Can I Use Glue to Mount a Pedestal Sink?

Connecting the Sink

• Pedestal sinks come in two separate pieces: the sink bowl and the stand. Depending on how the pipes in your bathroom are set up, it may be necessary to contact a plumber to run the water and drain lines for your pedestal sink. Once the plumbing part of the installation is taken care of, it's time to mount the sink to the pedestal.

  You can mount the sink bowl either with lag screws or by gluing the sink bowl to the pedestal with construction adhesive. While construction adhesive creates a strong bond between the sink bowl and pedestal, if you ever need to separate the two pieces, doing so will prove challenging – if not impossible.

Securing the Sink

• Your pedestal sink's bowl must not only be connected to the pedestal beneath it but to the wall as well. Gluing the sink bowl to the wall is a slightly more common practice than gluing the sink bowl directly to the pedestal.

  If you are not comfortable gluing your sink bowl directly to the wall, you have an alternative in the form of metal brackets. Metal brackets screwed into the wall serve as a durable and glue-free way to mount your pedestal sink bowl. When installed properly, brackets are just as sturdy as glue – sometimes more so.

Risks

• Attaching the sink bowl to the pedestal or wall with adhesive is often a simpler procedure than connecting the sink bowl with metal brackets, but it has its risks. For example, a small child who cannot see over the sink while brushing his teeth may pull on the sink bowl. If the sink bowl was installed with adhesive alone, it is more likely to pull loose from the wall or pedestal, resulting in possible injury or a broken sink bowl. Thus, if you have small children of your own or keep small children in your home, connecting the sink via metal brackets rather than adhesive is a smart option.

Adhesive Caulk

• For the most secure sink possible, consider using both metal brackets and adhesive. While you can't apply construction adhesive after securing the sink and pedestal via metal brackets, you can introduce a different kind of adhesive: caulk.

  It's necessary to caulk around the base of the pedestal and the area where the rear of the sink bowl meets the wall. This prevents moisture from getting trapped behind your sink and facilitating mold and mildew growth. The U.S. Department of Energy recommends household silicone caulk for bathroom applications and notes that silicone caulk possesses "good to excellent" adhesive properties.