The more important factor is whether you want a single or double bowl - that's a matter of personal preference - there have been numerous posts on both sides of this issue - there's no right or wrong answer. The gauge of the sink is much less important.

I think 20 gauge is probably fine, especially since you don't plan to have it for the "long haul"....go with the configuration you want & don't worry about 20 gauge vs 18 vs 16.

You might want to check about soundproofing, though. If there isn't much you might be able to add padding (spray or other) before you install it. I seem to recall reading somewhere that the higher the gauge #, the louder the sink...but I'm not positive.

Thank you! I much prefer a gigantic single bowl that I can lay cookie sheets down in. I just hear so much about the gauge that I got a little nervous. And then galaxytoolsupply was tempting me with their free accessories :)

Thanks for the responses!

There are other nice brands of sinks. I ordered one from an ebay vendor (drop-in style) in an 18 gauge, it is a large single bowl (30x17-ish). With shipping it was $260. It is a beautiful sink. Let me know if you want the brand/vendor name.

This is my sink. I was wrong, it was only $250-ish total. And that includes the strainer basket. I love this sink.

Here is a link that might be useful: My large single bowl sink

lightlystarched - thank you for showing me this! Do you have a picture of it installed?

I would love the brand and vendor name. It looks really nice! I'm just worried it wouldn't lay a cookie sheet down inside.

bumping for lightlystarched :)

Actually the brand is listed as Fondor, but the ebay seller's name is Torenfonder and he's the only one I've seen that has this sink. In his ebay store you can buy it for the same price as the starting price on the auction. I'm not sure where he gets them.

I don't have it installed yet. It is sitting in its box on top of my fridge in the living room right now. My plumber checked it out and said it was a nice sink. I open the box occasionally and gaze at it. Hopefully it will be in the next 4 weeks.

I just went through this same dilemma a month ago - trying to decide between a large single bowl or double offset bowls. Everyone seemed to have their own opinion, and it boiled down to going with my gut instinct. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE MY LARGE SINGLE BOWL SINK!!! It's ~28x16 and so far there hasn't been a cookie sheet, roasting pan or giant frying pan that won't fit flat in the sink. On those few occasions when I need to wash something by hand, I simply put a dishpan in half the sink. It works great. My vote goes for the large single bowl. Good luck!

I'm a firm believer in doing something only if you can do it right in most cases. If I was planning to put in my dream kitchen in 5-10 years I wouldn't be redoing things now and going cheap because you can't afford better right now. Why not just save your money and wait until you can do it right. I obviously don't know your circumstances, but it seems to be a waste to put in new counters and sink for only 5-10 years.

When it comes to metal sinks, I wouldn't accept a stainless sink thinner than 16 gauge, for copper I would not accept anything thinner than 14 gauge. Also, ensure the gauge is consistent throughout the sink bowl including the corners. It is important to recognize quality materials and workmanship - especially with sinks. Be suspicious of sinks that come from Mexico or China - both countries have a love affair with lead alloys - I wouldn't touch a sink that didn't come from the US, Canada, Europe or Australia. China is out to poison us all.

I thought I needed an extra large sink to lay a cookie sheet in, but was surprised that a standard 25x22 sink is plenty big enough for me (and my biggest cookie sheet).

Consumer Reports says that in stainless steel, gauge doesn't matter (!) and that all gauges handled noise, dents, scratches and heat equally.

I ended up returning my $350 special order sink to put in a Sterling (Kohler's entry line) sink. You can see my blog on it below (might have to log in).

Here is a link that might be useful: Stainless drop in sink

Check these out.... 18ga, I bought the single bowl. Good quality tho maybe not as large as you wanted. Also grid available for cheap. This is the elumina model... not the cheaper one sold at Home Depot.

Here is a link that might be useful: Elkay Closeouts

Consumer Reports says that in stainless steel, gauge doesn't matter (!) and that all gauges handled noise, dents, scratches and heat equally.

I have to disagree with Consumer Reports on that one. We moved from a house with a 20-gauge sink into a house with a 16-gauge sink, and the difference was dramatic. The 16-gauge was so, so much quieter and so much more substantial. If I dropped a serving spoon in the 20-gauge, it made a loud "tinny" sound. In the 16-gauge, it made a quiet little thud. The 16-gauge had been in the house for about 20-25 years, while the 20-gauge had only been in the previous house for about 7 years. Still, the 16-gauge looked newer. Neither one ever dented. Come to think of it, the sink was one of the first things I noticed when we were shown the house.

Now, I don't know if I would have noticed such a difference between 18-gauge and the others, but the difference from 16 to 20 was absolutely huge. To say gauge "doesn't matter" is just wrong, at least in my experience. It's one of the reasons I agonized so much over my sink choice in this remodel. I was even tempted to keep the old sink. The only problem was that it had some weird built-in appliance (a blender kind of thing with several attachments) integrated on one side that no longer worked. It was also a three-bowl configuration, and since I would have a second sink for prep, I was ready for a big, single bowl.

Wow! Thanks for all of the responses. I don't have internet at home, so I wasn't able to respond back this weekend.

I actually won the ebay auction above (based on lightlystarched's recommendation), and i'm pretty excited. I got a gigantic, single bowl AND an 18 gauge. So i'm feeling pretty good. 16 would have been great, but I'm completely excited about my sink now!

AND - I got my faucet (Kohler Simplice) too! So things are falling into place...