I am slightly remodeling my kitchen (on a slim budget). Because I cannot afford granite countertops, I've decided to use the countertop makeover kits on the Formica that are available and make it LOOK like granite. The kitchen sink that I have can be mounted either under or over, and is currently over. I'd like to have it mounted under. Is that a huge undertaking or even possible? The faucet fixtures are part of the sink itself. I've held off on doing the counter top transformation until I can discern whether the sink can be undermounted.
Kitchens – install an under-mount sink in an existing Formica counter
kitchensmountingsink
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You can definitely get dishwashers that are not as deep as the standard, though selection will be more limited.
One thing to consider is that the dishwasher needs a bit of clearance and wiggle room, so you'll likely need to accomodate more than 1" difference.
I would recommend against chipping away at the studs in you wall as this will reduce the strength of the studs and wall significantly. If this is an internal non-load bearing wall this might be OK but this would be a big problem if it were a load bearing wall.
I think the best/easiest solution is just to find a different dishwasher that will fit your space.
On the legs issue, you could fashion your own out of wood or pipe, but they need to be adjusted after the sink is hung to provide just a bit of lift. Difficult to get exact. Consider inexpensive premade legs such as these:
SUPPLEMENT IN RESPONSE TO COMMENT: The legs do not go in the holes. You want a thin buffer, maybe plastic or rubber just under and aroung the holes, then a large washer (bigger than the holes) under that, then the head of the legs, which should adjust by being rotated up to abut the washer and rubber. If the legs seem to slip a little on the washer, try a bit of rubber/plastic between leg top and washer as well. The idea is to spread the contact area over more of the porcelain around the hole.
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Best Answer
If the substrate under the formica (which is a thin veneer) is particle board, you must do something about the exposed edge of particleboard around the hole that they originally cut to put the sink into. Not only is it ugly, but it will suck up water and expand and disintegrate.
There are kits to glue a curbing over this edge that purport to waterproof it. I am VERY leery that such a thing can work over the long term. Water just gets in - that's its job.
Your fixtures must be mounted through an apron of the sink that extends to the back? They would remain so, and just extend up from below counter level (there is probably no countertop underneath them now. If you look underneath, you will probably see that the hole for the sink goes back further than the fixtures). This will create a cleaning nightmare :(
The hole will probably need to be neatened up (it's probably not a nice even shape) and it is probably a bit bigger than it needs to be. The sink will be held to the underside of the counter by clips that screw into the countertop from underneath, and you will use silicone on the rim of the sink before lifting it into place to provide a seal (and probably run a fillet around the joint after it's in place, wiping the excess away with your finger).
It sounds like a lot of work, and a lot of things that can go wrong. I'd suggest just keeping it overmount.