty or silicone because of this gasket.
Slide the drain into the sink then add the rubber washer, plastic slip ring, and brass nut to the underside. Tighten the brass nut with a set of pliers. Make this connection tight since it’s a potential area for leaks.

Attach the speed connect drain control cable to the drain and then add the drain pipe.
Steve shows how to apply silicone to the pipe threads to avoid leaks. I thought this was a fantastic tip, especially for this type of sink. Add the sink to the wall and secure it using lag screws.

This part can be tricky if you’re alone but fortunately the human body has two hands and head to support sinks, haha.

At the 12:47 mark in our video Steve explains how to install the P-Trap.

Here’s a PRO TIP:

Cut the goose neck going into the wall such that there’s a 1 inch gap between it and the back of the wall pipe.

This prevents clogs from occurring in the P-Trap assembly.

Steve does a good job of explaining this concept in the video. Use a Ridgid tail piece extension tube cutter to trim the goose neck. A hacksaw can also be used but the tube cutter is quicker by far my favorite tool for cutting PVC pipes.

Ensure all the washers face the right direction and tighten the three slip nuts by hand. The slip nut at the gooseneck to wall pipe connection should be tightened 1/4 to 1/2 turn more with pliers.

Test the faucet by turning on the water and check for leaks at all your plumbing connections.

There’s nothing worse than a water leak after the sink is installed!!

The last step is to install the floating pedestal. We used a combination wrench to tighten the nuts because the space was a bit tight for a ratchet. Watch our video for more tips as some of them are easier to see than explain in writing.

Overall, we think this sink looks awesome.

We hope our tutorial was helpful.

Feel free to add your question here on Instructables.com or over on Home Repair Tutor, we'd be happy to help.

Jeff