If you don't plan to move in the near term, do what you like! But our house is the same age/setting and an undermount sink blends in fine, too. We prefer it for convenience of cleaning, but it seems to be a pretty personal preference. I suspect you'll still see some of each around in 15 years, because one big reason top-mounts stick around is that you can't use undermount sinks with some types of solid surface counters. I'd guess that for stone counters, undermount will continue to be the norm, though.

On some of your decision factors, though: undermount is not necessarily any more expensive to install or difficult to replace. Ours wasn't. We have a Kohler cast iron sink that can be installed as either a top mount or an undermount, and we used the Kohler sink brackets to undermount it so that it can be replaced with no impact on the counter should that ever be necessary (though hopefully it won't be!) You just unscrew it and lower it. Slightly more involved than removing a top-mount in that we would need to take the doors off the sink cabinet, but not a big deal. Plumber charge for installation was for the hookup independent of the sink type, but that might vary based on your plumber. And I think you'll find that sink size is limited more by the cabinet box than anything else; if you have undermount, the brackets or sink edge typically still sit on the frame of the cabinet, so the maximum size is about the same either way since the sink basin has to clear the cabinet sides with both types of sink. I would call all of these factors a wash between the two--go with whichever suits your aesthetics and preferences more.

If you're using a soft soapstone, though, I do think that's a vote in favor of top-mount--we definitely have some gouges in ours around the sink rim. HTH!

I think you bring up some good points toward using the drop-in with a soapstone counter. I have just recently been looking into soapstone for my new kitchen but hadn't thought about possible chipping around the sink area.

Do the drop ins just use a caulk of some kind to seal to the top of the counter for waterproofness (if that's a word)? If it's some industrustrial strength adhesive you may have a hard time taking it off if you have an issue? i've only ever installed an undermount.

My biggest problem would be aesthetics as you mentioned; but as you stated you don't mind the look. I'd go for the drop in if I were you.

artemis--thanks for the clarification about the under counter mounting and replacement info. I wasn't aware of this.

armada--I know our current sink has silicone around the edges more as a typical caulk than as somthing to cement it to the counter.

The one benefit of doing undermount is that you can do drain boards or runnels that can flow into the sink. With top mount, there is the issue of water around the edge to consider.

I prefer undermount because I like to be able to wipe crumbs into the sink, but if you prefer topmount go with it!

I've never had a problem with water under the edge of my current sink. Is this something unique to the soapstone with a top mount?

And, we were just at the Kohler store today. The associate there told us if we would ever have a problem with the sink it is extremely dfficult and costly to take out one of their undermount sinks because most lilely we'd have to get the fabricator out to take out the entire section of the counter.

Like tinan, undermount, for me, is about ease of cleaning rather than looks. I think a top mount is just fine, looks-wise.

I don't think either one will become passe, and I don't think your Kohler cast iron top mount will look like you didn't spend enough money.

I love soapstone sinks, and if I could have afforded one carved out of a big chunk that's what I would have gotten.

jamies--

Yes, those sinks carved out of one block are gorgeous but too pricey for me too! When we were looking at the Kohlers, my husband thought they were pricey. I can't imagine what he'd think if I suggested one of the block soapstone sinks.

I went with the best of both worlds, a flush mount in stainless. There is no lip to mess with and no exposed edge of soapstone to get banged up. I realize that a cast iron sink is different, but just another idea.

If you want a cast iron enameled sink, check out "tile in" sinks to achieve the flush mount bcafe is talking about above. They are designed to be mounted flush with the countertop surface.

We've inherited a top-mount stainless sink from the 1970's in our 100-yr-old soapstone countertop, and it works fine vis-a-vis water intrusion. I don't think one uses anything but regular pure silicone caulk under the lip for adhesion, and this can be sliced with a sharp razor when the sink needs to be removed. The drawback to a topmount is simply that raised edge of the sink where gunk can collect.

Sinks & gunk

enduring--fabulous bathroom sink you've constructed!

circuspeanut--we've had silicone caulk around the edges of our topmount forever. I'll admit it is a tad less attractive than the super clean look, but I have never really had to worry about gunk.

Flush mount (I think I saw this with the Kohler Vault yesterday and found it to be a good idea) and tile in (I think I actually saw tile in on some of the Kohler sink descriptions) are things I will definitely check out.

Hello, everyone. Over a year ago I tried everything I could to register for this site to ask questions and share my experiences. I could NEVER get registered, but now (with my new computer) all seems fixed somehow.

I read and read and read on this site in order to re-do our 1930's kitchen--a real challenge in terms of space, but we love it. Thanks to this site, we also put in Julia soapstone and absolutely love it as well. This site gave me the knowledge and good advice to finally have my dream white kitchen.

I've jumped in on this particular thread to say while our budget was definitely limited, I cut some insignificant corners here and there to be able to afford installing 2 micro-edge Blanco stainless steel sinks (each 10 inches deep). I, too, wanted drop-in sinks for both our primary and work sink. Our work sink gets a particularly tough time of it because we grow an extenisive garden and it serves to purpose the produce.

