Out With the Old...

There wasn't anything wrong with our old vanity top.  I just didn't really care for it.  The white seemed stark next to all the dark wood.  The dip along the sink rim took up valuable space.  And since we had already burned the matching top in our bathroom, I knew this thing would never survive.

Before ripping the old one out, we started searching for a replacement.  The old top measured 30.5" by 22", so I began by filtering for this size on the Lowes website.  That must be an odd size because there were only a few available; however, there were several options at 31" by 22".  While we seriously considering going with a black vanity top (like we had seen in another house we looked at), we decided a to go with a beige color.  Ready to see it?

It's a quartz top with under-mount sink from Allen + Roth.  We thought the beige tone would work fantastically with the existing cabinet.

The faucet needed to have an 8" spread, so we couldn't get our first choice.  We found one we liked, but wanted to price-match at Home Depot.  It's a good thing we did because we found a similar one for $60 cheaper!  This one is made by Pfister and is called Pasadena.

We also picked up some clear silicone caulk and plumber's putty while we were out.  Now that we had our supplies, we could get to work.

 The first step was to turn off the water and disconnect the lines.  After turning the water off, turn the faucet handles to relieve the pressure.

Next you need to remove the p-trap.  Don't forget to have a bucket ready to catch the water!

Having a helper is always a good idea!

After we were finished under the sink, we started separating the top and side splash.  I could see some space between the vanity top and vanity, so I assumed it wasn't connected to the vanity.  The side splash however, was meant to stay attached to that wall forever.

We started by running a razor blade through all of the caulk.

Drew then took a putty knife and hammer to fully severe the caulk.  He placed one corner of the putty knife into the caulk between the side splash and the vanity and tapped in with a hammer to wedge it in.  Once we got started, he could slide it down.

He repeated the process to separate the side splash from the wall...

...but there was an awful secret lurking behind the side splash.

The builder had used huge globs of construction adhesive to secure it to the wall.  If we planned on keeping it, I'm sure we'd be happy that it could survive a tsunami.  Since we didn't want to put up a new side splash, we used our drywall patching kit to even things back out.  I'll be honest; it's not perfect.  But if it starts to bother me, I'll just throw up a side splash.

We repeated the process on the back splash, but since it was actually attached to the vanity top, it was much easier to deal with.  And I was right, the vanity top was not glued to the vanity.  So we just lifted it up and moved it to the guest room until we can resell it.  (Hey, by the way, we have a vanity for sale if you're in the market.  But seriously...)

Compared to putting in the new vanity top, this part was a breeze!  Have you every replaced a vanity top?  What about the whole vanity?  How did it go?  Any tips for how we could make things go smoother next time?