Any Kitchen Sink Experts here? what kind to get?

[MrDavidRoberts]

I currently have an old stainless steel one so Have no idea really which ones from the better looking ones are as or almost as durable/long lasting as a stainless steel.

for the looks alone I want one of those butler sinks the most

Than there are the normal looking ones but from ceramic which looks quite nice as well.

I reckon this type or ceramic sink is going to be as ''durable '' as a butler sink since it's also ceramic?
How long do you think you can expect such sink to last? I have seen pictures of used ones where they are chipped/have cracks in the glaze and just look nasty.. There are 3 kids in the house who likes to cook as well so it will see a lot of abuse..


Than there are the granite composite ones, As i understand these are both pretty tough and reasonably solid and have some nice designs as well?

And finally I think there are a bit cheaper ones which are the Resin ones but they still have good designs similar to the granite composite ones at least in pictures? Are those like plastic sinks? Not sure If I like the sound of it.What's up with them? are they just cheap&Nasty looking in reality and usage, or they are just as good as the more expensive ones?

Sooo many choices that it's hard to understand what is what..
Any experts here can give some kind of insight on what kind is the best in real life usage?

 

[xy mosian]

If you use the kitchen sink regularly watch out for the depth. The butler sink you show looks quite deep, if it is your back could complain.
xy

 

[transatlantic]

I'm not a kitchen sink expert (I'm actually a bathroom sink expert)

but...

I'd recommend one you can put liquid into, i.e waterproof
Oh! and also one that has the thingy-ma-jig that stops the liquid escaping, sooooooooo useful!

 

[Racers]

What's wrong with stainless steel? It looks good it's easy to clean.

If you use a plastic washing up bowl in a ceramic sink it will leave a ring of scratches as the grit gets inbeded in the plastic, we hardly do any washing up as we have a dishwasher so I single under mounted sink is fine.

Pete

 

[lurker]

My wife is expert on kitchen sinks. we always take one on holiday with us :roll:

Actually that second picture is a dead ringer for ours.
We bought it from Homebase in the sales about 7 years ago, I think it was about £120 :lol:
BUT in answer to your question: it still looks pristine

 

[MrDavidRoberts]

What's wrong with stainless steel? It looks good it's easy to clean.

If you use a plastic washing up bowl in a ceramic sink it will leave a ring of scratches as the grit gets inbeded in the plastic, we hardly do any washing up as we have a dishwasher so I single under mounted sink is fine.

Pete

Nothing wrong with them, they are durable and easy to clean, however those other sinks looks a lot nicer, that's all.
Do you actually have to use a plastic bowl in a ceramic sink so it doesn't gets damaged?

in SS you just throw your pots/pans in wash them whatever way you want them :?

 

[Bm101]

I 'retro fitted' an astracast resin sink about 2 years ago when I tarted up the kitchen to avoid a costly refit. Can't fault it. Worn really well. Still looks good. They recommend you don't use a bowl but use some sort of rack malarkey that I thought sodthatIain'tpayingfiftyoddquidforableedinrack. Most gear goes in the dishwasher anyway here but it's stood up to two young kids and I'd recommend it if that's the look you are after. I don't think it looks plasticky at all personally. Taps will make a big difference to how it looks and what is suitable. I got one of those chefs pull out ones. I'm not even a chef but it still works alright. I do like it. It's handy being able to pull it out and the spray function does clean things well. Could I live without it? Course.
Set your budget , then go round a few highstreet 'posh' kitchen suppliers and have a look at what you like. Then go online and find it 40 % cheaper.

(ed: worth checking your water pressure before you buy taps)

 

[flying haggis]

MIL saw a white schock kitchen sink and liked it so I had to fit it, as part of the kitchen refit.
seems to stain badly due to tea and coffee and doesnt seem very clean even when just cleaned.
you can buy a special "cleaning kit" but should it really need one? on a £400 plus sink
if I refit our kitchen it aint going to have a schock sink

 

[dynax]

gone are the days of licking the spoons,bowls,plates and anything else that was used during the cooking and eating process,

 

[AJB Temple]

I have had butler's sinks (similar to your first picture) in previous houses and I love them. Very practical. What you want from a sink is plenty of room and depth for soaking big pans and casserole pots that will not go in the dishwasher. A good one also has enough space to soak and degrease a good sized camshaft or similar bit of kit and the sink will emerge from this pristine such that your spouse will never know.