We absolutely LOVE these sinks: http://www.blancocanada.com/frames/BlancoStart.htm#/pages/FeaturesMicroEdge.htm

Here is a picture of the larger of the two first installed. We paid our the nose for them (after I hunted for coupons and sales for months), but it's one of the best decisions we made for our kitchen.

Here is a link that might be useful: Blanco Microedge

irmaly--

Thanks for the link (and your counters and sink are gorgeous). I'll check these Blancos out, but I am really much more of a white sink person I think. Sometimes I tell myself maybe I should go with stainless because it would open up so many more options for us. Then, I remember all of the threads about people who hate their stainless sinks because they always seem grubby or they are noisy or the water cools down too fast. And, then I see stainless sinks in some public spaces that don't look so hot and I get off that idea. Glad to hear you love your sinks and think these are a good option. What type of sinks did you have before?

By the way, there was a period of time when I too was unable to register for this site. I finally tried an alternate e-mail address, and it worked.

Well, these sinks are not grubby and they don't scratch (and we're both cooks). We even re-pot plants in them. They get a real workout. They aren't noisy either. That may have something to do with the low gauge? We had old stainless sinks. One of them was just a Lowes model of some kind, but the other I had custom made for me by Just sinks many years ago. It was an excellent sink, and I really didn't want to get rid of it, but I needed the two sinks to match. I worked hard (and read a lot here and elsewhere) to try to update my old kitchen to have features that looked like they were original to the house BUT with far less clutter and some modern lines. It worked out really well.

I'm not partial to porcelain sinks myself, but I have certainly seen pictures where kitchens with them are stunning. Seriously. We are very hard on our sinks. I didn't want anything that would chip, etc.

I guess I've always been a stainless kinda gal. I've learned you get what you pay for in stainless, and these two sinks set us back a pretty penny.

Here's another pic of the main sink.

Hi,

I am getting soapstone and prefer a top-mount sink too, for aesthetic reasons. I think for a period look the Kohler cast iron drop in sinks would work well with your countertop. All the models I've seen look really nice.

I have been planning for months on getting this Elkay double sink with drainboard. It's the retro look I love and I cook a lot and will use the drainboard for both washing dishes and chopping vegetables.

But I just started pondering same question as you about whether it will look strange to have a top mount with soapstone. And does it make sense to cover up the beautiful soapstone with a drainboard (which I will use)?

The only thing I hesitate on are the edges. I definitely prefer the microedge of the Blanco sink posted above so I may consider that--the flushmount look is great and I don't think anyone would mistake it for anything other than high end.

Regarding stainless steel: both Blanco and Elkay are high quality and they are supposed to be not so noisy than a cheaper stainless steel. Both my contractor and someone who works at a plumbing parts store told me I would never regret buying Elkay because of the quality. I've always had SS and never felt they were too noisy, or got too grubby.

Good luck. Thanks for posting this query. I joined just to post the same myself!

Here is a link that might be useful: Elkay top mount double bowl sink with drainboad

We currently have a, now discountinued, cast iron Kohler sink with a drainboard, and we like the drainboard a lot. So, my initial gut thought had been to look for one with a drainboard. Initially we had been planning to reuse this sink but the rethought that thinking we would be fools to invest that much money in countertops to install an odd-sized sink that could not be replaced if something happened to it.

The micro-edge does look lovely and we may yet end up with a stainless (even though I am more of the porcelain look person myself) solely because of some other issues we have with size constraints.

We too learned many years ago that you get what you pay for, and an initial larger investment upfront pays off in the long run. Perhaps some of those complaints about disgusting looking stainless sinks were from people with the really low end sinks.

Even though I know that the top mount sink came later than the era of my house, I too to seem to prefer them aesthetically. Perhaps it is because of the feeling they evoke of kitchens from a earlier era. It's too bad there isn't something similar to the microedge availabe in cast iron. OTOH, I can definitely also see the idea of thinking of my kitchen as not a period piece but as something that has evolved over the decades and has not been static set in one time. I'm sure the housewife who first coccupied it would have been thrilled to be able to upgrade portions of it to the latest technology like micro egde sinks.

We're getting soapstone countertops too! SO excited! And to make a long story short, we need a double sink that would fit in a 30" cabinet. We found a nice one, top mount, at Ikea. I ordered it and HOPING the quality of stainless steel is good. If your stainless steel is noisy it's easy to deaden the sound using spray foam or other insulation on the bottom of any sink. Top mount to me seems more sanitary for processing food, no inaccessible rim crack in the bowl where bacteria could get trapped. Undermounts are being sold to us in photos and magazines, but it's just a style. If you want to wipe food straight into the sink from a side cutting area, we can use cutting boards which straddle the sink. Stainless steel is very easy to sanitize, it's doesn't stain or chip, who cares if it scratches. The practical is the beautiful to me.

Jenny:

The people who are going to buy your house someday called. They want a large single bowl undermounted. Just thought you'd like to know.