I've only seen one upmounted shaw's (Rococo's--which is in the "sinks we love" gallery). There is one other gorgeous Kohler farm sink with a high back that is upmounted that I've seen around here. I don't know who it belongs to.

While upmounted looks neat, and makes a style statement, it wouldn't be my choice for the following reasons:

1. Clean-up. An upmounted sink is similar to a drop in. You can't sweep food particles into it. They will catch on the edge. I have an undermount sink now for the first time in my life, and it is such a joy to clean compared to my old drop ins. And no more stained caulk on the outside (if you do this, you want clear caulk--not white).

2. Fragility. I have 2 little boys who are already trained not to drop dishes into the fireclay sink. But I would be really worried about dishes getting shoved around the counter and whacking the upmounted portion of the sink. Actually, I would be more worried about grown up guests and relatives doing this than my boys. The lips of the sink are a vulnerable area. Even with a positive reveal on an undermount sink, they are exposed and can get chipped (I have a slight negative reveal). Oooh--I get nervous just thinking about working next to those upmounted edges. But then I have a tiny kitchen, and I do all of my work next to the sink. If I had an upmounted sink, I would also need a reliable source of xanax!

Rococo can probably say more about the details of "life with an upmount." I do agree that it can look lovely. But in my kitchen, it just wouldn't work. So I think a lot depends on how you use your kitchen, where you do your work, how often folks come into the kitchen to help, etc.

:-)

Francy

Great points to consider, Francy. Style ain't everything. Thanks! :)

My Whitehouse farm sink said it could be mounted either way so the cabinet installer suggested upmount would be easier and I thought it would look pretty cool. The soapstone installer came to do the template and said I can't go with upmount because if I fill the sink with hot water, the fireclay sink will expand slightly and could crack the stone, so we obviuosly undermounted. Just another thing to think about.....

Oh--I just remembered one other thing: My Shaw's was incredibly wonky. One front corner was a full 1/4" lower than the other corners. Undermounting hid this flaw for the most part. But had it been upmounted, part of the top rim would have been higher than the counter, and part would have been more flush with the counter! It also had a hard bump/pimple on the rim that would have been prominently displayed. Yikes! (But I am seriously kitchen-cursed. Hopefully your sink won't have these problems.)

Francy

Beware of designers who don't live in your kitchen! My friend has an upmounted farmhouse sink and HATES IT. It's the ONE thing she says she did wrong in her kitchen, and considering the amount of time you use your sink, you can imagine how frustrating it must be to have spent so much time and money and have a sink you hate. The reasons were like those mentioned before, cleaning is a nightmare, stuff gets caught around the edges, the caulking looks terrible now because of constant junk and cleaning and water staying there. I'd avoid this idea like the plague. Sinks are supposed to be helpful not just pretty!

Well, thank you all! (And, I am still chuckling out loud over your post Caligirl. LOL!) Ok. I get it. Wasn't my idea in the first place and was only looking to see if there was much support for it. This is not one that I will spend time wrestling with at all. I wanted an undermount and an undermount it will be!

Good for you! Tell that silly KD who's boss! YOU ARE!

Actually, I must say that I have a wonderful ID -- not a KD. As such, his sense of color, proportion, spacing, style -- aesthetic and functional design sensibilities is generally fabulous. He can get me products and finishes at his discount and he will also help me manage the project when it comes to the actual plan implemenation. His personality is wonderful and he definitely shows respect for my opinons and my budget. BUT, as an ID, he does not specialize in kitchens and he is not up on all the "insider tips" that are shared regularly on this forum. There are times, thanks to you guys, that I actually think I know more than he does about the world of kitchen renos. Still, as one who trying to climb out the reno mess I created on my own, I don't delude myself into thinking that he is not quite valuable to me as a design consultant -- even in spite of an upmounted farm house sink suggestion. :)

Our Shaw's is upmounted, only because DH is DIY'ing, and he did it wrong. It doesn't look bad at all, actually looks nice- but I would advise against it. It seems it would be so much better undermounted. Water gets trapped in the little valley and then drips forward and onto the floor. I have the 3618 so its a really large sink, but water still manages to splash out when I wash my cast iron griddle. So my answer: yes it does look fine aesthetically, but functionally- it sucks!

Well, your ID sounds great then. I wish I had one. I'm flying by the seat of my pants at this point. I think I'll get some advice from an ID with an hourly consult though because I just don't know how all the ideas are going to fit together in the end.

Sorry I don't have a picture but my SIL's Shaw's is upmounted (with granite, not soapstone), and it looks lovely. It also was VERY nice to work with. They have the 36" sink, and there was no issue of difficult wiping around the sink because the sink is so honking big that everything goes in the sink, not on the counter.

