Farmhouse sinks can be the centerpiece of a kitchen's aesthetic appeal. I know when my wife and I did our kitchen renovation, the farmhouse sink was one of our favorite parts. They look fantastic, are usually larger than a typical top-mount sink, and tend to last much longer.
If you want to shop for one, checkout our roundup of the best farmhouse sinks at the most affordable prices, complete with ratings for each recommendation.
At the same time, there are a lot of questions surrounding farmhouse sinks.
The one we want to tackle today is: Can a farmhouse sink have a garbage disposal?
The Simple and Surprising Answer
Nearly all farmhouse sinks, even when installed with an undermount setup, can have a garbage disposal attached to them.
This is because the portion of a garbage disposal that actually comes into contact with the sink, the flange, is quite small. We'll talk more about this later. Nearly the entire disposal unit sits underneath the sink, where the only potential compatibility issue would be if you didn't have enough height between the bottom of the sink and the floor of your cabinet.
This is fairly clear in Home Depot's garbage disposal installation page.
How Garbage Disposals Fit In Sinks
Now, in regards to the flange:
The way garbage disposals fit is by actually replacing what would be a traditional drain. As such, most garbage disposals and sink strainers are the same size and shape. Per the paragraph below, a 3 and 1/2 inch opening is typical.
During installation, you'll first remove the existing sink strainer and then put the flange from the garbage disposal into the empty sink hole.
It'll look like this:
The flange from the garbage disposal should fit right into a farmhouse sink hole. Image via Lowes
The snap ring, which comes with your garbage disposal is what will actually hold the unit in place, meaning the only part of the unit that has to fit the farmhouse sink is the flange.
The snap ring will hold the garbage disposal unit in place. Image via Lowes
This process is extremely straightforward and simple. In fact, it's the same whether you're dealing with a typical top-mount sink or an undermount farmhouse sink.
What if the sink opening and flange sizes are off?
The odds of having a sizing conflict between your disposal's flange and the sink opening is fairly minimal. As I mentioned earlier, most kitchen sink openings measure roughly 3 and 1/2 inches or about 90mm in width.
Take the following spec sheet for a Bocchi farmhouse sink:
Typical opening size for a farmhouse sink is roughly 3 and 1/2 inches or 90mm.
The flange for your disposal unit should fit right into this opening with a cover that expands slightly over the sink hole to hold it in place. If you aren't sure about your particular sink's opening size, it's advisable to buy a sink and garbage disposal together, consulting manufacturers to confirm sizing beforehand.
Conclusion
As long as you can remove the existing strainer from your farmhouse sink (if there even is one) and the flanger from the disposal unit fits, you should have no trouble getting a garbage disposal to fit your farmhouse sink. In fact, the process should be no different than any other sink you.
Just make sure the flange and sink hole are designed for the same rough opening (about the same size) and that the flange fits into the empty sink hole.
From there, as long as you have enough room in your cabinets, you should be good to go.
Other Farmhouse Sink Resources
AUTHOR: Ryan is a DIYer, homeowner, and general fan of a clean, good-smelling kitchen.
What if the farmhouse sink opening is 3 1/4 can I get a mounting flange anywhere to be able to have a garbage disposal.?
Hey Cynthia – you’ll just need to make sure it matches the 3 1/4″ size of the opening in your sink. On the disposal side, it’s a lot more forgiving. So for instance, when you see a “universal” mounting flange, it means it’ll fit most garbage disposals, but then the sink side will still need to match. Does this make sense? Hope it’s helpful.