yoo-hoo, anyone home? cast iron kitchen sink?

14 years ago

anyone have one of those? I'm going to be needing a new sink and I'm seeing them in cast iron or acrylic. I'd have a difficult time with an acrylic one i think...

don't want to go the route of those new granite/solid surface ones either. so i think it's gotta be cast iron? I'm sure that's what all the sinks I had when growing up, married and since have been tho. Just wanted to check about them going into a mfg home. I don't think there should be a problem. they can't be that heavy and I'll be putting in a new counter top at the time also.

anyone know of any cons to it? anything that would be better w/o costing a bundle? i'm not one willing to pay 400.00 or more for a sink! thinking more around 200.00 or so.

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Comments (4)

jakkom
14 years ago
Your kitchen sink possibly gets more abuse than anything else in your home. Skimping on it isn't a great idea.

We had the Kohler Executive Chef (porcelain clad cast iron) for 15 yrs. It looked as good when it was pried out as it did when first put in. And BTW, it took two men to do it. They are HEAVY.

We replaced it with a Swanstone solid surface (not their granite, which is a Silgranit competitor) extra-large single. It is in every way superior to the cast iron - quieter, easier to clean, just as strong but much lighterweight - plus it can be either a drop-in or undermount, which is a nice touch. We happen to like the matte surface, although not everyone does.

If you have a strict budget, I'd suggest stainless steel. You can get a decent SS sink for that amount. I wouldn't touch the acrylic sinks, myself. I consider it an inferior material for sinks and tubs. It's brittle and not very strong.
desertsteph
Original Author
14 years ago
thx! i don't like SS, there's a SS one in there now (tho a cheap one)... but i will check out swanstone (was checking out their shower panels the other month).

I knew cast iron would be heavy...but not that heavy. wow! I do like the shiny of the enamel/porcelain on cast iron - and I would expect it to last out the rest of my lifetime - it wouldn't really get that much use in my place. Less than my sink here has had in the past 11 yrs as i'll be putting in a DW also. and it's just me and i use paper and plastic a lot.
i thought the same about acrylic. I'm sure it would be like the tub i have here - and every time I get in the shower (combo) I fear it'll fall thru! and the same as my sister had in her mfg home (before they built). I want real sinks in my place.

would the cast iron be too heavy for a mfg home? should I have them put extra braces under it? I have a good 6 months to decide. Maybe I'll see a swanstone sink in a store and can evaluate it better. I do want a drop in one.
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astrovel
14 years ago
Hey Desertsteph. I was just checking on this very question today. Talked with several people about a cast iron sink being too heavy for a modular/manufactured home. They said if you have a Formica type countertop (they are heavy), you should be able to have a cast iron sink. They said they have rarely encountered a problem where they had to beef up the insides with reinforcement. However, Lowe's has a brand of cast iron sink (American Standard) that is much lighter weight than the Kohler. It is resin based porcelain and is as durable as the ceramic porcelain. Not an acrylic as those are plastic. Also, went to the American Standard website and gosh, it comes in about 6 colors, from white, cream, beige, grey, black, navy blue. Has to be ordered in but only takes about a week. The prices shown on the website though reflects retail price and is much higher than buying through Lowes.
So I have decided to get my custom countertops from them and get the lighter weight sink as well.
Their Wilsonart laminates look just like granite and is less than 1/2 the cost. I priced the granite today and it was $1326 for my small kitchen and the Lowe's custom laminate was $630 INSTALLED!
Try checking with Lowe's on that brand of cast iron sinks. I think you would be happy with it.
desertsteph
Original Author
14 years ago
astrovel - got pics of you new countertop and sink installed? plz share with us!

yoo-hoo, anyone home? cast iron kitchen sink?

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jakkom

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yoo-hoo, anyone home? cast iron kitchen sink?

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jakkom

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astrovel

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