Belfast sink install & kitchen re-plumb

The customer had refurbished their kitchen and wanted us to handle the plumbing for a Belfast sink, two appliances, and a re-routed waste system. Sounds simple. Belfast sinks are heavy though — the existing base unit wasn't man enough for a 1930s ceramic sink full of water.

Day one was prep. Existing base out, structural check on the floor below, 25mm ply support deck cut and fitted, and the carcass braced and screwed properly into the wall studs rather than sitting on its own kickboard. The sink will weigh 75kg empty and double that with water and washing-up.

Day two was the plumbing. Sink in, bridge mixer tap with separate hot and cold feeds, dishwasher and washing-machine waste re-routed to a new branch on the soil stack rather than the old shared trap that kept gurgling. The bit I always insist on: a fresh appliance isolator manifold under the sink, so each appliance has its own quarter-turn shut-off. When the dishwasher dies in five years, you can swap it without isolating the whole kitchen.

Final test under pressure, customer talked through where every isolator is, manuals left in the dishwasher drawer for the next owner.