Keep this prep sink or get rid of it?
rockybird
last month
last modified: last month
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keep or get rid of older marble tub?
Comments (18)If you like the tub just fine, and don't welcome the time/trouble and expense of a new tub, I'd suggest trying to just restore it, if you can. As I suspected earlier, it can be restored with just automotive finishing compound and a high speed buffer with a wool pad. From the link below: Q: I have a cultured marble vanity top that is severely scratched and has no shine. Is there anything I can do to restore the finish? Gayle Crawford, Rio Rancho, N. Mex. A: Kevin O'Connor replies: Dan Maki, who has been making, installing, and refinishing cultured marble for nearly 30 years at Cultured Marble Products Ltd., Sacramento, Calif., tells me that the sheen of this material comes from a layer of clear polyester-resin gel coat applied to an opaque layer of fiberglass-reinforced polyester mixed with limestone dust. In his experience, the most common cause of scratched, dull gel coat is cleaners like Ajax or Comet. Cultured marble should only be cleaned with liquids that have no abrasives. Maki says it's fairly easy to bring back the shine and remove shallow scratches using an automotive finishing compound and a high-speed, 1,500- to 2,500-rpm buffer fitted with a wool pad. Rub it in by hand, wait until a haze forms, then buff it off. For deep scratches that don't go all the way through to the fiberglass, wet-sand with the compound and an 800- or 1,000-grit wet-and-dry paper. After sanding, give these spots a good buffing. Once your countertop is back in shape, he recommends shining it occasionally with liquid Gel-Gloss, a polishing wax developed just for cultured marble. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ It has no major problems, but has quite a bit of etching and some staining from our hard water that is impossible to remove. Once you have it restored, I'd suggest either cleaning or at least drying the tub after each use, or as often as is possible. Now I'm looking forward to restoring the shower walls to their original sheen. Sue Here is a link that might be useful: This Old House -- Restoring Cultured Marble...See MoreIsland prep sinks- where do you keep your paper towels?
Comments (6)For the most part, I've rid my family of paper towel use. There was a thread not so long ago about how to cut down on paper towel use. I do keep a roll on a free standing holder that occasionally gets put out when I've got something nasty to clean up on the floor or the like. For an island prep sink you've only got a few options: -freestanding, holder or no -genius niche in cabs -holder mounted to inside of sink base door -someplace else in the kitchen, like Rhome...See MorePrep area next to sink or prep area next to cooktop?
Comments (13)What are you putting on the island...cooktop or sink (please tell me sink........)? While it's less than ideal to put a sink or cooktop in an island, the lesser of two evils is the sink in the island. If you're putting the cooktop in the island & it's b/c you want to visit with people while cooking...remember this:70% of your time spent in a kitchen is Prepping 20% is spent cleaning up 10% is spent cookingSo, what does it make sense to do on the island if you want to spend most of your time visiting while working in the kitchen? Prep. The least sense? Cooking. Now, safety...cooking is the worst thing to do in an island (or peninsula) unless you have at least 24" of countertop behind & on each side of the cooktop. Yes, it's more than NKBA states for non-seating (NKBA is silent on seating...which might mean it's a "no-no"); but from experience and common sense, 24" is better. [Think about someone spreading homework or the newspaper out on the island while you're cooking. Think about the steam from boiling water drifting over to the people sitting there. Think about how far grease splatters. Think about someone walking by or even running by while you're cooking...carrying papers, backpack, etc....and not being careful where they are in relation to the cooking surface.] Hopefully, all this is moot & it's the sink in the island...(even then, if you have seating at the island strive for 18" b/w the faucet and edge of the seating overhang to minimize visitors being splashed; 15" will work, but 18" is better). **** As to prep.... Unlike others, my prep area is driven by where my sink & cooktop are, not where there's a view or social interaction. I find the easiest and most natural place to prep is b/w my prep sink & cooktop...and that faces a wall. That area has about 40" of workspace (not counting the peninsula). If I need more room, I find myself working on the other side of the cooktop where there's about 5' of workspace b/c of the corner, even though there's no sink there and, again, it's mostly facing a wall. I have a peninsula on the other side of the prep sink that's across from the refrigerator w/about 30" of space, so it could be a logical place for prep. I also have my cleanup sink in front of a big bay window and the refrigerator is on that same run with 51" b/w them. However, 9 times out of 10, I prep b/w my cooktop & prep sink...and I have no problems with it. It's not like I can't visit with others while working there. They can sit at the peninsula and I can glance over to the right at them while I work or I can glance over to the left to see what's going on in the FR. To be honest, when I'm prepping, I prefer to keep my eyes on what I'm doing since so much of my prep work involves knives... All of this leaves the peninsula free for the kids to do homework or work on projects, or for me to setup my laptop when I'm working from home. It leaves the cleanup sink run clear for cleaning up only. No more conflicts! Would I change the location of anything b/c of this? Except for adding a trash pullout in the prep are, I wouldn't change anything else. It works great for us! [Well, maybe I'd change the location of the TV to where I wanted it in the first place but my DH thought he knew better...that way my DH wouldn't keep moving the stool to the "U" so he can be really close to the TV while eating breakfast. I keep biting my tongue to keep from saying "I told you so!"]...See MorePrep Sink, Cleanup Sink, Workstation Sink & garbage disposal question?
Comments (51)Sorry, for the late reply. I just saw this. No, we've had so many other issues come up with the build that have required all my attention, I haven't had time to focus on this. I do plan to use 30"-36" sinks. I will let the final cabinet layout dictate the sink sizes, so long as we are in that range. If I have an extra 3" of wasted space, I'll go up in sink size, or if I need a few inches for the trash can, I'll go down a couple inches on the sink. The main thing I haven't decided on yet, is whether they'll both be apron sinks or one apron and one under mount. Or, one stainless steel and one fire clay/ceramic/etc? Oh boy, I guess I have a little more left to decide than I thought! I think lead time and prices will point in the right direction on material! LOL! @vevmom, if your island is 10' long, I think the 33" sink will work nicely. That is still less than 1/3 of your island. I think bbtrix's photos above are great for helping to visualize this. (Thanks again bbtrix!) That island is 8' long with a stages 45. You'll have 2 more feet of island, plus a smaller sink. Let me know what you decide....See MoreHellogardener
last monthrockybird
last monthlast modified: last monthrockybird
last monthlast modified: last monthJAN MOYER
last monthrockybird
last monthrockybird
15 days ago
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