low window - kitchen sink countertop advice please!

9 years ago

We are in the middle of our kitchen remodel and need countertop advice. We do not want a backsplash for our kitchen countertops. However, our sink is supposed to be placed in front of the window and our contractor is saying we need a backsplash to prevent water from going over the back (see pics). Our window is low and the sill falls slightly below where the countertop sits. We don't want a backsplash but don't know if we have an option. Anyone deal with this issue and have suggestions? Pics would be appreciated. Thank you!

Featured Answer

Fori

9 years ago

Yikes. This really ought to have been dealt with before ordering cabinets! Does this window open? Are you having a granite counter? If so, maybe a curb would work, like just a very very low lump?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (12)

DowB
9 years ago
Do it right and raise the window!
Related Professionals
Saratoga Springs Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · South Farmingdale Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Artondale Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Beaverton Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Crestline Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Fairland Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Pearl City Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Pico Rivera Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · York Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Aspen Hill Cabinets & Cabinetry · Farmers Branch Cabinets & Cabinetry · Manville Cabinets & Cabinetry · Wheat Ridge Cabinets & Cabinetry · Farragut Tile and Stone Contractors · Oak Hills Design-Build Firms
marcolo
9 years ago
Seriously. Just replace the window. No big structural work required. It doesn't have to come up much. In fact, the countertop can also serve as the sill.
PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
9 years ago
Changing fenestration on a residence isn't to be taken lightly, especially if the home is in a historic district or is a historic home.
Catharine442
9 years ago
I don't know if this will help since you have a cabinet in there but houzz just had an article about what to do with low windows in the kitchen and they have some interesting sink pictures.

Here is a link that might be useful: [Great Solutions for low kitchen windowsills[(https://www.houzz.com/magazine/great-solutions-for-low-kitchen-windowsills-stsetivw-vs~25381595)
ci_lantro
9 years ago
I doubt that changing the window is going to be a problem, Treb, because it looks like that is a replacement pocket window set in an old frame.

I'm in the 'do it right' camp. Just replace the window.
DowB
9 years ago
Why try to rig up a failure? You will waste more time rigging than doing it the right way. Raise the window or put in smaller window or remove the window. These are your options of "do it right!" Sounds to easy. Why waste time and effort- Do it right!

Here is a link that might be useful: Atlanta Classic Stone
Mags438
9 years ago
I'm a little late, but my .02 cents. Was in a similar position with a window over the sink. We changed out the window size/height. It was the right move for us to do correctly. It is one, If not the nicest feature in our small kitchen. It can be tough to eat an error, but some are just worth eating the cost and doing it right. This is just one of those times. I'll have to look if I have a photo to post.
live_wire_oak
9 years ago
Who ordered the wrong sized window to begin with? And installed it? And doesn't see it as their problem to fix?
PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
9 years ago
When you buy a house in a historic district, you are more a steward than a homeowner. You have an obligation to the neighborhood to not make fenestration changes willy-nilly.

Changing that window size is a big deal. Or should I say changing that window size properly is a big deal, particularly if the exterior is masonry.
melle_sacto is hot and dry in CA Zone 9/
9 years ago
Catharine442 -- I loved the article you linked, where they showed different solutions to the low windows. Sometimes the trickiest problems lead to elegant solutions!

OP -- in the article, they showed a "floating sink" that crossed the low windows. If you can't adjust the position of your window, then alter your design to include a floating sink. I agree w/PP who said sometimes you just need to fix the error and do it right. A cab/counter/sink going across the window would really bother me (and I remodeled w/a sink that is not centered at the window, so I would say I have reasonable tolerance for making compromises...I wanted a bigger sink more than it be centered)
grubby_AZ Tucson Z9
9 years ago
Historic? Where did that come from? The tiny kitchen?

It seems like it should be a little scary that so many people here think nothing of just moving a window, but it does happen. Window scar on the exterior? Plant a vine; fix it later when all the other dust has settled and you feel like painting that one outside wall of the house.

The inside is a bigger deal later, not so much now while the room is still a mess. This is just a planning glitch that can be fixed without much pain at all. Those very same people who think nothing of moving a window have that "let's-just-fix-it" attitude because they, too, make these sorts of layout goofs. Some of us more than we'd like to admit.

Maybe, as problems often are, this is an opportunity to do more. F'rinstance, the pic seems to show the window is in a corner. It could be made wider as well as higher. You DO have another year budgeted for this project, no? Ain't kitchens fun?