Kitchen sink material

[TastyReuben]

Ok, I have a standard double-bowl stainless steel kitchen sink, and looking to replace that. My options for sink material are stainless steel, composite, and enamel/porcelain.

I'm leaning heavily toward composite. Stainless steel doesn't look as nice and porcelain is the most expensive option, more than I want to spend, and appears to be the most work to maintain.

Does anyone have any yay or nay opinions regarding composite? I'm not sure if that term is used around the world, but it's a manufactured product that kind of feels like hard rubber, maybe? It's also used to make countertops.

I'm also going with a single bowl this time around. I'm tired of fighting that divider when trying to wash cutting boards and stockpots.

Thoughts and opinions, please, and pictures of your sinks if you like. Thanks!

 

[mjd]

It's been over ten years since I had a kitchen redone so I didn't want to chime in as I'm sure much has changed in the kitchen remodel world.

I found this online: Pros And Cons Of Granite Composite Sinks - Meal Prepify

One thing I would recommend is calling around to a couple of realtors in your area and ask how much the upgrade would add to the value of your house. This is important even if you are not thinking of selling as you don't want to "price out" your home in your market.

Good luck in your search!

 

[Morning Glory]

I have a white 'butler style' sink - I assume its enamel. Its the same sort of material as a white bathroom sink. It isn't difficult to maintain at all in my experience and it looks much nicer than stainless steel. Mine is a bit like the one below. This particular one retails at £200 ($274)

 

[MrsDangermouse]

Does anyone have any yay or nay opinions regarding composite? I'm not sure if that term is used around the world, but it's a manufactured product that kind of feels like hard rubber, maybe? It's also used to make countertops.

When we replaced our worktops I considered a composite sink or a Silestone quartz one to match the worktops, but the main reason I didn't go for it was because I was worried about it getting damaged. From what I understood, you can't use harsh chemicals (eg. bleach) in a composite sink, and also you shouldn't put hot pans directly in them in case they get burn marks.

In the end we stuck with stainless steel and went for an undermount sink - with a bit of stainless steel cleaner you can keep it looking nice.

This isn't a great picture of the sink (it was a photo taken by the splashback installers), but you can just about see it:

I'm also going with a single bowl this time around. I'm tired of fighting that divider when trying to wash cutting boards and stockpots.

We got rid of our 1.5 sink and replaced it with a single very large bowl and for 95% of the time I think we made the right decision. Very occasionally it would be useful to be able to run the water or drain something in a second sink whilst you've already got something in the main one, but that doesn't happen very often. The main benefit as you say of a large sink is that you can fit anything in it - and that makes up for the few occasions where two sinks would be useful.

 

[Morning Glory]

Mine is a one and a half sink so the main part is big enough for almost anything and the half part (more like a 1/3 size) can be used for draining veg etc. Not sure its really essential but it comes in handy sometimes.

 

[MrsDangermouse]

Mine is a one and a half sink so the main part is big enough for almost anything

The main thing I've been glad to be able to fit in my super-large sink are the cast iron pan supports from the hob - its a 5 burner and the hob supports are rather large - this is what one of the halves looks like:

Of course, I won't need to do this when my new induction hob is fitted......on Tuesday if all goes to plan!

 

[Burt Blank]

What's a kitchen sink ?

 

[TastyReuben]

We've decided on staying with stainless steel after all. After further reading up on composites, I'm finding that they're not as stain-resistant as they claim to be, and they're not as heat-resistant as they claim to be, and they're not the easiest thing to keep clean.

We're making slow progress, but we're getting there. Windows have been measured for blinds, wall has been measured for backsplash, and now we need to go in and pick out the tile and the blind material. Probably do that tomorrow.

 

[Sticky Fingers]

Had a black composite and found it will degrade and develop white/grey stains that will not clean, I did find that treating it with cooking oil restored the colour but I had to treat it every few days so reverted to SS, friend had white composite and it stained with tea like stains, he reverted to SS