Still confused by farm sink options

11 years ago

I've been reading many of the posts regarding farm sinks, and am still very confused on the various options of materials, makers, etc.

- fireclay (various makers) versus porcelain/cast iron (e.g. Kohler) - I keep reading posts about needing to be careful with fireclay, including stories of cracking from overtight garbage disposers, cracking after dumping boiling water down the drain, cracking/chipping from heavy pots, cooktop grates, etc. Are these just rare cases? We have a fairly basic enamel/iron (or steel?) sink, that we don't take any precautions with.

- It seems like Rohl/Shaw is the "gold standard" in fireclay farm sinks, but we still see trouble reports about them, including the cracking issues. But are they still as good or better than other brands, such as Franke/VB, Whitehaus, and/or Kohler's fireclay choices?

- I'm a little worried about the amount of cabinet work that might be needed. We're basically intending to paint our existing cabinets, and put on new granite countertops. But the height of the existing cabinet box under the sink, above the doors, is only 8-9", whereas many of the sinks have a total height of 10" or so. Does this prevent us from an undermount installation, or force us to get a new cabinet box if we want undermount? If getting a clean install means that a new cabinet box is semi-required anyway, then perhaps I don't need to worry that much about the sink dimension, as long as it "fits in the overall space".

- I know that fireclay sinks vary a bit, and that it is necessary to have the actual sink in hand before the countertops get cut, etc. But is it fairly safe to just buy a sink and rely on the cabinet work being doable? Or is it best to consult with our (eventual) countertop and/or cabinet folks first?

- How about buying online? I've seen a few posts that advise not buying online, so that things like the drainage slants and other variables can be inspected before taking delivery. Is it really that bad?

Tips and advice are appreciated!

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Comments (3)

Ann Scheley
11 years ago
rschleicher--We have the Blanco Cerana 33" firelcay farmhouse sink. It has been in since August of 2012. I am no expert on the fireclay, but I can tell you so far so good. We have a disposal and haven't had any problems. After reading on GW about the sink grids I finally decided that I would try one. We went with the Blanco Sink Grid as seen in the link below. This has been great! There are many advantages to sink grids, not the least of which is that is protects the bottom from scratches. I am loving my sink! Hope it stays that way... :)

Here is a link that might be useful: blanco sink grid
2LittleFishies
11 years ago
We have the Kohler Whitehaven which is not fireclay, but cast iron. I think these don't vary in shapes as much as the fireclay. By shape I mean little waves here and there. I hear they are very easy to fit into cabinetry b/c they are self-rimming. I read so many positive things about the sink so we went with it and so far love it!
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Thanks for your help. I stopped by to talk to my cabinet guy today and he told me I absolutely couldn't have an apron sink unless I ordered another sink base cabinet--which would likely take forever so he didn't recommend it. His reaction was "Its just a sink--what does it matter? Just pick out a stainless steel sink."--unfortunately, and I know this makes me sound a bit crazy--it really does matter to me. I know with the cabinets arriving next week he just wants to get my order installed and be done with me, but I find his reaction frustrating. If I took the time out of my busy day to stop by your office to inquire about this, then clearly it is important to me. And believe me I have looked at literally thousands of sinks. So now I'm thinking about waiting until after the cabinets arrive and then I can see if a carpenter can either modify the existing sink base to accommodate an apron sink or construct one to match the other cabinets. I assume that there is also some sort of warranty issue that gets involved here too. I would expect that major structural alterations to a cabinet would void the warranty on the cabinet (especially the sink cabinet that is the most likely to incur water damage in the kitchen)so they don't want to encourage me to alter a standard cabinet in any way. But given the popularity of farm sinks today, I have to assume that this sort of modification happens pretty often in remodels--but I guess I could be wrong.
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I have almost NO room at all under mine. The garbage disposal just about fills it. In fact, if you look closely on the left door you can see the black marks were it rubs against the inside of the door. The GC had to rout out some relief to get the door to close completely. I also had to carefully wrap all the hanging cords around the drain pipe to clear a bit of storage space above the pipe for the fertilizer and watering bottle for my plants. Still, I got the sink and the look I wanted that has the sink sitting forward, seemingly on the legs (that's what brought the disposal up against the door). Think about what you want under there. I could have gotten a smaller disposer (I compost so use it infrequently). And I don't use a lot of cleaners. I also don't have things under there like instant hot water or a soap dispenser -- just the guts of an airswitch. If you want those things think about where they'll all go. All in all I'm very happy with the look and the storage works for me. But you should be aware going in that it's sparce!
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lalithar
11 years ago
If you plan to retrofit, please note that you need a pretty solid support under the sink. The cabinet maker basically framed a solid tabletop of sorts on which the sink stands (with requisite holes for the drain). The sinks can apparently vary quite a bit. My cabinet maker needed to have the sink with him when the cabinets were being built. The panel around the front is scribed pretty tight with no ugly caulk or grout. My sink is a rohl 30in.

Still confused by farm sink options

Comments (3)

Ann Scheley

2LittleFishies

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lalithar

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