Should the kitchen sink go on an exterior wall in a Hinsdale winter?

Why is the sink wall the cold spot in winter?

Because the pipes sit in or against a wall that faces the outdoors. University of Illinois Extension names pipes near outer walls, in crawl spaces and in attics as the ones to protect, and says pipes in walls that aren’t properly insulated can freeze and rupture.

The weather here gives them plenty of chances. The National Weather Service’s 1991 to 2020 normals for O’Hare put the average low at 34.1°F in November, 24.4°F in December and 18.8°F in January. Those are averages, so the cold snaps go well below them.

The sink cabinet adds a layer between the pipes and the warm kitchen. With its doors shut, the supply lines and drain sit in a dark box against the coldest wall in the room. That’s why the cold weather advice keeps coming back to those doors.

October is a good month to look at this. The normal low at O’Hare is still 45.4°F, so most nights stay above freezing and there is time to look and plan before the cold settles in.

What do Hinsdale and the U of I Extension tell homeowners to do on cold nights?

Open the cabinet doors under the sink and keep the heat on. Here is the advice, with who gave it:

None of this is hard in an existing kitchen. It does tell you something about a new one: if the sink stays on that wall, you will be opening its cabinet a few nights each winter, and the pipes behind it deserve a look while the wall is easy to reach.

Should you move the sink to an island instead?

Moving the sink to an island takes it off the outside wall, with its water lines and drain coming up from the floor in the middle of the room. It’s a bigger job, though. The Village of Hinsdale’s permits page lists “relocation or addition of plumbing systems” among the projects that require a permit, so ask the village before you plan around it, and our post on which Hinsdale kitchen jobs need a permit walks through the rest of that list.

The island also has to earn its place. A sink in the island needs counter space on both sides and room to walk around it, and our guide to how big a kitchen island should be has the aisle and counter numbers to check first.

Keeping the sink under the window for the light and the view is a fair choice. It just comes with the winter habits above and a plumber’s opinion on the pipes behind it.

If the sink stays on the outside wall, how should you plan the cabinets?

Plan for the cold nights you already know are coming. When the old cabinets come out, the wall behind the sink is open for a short while. That is the time to ask your plumber whether those pipes are insulated, since Extension notes that insulation made for pipes is available. Ask the Village before any plumbing moves.

• Pick a sink base with doors that swing open wide, so you can prop them open on a January night without anything in the way.
• Keep the trash pullout and the drawers in the cabinets beside it, so the space under the sink stays clear and you can see the pipes.
• Leave room to reach the shutoff valves under the sink, so they are easy to find if a line ever leaks.
• Note the window width and the wall from corner to window, so the sink base lines up where you want it.

Door style is a separate choice from all of this, so pick the look you like. You can compare shaker, slim shaker and slab doors and how the boxes are built on our kitchen cabinets page. We plan the kitchen in 3D, so the sink base, the window and the pipes are placed before anything is ordered, and the installation is arranged through trusted installers.

Does a bathroom vanity on an outside wall need the same care?

Yes. Extension’s advice covers pipes under any sink near an outer wall, and that includes a vanity set against one. The same habits apply: doors open on the coldest nights and heat kept on.

If you’re replacing a vanity on an outside wall, one with doors below the sink is easy to leave open. The woven cane vanity in the photo above has two soft-close cane-front doors under a tilt-out drawer, in 30, 36 and 48 inch widths.

What should you check this fall before you plan?

1. Open the sink cabinet on the first cold morning after the heat comes on and feel the back wall and the pipes. A cold back wall is the one to plan around.
2. Look for pipe insulation and note where the shutoff valves are.
3. Take a photo of the plumbing under the sink and one of the whole wall, window included.
4. Measure the sink base width and the distance from the corner to the window.

Bring those photos and measurements to a design visit. Our list of what to bring to a 3D kitchen design appointment covers the rest, and the sink wall is one of the first things we will place.