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I went to the restroom before I was gonna eat at the restaurant after using the restroom I flushed and attended to the sink to wash my hands as I put just the pressure of my elbows on the sink to scoop a splash of water on my face the sink came off the wall hitting my knees pretty hard and my body shot backwards to the floor causing me to hit my head w hard on the tile floor not a good day! I tell ya so my question is what could cause a sink mount to fail (you can see the mount on the floor in pics)im only 130 pounds so I'm not a big guy.! Can anyone see anything wrong with these pictures at all????

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Harper - Reinstate Monica
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Brandon Fox
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  • Hello, and welcome to Home Improvement. It's hard to tell; what held the sink onto the wall? And, you should probably [take our tour](//diy.stackexchange.com/tour) so you'll know how best to participate here. – Daniel Griscom Sep 28 '19 at 01:57
  • Thank you very much I had to find out about this site it's really did seem to be a very very intriguing and such a very informal learning opportunity I wanted to take a look see and I'm glad I did. Very Glad. – Brandon Fox Sep 28 '19 at 15:38

3 Answers3

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You can see the angled mounting bracket hanging down under the sink. The bracket is what holds the sink firmly on the wall, the lower holes in the sink are for keeping the bottom of the sink from being pulled away and up from the wall once it is lowered down onto the bracket. The top holes have nothing to do with the mounting of the sink.

The bracket failed, probably because it was not screwed into structure ( studs ).

We can not see inside the wall to say exactly why the screws pulled out.

The bracket must be attached to studs or usually to a block that is run between the studs.

The bracket is essentially a french cleat, the back of the sink is cast so that is slips down onto the bracket. The bottom holes in the sink are just to secure the sink and keep it from being lifted up and off the bracket. Adhesive or caulk have nothing to do with keeping the sink on the wall. If some thought that was the case they were mistaken.

The bracket holds the weight of the sink.

Alaska Man
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  • I don't see any perforation of the drywall where that bracket would have been. I do so a spot higher on the wall where it looks like a screw pulled out. – Nate Sep 28 '19 at 16:53
  • @Nate I can not say how this sink was mounted, i do see part of the bracket with one bolt attached to it hanging off the under side. I am not saying hot THIS sink was attached, i am saying how it is **supposed to be attached**. – Alaska Man Sep 28 '19 at 19:58
  • @Alaska man so how do I fight the fact that they are denying any fault somehow I've got to prove negligence on their part but how?? – Brandon Fox Sep 29 '19 at 06:15
  • Not all sinks attach with a cleat. My sink uses bolts through the holes you see in the lower tails. But I don't see any sign of them here either. Unfortunately this turns into a legal battle. You may want to discreetly see what they did to fix it. – DaveM Sep 29 '19 at 12:07
  • @BrandonFox I do not know. They probably did not know that the installer did an incorrect install job. You will have to ask an attorney for legal advise. – Alaska Man Sep 29 '19 at 16:56
  • what gets me is as soon as I put my elbows pressure on that sink it moved but when it registered to my brain I was already scooping water on my face but then it was way to late looking back at it now all I could do was buckle up and enjoy the ride you know man I never thought a lil sink could do that much damage to my limbs! That just tells me that someone had to have known the sink was loose you know? for it to have been that way. – Brandon Fox Sep 29 '19 at 17:18
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You've got four holes through the sink for mounting: two large ones in the top corners and two smaller ones at the bottom. The wall where the sink was looks like it's got water damage so I'm guessing it was mounted to the wall with smaller bolts and washers than it should have been and with the water damage and your massive 130 pounds, it just succumbed to gravity. Hope you weren't hurt too bad. Did they comp your meal??