 

[MrDavidRoberts]

I have had butler's sinks (similar to your first picture) in previous houses and I love them. Very practical. What you want from a sink is plenty of room and depth for soaking big pans and casserole pots that will not go in the dishwasher. A good one also has enough space to soak and degrease a good sized camshaft or similar bit of kit and the sink will emerge from this pristine such that your spouse will never know.

nice, how durable are they from your experience? What if you were to bang a pan against a wall of it while washing it?
Has yours got any cracks in glaze you can see? I'm fairly sure I have used such sink about 30years ago, and I remember somehow it got stained.
I think a lot of people who have them own nice houses and also got dishwashers so they don't really get the standard ''abuse''?
( You just don't see that style being used in mediocre areas)

 

[AJB Temple]

No cracks, no chips, no stains. In my case we had houses with large AGAs plus gas hobs and the big cast iron trays and pans were too big and heavy for the dishwasher, as are my large copper pans now. Unless you are an abusive user, they are very robust. In contrast I find stainless steel always looks tatty in short order as it get scratched and marked very easily. Cheap stainless steel is too thin and never looks good after a year or so of use. So does Corian and similar mark similarly. The sinks with plastic or resin finishes stain quite easily and quickly let the "look" of a kitchen down. For my sins I have lived in about 30 different houses and apartments over the years so I have had pretty much everything going sink wise. This is not my finest accomplishment.

If you are a serious cook, then you will need a big sink. If you install a smart kitchen it is worth getting sinks and taps that complete and will sustain the look.

In the end it's just personal taste.

 

[MrDavidRoberts]

No cracks, no chips, no stains. In my case we had houses with large AGAs plus gas hobs and the big cast iron trays and pans were too big and heavy for the dishwasher, as are my large copper pans now. Unless you are an abusive user, they are very robust. In contrast I find stainless steel always looks tatty in short order as it get scratched and marked very easily. Cheap stainless steel is too thin and never looks good after a year or so of use. So does Corian and similar mark similarly. The sinks with plastic or resin finishes stain quite easily and quickly let the "look" of a kitchen down. For my sins I have lived in about 30 different houses and apartments over the years so I have had pretty much everything going sink wise. This is not my finest accomplishment.

If you are a serious cook, then you will need a big sink. If you install a smart kitchen it is worth getting sinks and taps that complete and will sustain the look.

In the end it's just personal taste.

Thank you Sir!

 

[porker]

MIL saw a white schock kitchen sink and liked it so I had to fit it, as part of the kitchen refit.
seems to stain badly due to tea and coffee and doesnt seem very clean even when just cleaned.
you can buy a special "cleaning kit" but should it really need one? on a £400 plus sink
if I refit our kitchen it aint going to have a schock sink

+1 We had one of these in our last house and it was always stained with tea and coffee and had to be bleached regularly. My Mum dropped a pan in it one day when she was visiting and it cracked. Manufacturer replaced when we sent pictures and the replacement was fine but I wouldn't have another because of the staining.

 

[Distinterior]

MIL saw a white schock kitchen sink and liked it so I had to fit it, as part of the kitchen refit.
seems to stain badly due to tea and coffee and doesnt seem very clean even when just cleaned.
you can buy a special "cleaning kit" but should it really need one? on a £400 plus sink
if I refit our kitchen it aint going to have a schock sink

+1 We had one of these in our last house and it was always stained with tea and coffee and had to be bleached regularly. My Mum dropped a pan in it one day when she was visiting and it cracked. Manufacturer replaced when we sent pictures and the replacement was fine but I wouldn't have another because of the staining.

This type of sink needs to be cleaned with Biological Washing powder.
I have fitted literally hundreds of them over the years and a very well known manufacturer told me 30 years ago to advise clients to use the washing powder technique. Since telling all my clients this, not one of them has ever come back to me and moaned about not being able to keep their sink clean.
Wet the sink bowl all over. Take a small sponge with that abrasive mesh on the back of it and dampen it slightly. Pour a bit of the powder on the sponge and rub the sponge and powder all over the sink & drainer.
Leave it for 15 mins, then go back over it with clean water. If there are any areas that are particularly badly soiled, it may take a couple of applications.
Once washed down, you will see an immediate improvement. If this process is done as part of normal regular cleaning, the sink will look good for many, many years.

