I’m about to start a long planned remodel of our kitchen, and reviews of everything from appliances to sinks are driving me nuts. It seems like you have to shop for the cream of the crap and especially for the best warranty service because everything has terribly mixed reviews and reliability issues.
The thing giving me fits now is my kitchen sink, which will be a 23 x18x10 stainless rectangle undermount adhered to granite, so I really need to get it right. I see little to no difference between reviews (of which most seem fake) of expensive vs. cheap sinks in my range. From scratches to water pooling to even corrosion issues.
Same deal with the fridge; I’ve cancelled my Bosch order and switched to a better made (from fit and finish) identical one from KitchenAid, a brand I liked many years ago, but my dishwasher from them is expensive crap, that I’m going to gift wrap in a cabinet panel and pretend it’s new even though the old $200 Maytag that was here when we moved in was better at cleaning.
The good news is the appliance store will handle all post purchase warranty claims for the life of my appliances.
I’m not buying as high end as I would if we planned to stay here more than 5-8 years, but I’m not buying cheap, either, unless there’s no difference in apparent quality for the money. So far, not so much.
Thanks for any experiences with newer stainless sinks, especially. My cooktop will be Dacor Distinctive, my below counter oven and over the range microwave/hood (don’t have room for real hood, also almost never generate grease or high smoke in my kitchen, due to cooking style and that’s what my Weber is for), my Fridge will be a 22 CF counter depth French door KA.
I moved into my townhouse almost 5 years ago with a stainless undermount adhered to granite sink, and haven’t had any issues with it.
Now, I’ll be honest - I have no idea of the name brand of the sink (I can look when I get home, if you would like, SS) nor its quality. She had granite counters installed in the kitchen, and marble installed in the master bath - but that seems to be the extent of her choice of higher-end detailing.
But what I do know that the former owner cheaped out on a lot of things (ceiling lights and over-sink kitchen light are the cheapest you could get at Home Depot) and faucets (my kitchen sink faucet had to be replaced within a year of me moving in).
I use a stainless polisher on my sink once a month, and it still looks pretty good. Was it perfect when I moved in? Probably not. I do have a rubber mat on the floor of the sink, and that helps prevent bottom scratching. It’s going to scratch. Can’t help that.
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Definitely interested in the name. I’m finding no difference in issues between sinks hundreds of $$ apart. Plumber suggested Elkay (looking at Avado) and the same issues are in reviews as in cheaper Kraus, Vigo, Miseno. It’s going to be 10" deep. One thing is that satin finish keeps a good look longer, from all I’ve read, compared to polished, which I really don’t want. Thanks. Your owner may have bought the thinner gauge stainless at HD, maybe? I’m looking at 16 gauge (heavier) ones only. Interested to know. Is yours insulated on the bottom for sound and to prevent noise under temp changes of running water, etc?
Will look at the name tonight, and will measure the dimensions (and give you a pic, if I remember). I don’t recall insulated, and I’m assuming that the former owner wouldn’t have purchased this sink - she probably would have had the contractor do so. But yes, thinner gauge would totally make sense, based on her other purchases. 
If I had my druthers, I’d want a sink with a satin finish, as that ties in with the kitchen light and faucet that I have (brushed nickel). Are you doing a farmhouse apron, or will it be faced with cabinetry with a strip of the granite in front?
No farmhouse apron; the kitchen will be craftsman style, simplified an it’s a small galley, so no more broken planes than necessary. I also don’t like the clunkiness of them. I’m using polished chrome for my faucets, but will def get satin for the sink, don’t need glare. I discovered when doing my bathroom that a private custom cabinet maker was much higher quality, and he’s built my cabinets exactly like these, and I’m suing the same colors and subway tile. But my sink will go under a window from counter height right up to my ceiling molding: http://www.designmanifest.com/portfolio/bala-cynwyd-craftsman-kitchen-2/ I found the exact granite, too, and got it at a great discount, 50% less than my other fabricator, at a local marble.com site.
He was so much cheaper for customized, high quality work and material than Home Depot was for semi custom KraftMaid with few style options for each piece. And he installs, total perfectionist. In my little galley, I will have 32 doors and 16 drawers, many of them behind doors. Nothing sitting out in crocks or lying around, a huge utensil drawer with two layers right under my cooktop. Cannot wait.
The cabinets look wonderful, and the sink facing a window is what I’m MOST jealous about! And just THINK of all of that storage you will have! Pull out drawers inside cabinets is my dream, but no-can-do with my current set-up: short-width cabinet doors with some of them having a piece of wood separating the two doors. That separator makes it much more difficult for me to get pots/pans in and out of the cabinets. Ugh.
I just started using my newly remodeled kitchen after 9 months of construction, done by my DH. We chose a Blanco stainless sink and faucet. I got the stainless grate that sits on the bottom of it. It’s extra deep, and I love that aspect of it. It looks great, and it’s not noisy.
I have a butcher block counter top, and the faucet is kind of high. So when I do dishes, I pull the sprayer attachment lower because the water has a tendency to splash a bit at a faster rate. I’ll try to remember to take some pictures for you.
I’m really happy with how it looks and functions.
