Sink installation and replacement

What does replacing a sink involve?

To replace a sink, we shut off the water, disconnect the tap and trap and remove the old sink from its fixings. The new sink is fixed to the wall, a vanity unit or the worktop. Then the tap is fitted and connected to the angle valves, and the trap is connected to the drain. Finally, we check that the sink is firmly in place and that the joints stay dry.

Removing the old sink is usually quick, but rusted fixings and seized joints can slow things down. Before fixing the new sink, we agree with you on its exact position and height, so it is comfortable to use and there is room for a mirror or cabinet above it.

Wall-hung, vanity unit or countertop basin?

A wall-hung basin is fixed directly to the wall, so it needs a solid base. A lightweight partition wall needs suitable fixings, and sometimes there has to be a support structure inside the wall already, so tell us what the wall is made of when you book. The trap under the basin can be hidden with a half pedestal or left visible – in that case a neat chrome bottle trap is usually chosen.

A narrow hand basin suits a small toilet room, and its tap can be on the basin or on the wall. In a tight space, make sure the door opens without obstruction and there is enough room in front of the basin.

Vanity unit basins are popular in bathrooms because the trap and connections are hidden inside the cabinet. If needed, openings for the water and drain pipes are made in the cabinet, and the cabinet is fixed to the wall before the basin is connected. A space-saving trap fits inside the cabinet, leaving room for a drawer or shelf around it.

A countertop basin sits on top of the worktop, while an inset basin is fitted into a cut-out in the worktop and fixed from above or below. A countertop basin often needs a tall tap or a wall-mounted tap, because the rim of the basin is well above the worktop. With these, the cut-out, the sealing of the basin and the position of the tap affect the amount of work. With stone and composite worktops, the cut-out should be ordered ready-made from the worktop supplier, as it requires special tools.

In the kitchen, the sink is usually inset into the worktop, and the dishwasher connections are often underneath it too. When you replace a kitchen sink, it is worth checking the condition of the tap and the dishwasher connection at the same time. If a single-bowl sink is replaced with a double-bowl one or vice versa, a different trap is also needed. Our guide to dishwasher leak trays explains how to protect the kitchen from a dishwasher leak.

What sink replacement costs

Installing or replacing a sink costs €156.88–235.31. The price depends on the type of sink, how it is fixed and how much work it takes to remove the old one. The price includes 25.5% VAT (ALV), and extra fittings and hoses are charged separately.

You can claim the household tax credit (kotitalousvähennys) for the labour part when the work is done in your home or holiday home. The deduction is currently 35% of the labour cost, with an annual threshold (omavastuu) of €150 per person, so replacing a sink on its own usually gives no deduction unless you pay for other deductible work in the same year. In a housing company, work that is the company's maintenance responsibility does not qualify. The price of the sink and materials is not deductible. Check the current conditions on vero.fi.

Have the sink, tap and any cabinet ready before the installation day, so the job can be done in one visit. Check the waste too: if the basin has no overflow, you need an unslotted waste without an overflow connection. If you would like a new tap at the same time, see tap replacement. You will find all our fixed prices on the prices page.