JACK
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  • no def was not compensated by any means they are actually playing hardball I've had to have surgury and therapy and lots more to go with that but I'm not really trying to get in to all that I'm just trying to figure out why this sink fell on me as I said before I'm not a big guy and to be honest I'm 32 so I'm just glad this didn't happen to a senior citizen or a child for that matter thanks to everyone who comments on this it's greatly appreciated for my own thoughts anyways. – Brandon Fox Sep 28 '19 at 02:22
  • Do you see any large holes in the drywall? Even if the drywall was water damaged you'd expect the sink to be bolted to at least 1 stud. I sure wouldn't toggle bolt that thing to drywall. It doesn't look like they even bolted it. Pushing downwards on the sink, assuming there were bolts in there, would require the bolt to move horizontally through the drywall tearing large vertical gashes, it isn't like the weight was pulled directly with the direction of the bolt paths to create nice little holes the size of the bolt diameter. – Fresh Codemonger Sep 28 '19 at 02:25
  • Watching youtube videos of how to install the wall mount sinks they show blocking being inserted between the studs to fasten the sink to. I'd be surprised if a wall mounted sink instructions recommend a toggle bolt installation. I'd chalk this up to a bad installation of a wall mount sink. – Fresh Codemonger Sep 28 '19 at 02:51
  • I have a feeling there weren't any bolts installed at all, and the only thing holding that up was the construction adhesive. – user3757614 Sep 28 '19 at 06:55
  • not only the construction adhesive, the waste pipe was also holding it up. – Jasen Sep 28 '19 at 09:09
  • The top hole have nothing to do with the mounting of the sink, they are casting holes. The sink sits on an angled bracket, The bracket failed, probably because it was not screwed into structure ( studs ). The lower holes are for keeping the bottom of the sink from being pulled away from the wall keeping it from moving but they do not support the weight of the sink. – Alaska Man Sep 28 '19 at 15:42
  • Wall mounted sinks are not very sturdy in the first place and I see no evidence of the mounting, there should be a minimum of 2 larger lag bolts into the structure. The bottom ones don’t do much if there. If there were lags of the proper size into the structure I don’t see them toggle bolts even on backer board would not be a proper anchor.+ – Ed Beal Sep 28 '19 at 15:48
  • Legal questions should be left to lawyers, but someone familiar with this type of installation should be able to testify to the improper installation. – UnhandledExcepSean Sep 29 '19 at 11:30
  • I agree with unhandledxecpsean, you need to contact a lawyer, a contractor could be your professional to provide evidence that the sink was not properly anchored. – Ed Beal Sep 29 '19 at 15:19
  • @Ed Beal yes sir that I agree with but please know I asked this question to know for my own understanding. – Brandon Fox Sep 29 '19 at 17:41
  • Well I got a limited contractor license after my dad was gone at a early age. I have installed this style and corner sinks all had 2 lags at minimum or a bracket, this style needs lags into some structure, there is no evidence of anchoring except 1 hole what was behind that? Since you had injuries legal council is needed. – Ed Beal Sep 29 '19 at 23:09
  • yes this has been an ongoing pending case going on 4 years now the restaurant is denying any fault whatsoever and basically saying that I used all my energy while jumping on this thing. I honestly wasn't even good pursue a lawyer until my doctor advised me to do so let's and as I said it's been a long road and I've still got a long way to go before I will be back to normal if ever really Im 32 I wake in the morning unable to just get up if I do I literally busy my butt trying to do so due to the shooting pains and tingling and numbness starts from the middle of my neck Back area to my leg!!! – Brandon Fox Sep 30 '19 at 01:10
  • and as long as I'm active and moving im fine but mornings are the worst and while using the restroom not to mention I haven't had feeling in my three fingers on my right side doctors say the surgury has and will help over long term but now they are saying I have to a back and neck specialist I am deff not ready for another surgury the first one was rough and as it is I don't even like to take a Tylenol this has ruined a lot of opportunities for me as an individual like jobs, personal relationships, and so much Much more if I could go back in time I would have done that day so different like fr – Brandon Fox Sep 30 '19 at 01:15
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I only see one screwhole in the wall, which has rust colored stains around it and there's clearly mildew on the back of the sink. Looks like they may have also used construction adhesive on the back (or is that just silicone?) which is fine but not an acceptable alternative to mechanical anchors at multiple points.

Seems like it was poorly mounted to begin with, plus had some mild water damage.

I've used mine at home to pull myself from the floor with no problem, and I have nearly 100lbs on you.

Nate
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  • yes I noticed that adhesive as well I'm glad that confirms that what gets me is that that are suin to say that I jumped on the sink our something of the sort where as I used all my energy to make this sink come completely loose from the wall if that was the case I don't think the end would have found me with a sink on top of me I cannot believe thats what that are trying say but that's another reason why I did join this site to learn and to tell y'all my story. – Brandon Fox Sep 28 '19 at 21:37
  • emt*emergency medical team not end* typo im sry – Brandon Fox Sep 29 '19 at 14:41
  • not suing trying* – Brandon Fox Sep 29 '19 at 14:43