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Difficulty: Moderate to hard
There’s a bit of soldering required, and all plumbing components are exposed, so each chrome connection must clean, neat and free of scratches.
"There's something elegant about pedestal sinks," says This Old House plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey. "And they're perfect for a half bath, where a vanity would overwhelm the limited space."
Pedestal sinks were originally made of enameled cast iron, but by 1915 manufacturers began fabricating them from vitreous china, a glass-like porcelain. For all their stylish attributes, pedestal sinks present some installation challenges.
"This is the graduate school of do-it-yourself projects," Trethewey says. Drain and supply pipes must be roughed in at the right height. Completed pipe work has to look neat. And looming at every turn is the dreaded "tink," the sound porcelain makes when a fastener is tightened too much—and the china breaks.
Trethewey often gets calls from homeowners who've been stymied by some critical step in the process. "You must measure, measure, measure," he counsels. "Don't rely on the manufacturer's instruction sheet."
