What could cause a wall mounted sink to fail?

Question

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????

Answer 1

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.

Answer 2

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??

Answer 3

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.