Bucket Sink DIY

So this is our Bucket sink DIY. Yep, how to make a vintage bathroom sink with a brass bucket.   Joel and I are going to unpack how to make a bucket sink for the ultimate vintage bathroom sink. You can use your favourite bucket to make a copper sink, brass sink or china bowl as well.  In this post hubs and I are going to do our best to tell you how to make a sink out of a copper bucket, how to make a sink out of a brass bucket and how to make a sink out of a bowl and how to do it without getting divorced.   🙂  or Day-vorced as my girl Shaye calls it. Ahem.

For a chronic overachiever (who me?) it feels like molasses in late December but I suppose the truth is, we are moving along at an amazing speed on this Farmhouse Château Makeover.

For the love, it’s hubby and me against six kids and a forest that wants to swallow us whole. These days it feels like all we do is chase a curious two-year-old around and cut down trees. That, and install the funkiest, most fabulous sinks… EVER! Yep, little by little this place is shaping up though, to truly create a layered, Ancienne effect I think it’s going to take about five years.

Let’s talk about this bathroom, can we? The day we moved in it was decked out in cattail wallpaper with orange carpeting and a veneer bathroom vanity from the 80’s. And I don’t mean 1880’s. I called it a “Home Depot Special” though there was nothing special about it.

I’ve been waiting for this sink for years. Seriously.

As I grew my doTERRA essential oil business (get yours here:) with this dream/plan to move here to Door County, I began to gather unique items from barn sales, yard sales and the flea markets; items that I knew I’d never find again if I didn’t snatch them up right at that moment.   I stored them in the barn knowing that someday their time would come. Yes, it seemed a little foolish and hopeful but I wanted to be locked and loaded once the day came where I was blessed enough to be able to own my own house again.  One of those gathered items was a TO DIE FOR copper butler’s sink and the other was a vintage marble countertop fitted for a corner.

Swoon people. Swoon.

How to make a bucket sink?

It’s easier than you think but I’ll turn this bit over to the Man and he’s gonna tell you exactly what you need:

O.K. it’s Joel here. This isn’t my thing, but Ang said you would need a shopping list and maybe some help convincing your husband to let you follow through with your crazy idea to install a bucket sink and to that I say, come on guys, let the gals do their thing. It’s their home, their creative space and we know that when Mama’s happy, everyone’s happy.

Happy wife, happy life.

 

Supplies you will need to make your bucket sink:

First, you’re going to need a countertop or a piece of furniture with a circle cut into it to attach your sink from underneath. I will say here that we debated nestling our bucket into the space from above so you can do that as well.  You have two choices when resting your sink on the top; Either cutting the hole for the bucket almost exact so the sink only rises from the countertop a bit or you can cut it much smaller and create the look of a bowl/bucket resting on the countertop.

In our case Ang had found a brass bucket so, for a metal sink, be it brass, copper, tin, etc.  you will need a BI-METAL HOLE SAW bit for your drill if you will be drilling into metal to make the drain, I chose a 1 3/8’s to accommodate the drain assembly that I had. If you are going to be making the drain into porcelain then you will need a diamond core drill, diamond bit and cooling oil.  You will also need a drain assembly that matches your faucets.

Find the centre of the bowl by dividing the diameter in two. This can be tricky considering the rounded nature of a bowl or bucket so measure thrice, drill once.

For an under mounted sink:

After drilling the hole you will attach your bucket to the underside of your counter. (See our video). Use a thick line of silicone and a weight of some sorts to hold it down and allow it to dry for 24 hours.

For a vessel sink:

After drilling the hole, run a thin line of silicone around the hole in your countertop and gently set the sink into place.   Take your finger and wipe the excess away all the way around the base of the bowl.   Set a weight in the bowl and allow it to dry for 24 hours.

Following basic plumbers tutorials like this one, you should be able to install your drain assembly. We found ours on Amazon to match the faucet that Angela had chosen. No matter which tutorial you follow you’ll want to also have the following things on hand.

• Plumber’s putty, here
• Tape thread (for preventing leaks when connecting your water lines to the faucet valve and the bottom of the sink)
• Patience, sorry – no Amazon link for that one, you’re on your own:)
• Channel locks/joint pliers, here
• Silicone (to glue the sink to your countertop, see above and our video)

After installing the drain assembly, hook up the plumbing (lavatory sinks typically use 1 1/4 inch pipes) and then the water lines. Turn the water on, check for leaks and BAM!   Happy wife.

Here’s another fun DIY from Angela. Customised champagne bottles.

So you can celebrate your new sink.

Thanks for reading Angela’s blog. I know she loves it that you do. If you liked the video be sure to subscribe to her YouTube channel. The next video will feature her giant copper sink. She’s crazy and I love her for it.

-Joel