Here's an upmounted sink (off the Kitchens We Love sink gallery)

Here is a link that might be useful: Upmounted farm sink

OMG, Sarah! Just when I thought this was all settled. . . :) That's one of the best things to love about this forum -- you can always count on getting back multiple angles and views on a reno/design question! Next thing I know, we'll be seeing upmounted sinks have become the new sink mounting design trend and 2 years from now, I'll be kicking myself that I did not go with it. LOL!

I was just looking at a kitchen on the Crown Point website that has an upmounted sink with tile countertop. I can't link directly to the kitchen (which I love, by the way!) but it is on the second page of kitchens on their Recent Images section, second kitchen on the second row.

Looks great! But, I have to say I love being able to sweep crumbs and gunk directly into my undermounted sink--I'm not sure the aesthetic payoff is worth the hassle factor in this instance.

Here is a link that might be useful: Recent Images from Crown Point website

I have an upmounted farm sink and love it. It's been installed for going on 4 years now. No issues at all. No food trapped at edge (someone may be confusing that with a positive reveal where food can land on the inside rim), original caulk is still good and in place. I've had it filled with water many times without issue -- soaking the entire oven racks, which it holds.

It's upmounted in a stainless counter and it hasn't expanded (not quite sure how a glazed, fireclay sink would expand since the glaze essentially is a sealent but whatever...)

As a designer I couldn't imagine hiding the lovely lines of the sink-- including the rim or the curved front edge. We have no chips, nicks or anything. It's also bumped out and mounted with radius (curved) corners.

The major obstacles to this type of mount are twofold: the cabinet installer and the countertop fabricator. Installing it really well requires a lot of precision. Whoever is ordering the sink base needs to really, really understand the requirements and the installer must be able to template very accurately. Ditto for the fabricator because scribing around the sink, which has a 2% variance is not easy. My fabricator did a brilliant job with the stainless -- the fit is very snug (which in turn required very little grout and my contractor used clear grout which is pretty much invisible).

So it's not for everyone but in my judgment not necessarily for all the reasons stated (personal preferences aside).

I guess the lovely curved top edge of the sink was my favorite part. Plus, I like that the upmounted sink isn't as deep as an undermount would be. I imagine that it is harder to install, but my people didn't complain too much.

I don't think that the issues you mentioned were ever a problem.

Here is a link that might be useful: upmounted sing

I'd be interested to know, Deanna and Polly, how high up your sink is mounted; same for your SIL's, Sarah. Roc says hers is at 5/8" above the countertop. As I start to sway back and forth as your various responses come in, I'm now actually beginning to lean towards the upmount for the reasons some have stated. It would be higher (I have been concerned at times that, especially with the depth of the sink, I might grow tired of the downward reach with it undermounted), the look is different and it would show off the lovely shape of the sink much better than if it were undermounted. Gee why does every darn aspect of this project end up causing me to scratch my head, including those I could have sworn were long ago settled!?:)

BTW, Deanna, your kitchen is just to die for! I am still drooling over it and wish I could I just cut and paste it into my own home!

I have a brown travertine carved apron front sink. I was having my cabinet maker raise the sink 5/8" so the 2cm granite would lay flush and then a laminated eased edge for the rest. Am I making a mistake - should the sink be level with the cabinets and then the laminated eased edge? I see this is what just about everyone does.

Thanks

Sorry, martha -- I totally lost sight of this thread. I'm not sure how high my SIL's sink was, but it was definitely enough for me to notice that it wasn't a flush mount or undermount. Maybe 1/4 or 5/8''

Being 5'2" I am looking forward to my undermounted farm sink because it will be sitting lower than my current drop in sink. My back hurts washing dishes at the current height.

I have an undermounted Shaw's 3618, and we love it, for all the reasons everyone stated here. But one thing that has occurred to me is that the sink would not sit so low if it were upmounted. The bottom of these sinks are pretty low, and I am short at 5'2". I wonder if taller people mind this.

That said, both my husband and I say we love our sink just about every day (can you tell we just remodeled?). He is of course taller and he has never mentioned that it is too low for him, and uses it several times a day.

But that height is something to think about.

I've also been looking into this. I found some photos on a link someone posted here which show a lot of different ways to put these in.

Here is a link that might be useful: Farmhouse sink photos

marthavila, what did you ever decide on your farmhouse sink? I have this decision to make TOMORROW and I just don't know what to do. I go back and forth. My surface is granite and my sink is the Rohl's 30 incher. Funny part about all this is that I heard from KD that granite guy would prefer the upmount. It seems from these previous posts that that might be the harder way to do it? I don't have a clue? Where's my Chardonnay?!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi Pupwhipped!