The likes of Schock & Blanco Granite sinks are good quality and you will really struggle to find better for this type of material. As an example of how hard wearing they are, when drilling the tap holes you have to use Diamond tipped cutters as high speed steel will blunt instantly.

 

[Doug71]

I have a big double butlers sink which has crazing in the glaze, bought it from Shaws so not a cheap one. They offered me a new one no problem but I have not bothered because it means removing the granite worktops or butchering the unit underneath to swap them which Shaws would not pay for. I do have a boiling water tap which I thought may have caused it but they said no it should be fine. No chips in sink as yet.

Doug

 

[MrDavidRoberts]

Thanks guys for telling the various stories, I think I'm not afraid of a ceramic ones anymore since the idea about just placing a plastic mat in it to protect it, if the worst happens you can just replace the sink with a new one anyways without much mess so it seems.

 

[Eric The Viking]

When we moved in there were a pair of round sinks let into the worktop. They were a disaster, as it was far too easy to put water everywhere, by turning on the tap over the middle part. I cut them out and replaced with a single-drainer Franke S/S sink, with the biggest "bowl" I could find.

Initially the DC was rather cross - she wanted one with a half bowl, but it's been brilliant - there is room for a large washing up bowl sideways, and still a gap to the side of it, for rinsing-off stuff. If we want to, say, clean the wirework from the oven, or do bigger pots and roasting pans, that's easy. And you can bleach it or use abrasive cleaner without risk of damage. It's also reasonably forgiving with dropped crockery - helpful for me especially!

We had a half-sink in the old place, and we have a Belfast sink in the scullery (for garden stuff, mainly). They're great, but you cannot drop stuff into them! I am reminded that we've been to a couple of National Trust houses where the butler's sink in entirely wooden for that reason - to protect the crystal!

Half-sink? Never again! Stupid, impractical, smelly, hard to clean, hard to use., too much silly plumbing in the cupboad underneath... [fades away, muttering]

 

[Jasper42]

I have the one in your second image, been fitted for around 10 years and still looking good. 1 small chip in it where one of the kings dropped a heavy pan in it. We had a SS one before this is and made the change as it just looks cleaner. Does need a little bit more care with heavy items but very happy with it.

Regards

Austin

 

[flying haggis]

MIL saw a white schock kitchen sink and liked it so I had to fit it, as part of the kitchen refit.
seems to stain badly due to tea and coffee and doesnt seem very clean even when just cleaned.
you can buy a special "cleaning kit" but should it really need one? on a £400 plus sink
if I refit our kitchen it aint going to have a schock sink

+1 We had one of these in our last house and it was always stained with tea and coffee and had to be bleached regularly. My Mum dropped a pan in it one day when she was visiting and it cracked. Manufacturer replaced when we sent pictures and the replacement was fine but I wouldn't have another because of the staining.

This type of sink needs to be cleaned with Biological Washing powder.
I have fitted literally hundreds of them over the years and a very well known manufacturer told me 30 years ago to advise clients to use the washing powder technique. Since telling all my clients this, not one of them has ever come back to me and moaned about not being able to keep their sink clean.
Wet the sink bowl all over. Take a small sponge with that abrasive mesh on the back of it and dampen it slightly. Pour a bit of the powder on the sponge and rub the sponge and powder all over the sink & drainer.
Leave it for 15 mins, then go back over it with clean water. If there are any areas that are particularly badly soiled, it may take a couple of applications.
Once washed down, you will see an immediate improvement. If this process is done as part of normal regular cleaning, the sink will look good for many, many years.

The likes of Schock & Blanco Granite sinks are good quality and you will really struggle to find better for this type of material. As an example of how hard wearing they are, when drilling the tap holes you have to use Diamond tipped cutters as high speed steel will blunt instantly.

I do recall that Schock supplied a diamond tipped cutter with the sink to enable the tap hole to be cut(I still have it somewhere) but it was to big to be of any use when I fitted the water filter tap and I really struggled to drill a small hole