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I’ve been living with such a sub par kitchen with horrid cabinets and no storage for years. I just didn’t have the energy to get stuff done, but managed a major remodel and some structural repairs to our sill plate in 2014 while we lived downstairs with a fully functioning kitchen and bath. Now that i drew up a design with tons of pullouts and full height cabinets, and a closet sized one just for oils and spices built into the recess of an outside wall I hope I live through the process with no kitchen! I wish I’d hired my general contractor and not my neighbor at my husband’s urging. He’s small, will take as long to do this kitchen and bath as my other guy took to remodel the whole upstairs and do structural work. His subs all showed up at once and did roofing, electrical rough plumbing etc. as soon as demo was done. We did tons, and it took 8 weeks in all, most of it done in 5 weeks, which is how long the neighbor says I can expect for these two small rooms. :-/
Thanks, I looked at Blanco last night, too. Same thing, all the reviews at each price point are the same, so it’s good to hear you’ve had a good experience with one. Is that zero radius? I’m looking at the slightly coved corners, looks like you may have them, too. I love your countertop, so warm, looks like the color wood floor we’re putting in the kitchen. So no popping or noise? No corrosion or rust? I’ve read that about a few of these, though not most.
I’m using a Moen Woodmere high arch faucet with a pull down sprayer and will get a 9 or 10" sink depth. I barely have 7 now, so water is everywhere every time you use it for anything! I’m getting a rear drain so our huge disposal can move to the back and the plumbing be flattened a bit, and I’ll have a large pullout drawer for the cabinet contents, too.
Nice job! ETA: Do you have any issues with the bottom flatness keeping it from draining and leaving water pooled in the sink if you don’t wipe it out (which I do, but don’t want it to need it too badly).
you’ve discovered the important stuff - thickness and sound deadening.
we have a undermount Franke double bowl - deep/shallow thingie. it is very nice - I’m pleased with the choice. satin as you say - gets scrubbed with BKF now and then.
Thanks. I’m looking at Blanco, had settled on Kraus. Plumber says they’re all the same, and not to worry about 16 gauge if I’m not running a catering business. Blanco is 9" deep, and I’m really intent on not having splashing issues, is that diff between 9 and 10" a big game changer? I also worry about the extra depth as a cause of back strain, possibly?
I’ve read good things about Franke, but some say the finish is too high shine for them. It does look shinier in pics. Is yours 16 or 18 gauge? No drainage issues?
it’s 16 g. ignore the plumber. go with the good stuff.
9 or 10 deep - not much of an issue methinks. but the tall “overhead” spigot/faucet is definitely a good thing; I can set the stock pot in the sink and fill it, then swing away the faucet without tipping over the stock pot and spilling out all the water . . .
mine is not, never was, “shiny” - has the burnished/satin/grained finish. I’m in the George Carlin camp - all the health nuts laying in the hospital dying of absolutely nothing . . . I have a kitchen, it has a sink, I use it, I’m not worried about scratches because in another 10 years when we’re too old and too feeble to keep a house somebody will walk in and say “the kitchen needs updating” - they’re not going to be impressed with “gosh the sink doesn’t have a scratch on it!”
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OK, the brand I have is Suneli. It’s about 21"W x 16"D x 9"H (I think - 10" from the base to the top of the granite counter). And it’s a single-bowl sink. No insulation that I could see, but I don’t have any issue with noise. Based on what I can see online, it’s 18 gauge. But based on pricing as compared to what the rest of you have, the Suneli is definitely at the lower price point.
But as ZwiebelHash said, anyone buying this place from me when I’m in the nursing home will probably be doing a renovation anyway, so I’m not concerned about the sink that’s currently installed. Unless something happens to it while I’m still living here.
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When I did my remodel in 2007, I had the same issue - wide range of prices for what seemed to be the same thing. I found a recommendation on GardenWeb for Ticor sinks and ended up ordering one of their extra deep (10"), 16 gauge, double bowl models, for around $275 (less than half what other companies wanted). I have been 100% satisfied with it - certainly it doesn’t look perfect anymore, after 10 years of use, but it has held up very well and NO splashing or drainage issues. The company I bought from (Galaxy Tool Supply) is no longer in business, but Ticor has a website - I would contact them and see if you can find a retailer. It looks like Overstock carries some of their stuff.
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KitchenAid and Maytag are part of Whirlpool. Bosch comes from Gaggenau/Thermador.
I’m not worried about scratches on my sink, I’m worried about corrosion reports and rust, like what happens on too much “stainless” these days, including my Weber grill, frex. I don’t want that for me. Until I started reading reviews about scratches, I had never, ever given a thought to them on my current or previous kitchen sinks. I mean, it’s a work surface!
Yes, at one time Bosch and KitchenAid were from the same manufacturer, but I think split up not long ago. Bosch is divvied up among more than one now, based upon which product it is. But the design of my KA is identical, but with better build/fit and finishing than the Bosch had.
Bosch is now self owned once more: http://dishwashers.reviewed.com/news/bosch-home-appliances-now-fully-owned-by-bosch Maybe it will improve, Thermador seems to have nosedived in quality, a lot. Most have, though.
Thanks, my worry is decline in factory quality over the course of a decade. I’ll see what I can find out.
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Thanks, I wish I could pretend to care what some buyer thinks of the sink. I’m more concerned with how I’ll feel about it’s presence once installed on expensive granite and not easy to swap out while I’m here. Buyers can go get their own.
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