I haven't decided anything about the sink as yet. If anything, I likely won't upmount it. Not because I wouldn't prefer it that way. My ID and others have convinced me that the beautiful lines of the Rohl Shaw's farmhouse sink really shouldn't be hidden under the countertop. However, my countertop fabricator hesitated way too long when I asked him whether he was comfortable in accommodating my sink in this manner. And, you are right that upmounting appears to be a more difficult fabrication/installation job. At least that's what Rocogurl says (see post above) and, as a designer who has her own farmhouse sink installed this way, I tend to trust her opinion on this matter.

BTW, when you find the Chardonnay, pour me a glass!

Has anyone seen or have a 30" Herbeau sink mounted level with the countertop? The Herbeau link below shows the sink butted against, and slightly below, a 2" wide wood trim. What do you think about eliminating the wood and mounting it level with the marble?

Mine is a corner sink and I had always I assumed it would be installed under the countertop with a positive reveal. But today DH did a mock up of the marble ("plywood") countertop and placed the sink level with the countertop. He really liked the way it looked and we both liked the way the wide bullnose of the sink would match up with the countertop edge. It also shows more of the sink, and raises the 10" deep sink to a better height (DH is 6'2", I'm 5'7").

I haven't found a fabricator/installer yet, and I realize he would have to be comfortable doing this.

Here is a link that might be useful: Herbeau farm sink

Our 36" Whitehaus is upmounted in granite, and this is the ONLY picture I can get that stinkin' Photobucket to upload:

It was a lot more trouble for the templater ; he reeeeeeally want to undermount. Yet, it fits beautifully in spite of it's fairly uneven sides; no caulk at all.

I wanted it upmounted for several reasons, not the least of which is just that I love the look of that heavy white sink. A decision made with the heart, although I've played with it enough to be sure that it'll work very well for me, and I've had pretty much it's clone in our old Victorian.

 ooh! ooh! I managed to sneak another shot onto Photobucket! Here:

I was looking for installation info for my sink and found this pic of it flush mounted which I really like. My worry is that it's too late and the cabinet will be too short to do this. I'm going to see if we can do it with some kind of spacer.

Here is a link that might be useful: Stainless farmhouse sink

OMG happykate, your sink, especially in that upmount installation is beyond gorgeous!

Thanks, jaedwards, for posting the link to the flush mounted stainless sink. Everything helps, even if its not a fireclay sink like the Herbeau I'm working with.

Happykate, your Whitehaus sink looks great upmounted. I noticed you have a drip rail under your sink - is that the same material as the countertop?

Does anyone else have pics or info on a flush mounted fireclay apron sink? TIA

Here's a link to concrete farm sinks, that are flush mounted. I know they are sold at Expo, but have no idea of cost.

Click on the Legacy link, then go to the CR series.

Here is a link that might be useful: Zoli concrete flsh mount farm sink

Thanks! I'm awfully happy with the way the sink looks. Yup, the drip cap (a blatant steal from Christopher Peacock) is the same granite as the counter (of course, his would have been teak.) I'd hoped that the fabricator could have made it from the piece he cut out for the sink . . . but no. Still, worth the extra money to me. The cabinets will be white, so I think it'll be really visible.

Thanks Jenanla for posting the Zoli link, but that's really not what I'm looking for. DH and I already did a mock up using the actual Herbeau sink we will be using (see my Tue, Apr 1, 08 at 20:43 post), so I know how it will look. What I don't know is how well the sink will work for me if it is flush mounted.

Does anyone have experience with a flush mounted farm style sink ???size>
Probably not a Shaw sink as they have a rounded top edge, unlike the Herbeau which is flat.

Check out my blog. I'm remodeling my kitchen and bathroom, and my new kitchen sink is a Rohl Shaw's Original porcelain farmhouse sink. I never considered installing it any way other than upmounted when I started designing my kitchen 6 years prior to actually beginning the remodel. I think an undermounted sink looks too modern for a vintage-style kitchen, but that's just my opinion. My new countertop is glazed porcelain tile. Although it does involve a sizeable monetary investment, these sinks are very solid and durable. I don't anticipate any problems regarding its being upmounted.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cracker Rose Cottage

I'm installing a double, up mounted sink where the tap is installed in the sink. Any Picts of sinks that sit flush against the wall. It's not a choice for us, we just don't have enough depth to give me extra space behind the sink. I'm worried about cleaning and if others have a sink like this.

So I'm thinking of installing an upmounted sink in my next reno, but not because of aesthetic reasons.

I hand-wash things that cannot or should not go in the dishwasher.

Standard countertop heights are too low for me to do this comfortably, yet keep the thing I'm washing (and the water) in the 8" deep sink. I step away from dishwashing with a sore back that lasts for days. I can't squat or use a stool because of joint problems.

Yeah, it's nice to just be able to wipe crumbs into the sink, or worry about leaks.

But it's also amazing to be in the right position when hand washing dishes for an hour.

I'd raise my entire countertop before I'd do that, WG.

Actually I'd lower it cuz I'm short, but you get my point!