Couple things to look for in a "slab" sink (which would be where the sink is make out of a slab).

1: make sure the sink bottom is tapered toward the drain.
2: make sure the sink is tongue and grooved (The harder varieties you can't do this, well you can it just takes waaaayyyy way to long)
3: make sure the sink is out of the same slab lot as your counters so everything matches.
4. If you can have the same place that you are buying your stone make the sink. . . You may get a cheaper deal if they have stock sinks but they may not match perfectly.

You shouldn't have a problem with the sinks. Most guys that make them will guarantee them for life, we do, if they don't then worry about it. The bottom shouldn't be flat it should taper a bit (5/8 of an inch for us). If you have the right cabinet it is not too difficult to install. Build a cradle under the sink so that the sink sits on it, the top of the sink should be level with the top of the cabinets, NOT ABOVE!! Even below a bit is better than above because you can shim up the sink.

It does weigh a ton, well maybe just 200 lbs or so but I can sling them around by myself if it's not a double bowl although I wouldn't recommend it.

You could always get a block sink, which is one piece of stone. They are really heavy, but cool as well. Obviously slab sinks are less expensive.

I am the shop foreman for a soapstone and slate fabrication company and we build lots of soapstone(and slate for that matter) sinks at our facility. We build ours with rabbet and dado construction and slope the bottom of the sink so it drains properly. We are a custom shop, so we build whatever size and style of sink a customer wants. Our most common sinks are straight farm front sinks, although we have been getting more and more orders for Philadelphia front sinks. Philly front is a pitched front sink with the top of the sink front sticking out 2 inches farther than the bottom of the front. Our primary soapstone source is Green Mountain Soapstone, but we have a couple of other varieties of soapstone as well. Our sinks are water tested for a minimum of 24 hours and are guaranteed for life. I've been with our company for 2 years and have seen only 1 sink fail. A trim carpenter or someone else working on the house the sink was in stood inside the sink and cracked the bottom and front of the sink. I was going provide a link for our company, but I read a warning about companies doing that(they consider it advertising). So, I'll just say that there are companies out there that will ship a sink anywhere in the country. If you do an internet search, you will find someone. If you choose to build your own,(my boss would be angry about this one) you could let me know and I could try to give you step by step instructions for building one.

Hi
I have a 30x18x10 inch sink from Bucks County Soapstone. I have a basic farm sink base from my cab company. The Bucks County guys added some 2x4 supports running fron to back on each side of the cabinet when they installed it. They even cut out the front of the sink base for me because my jigsaw caught on fire that day when I was about to cut it out. It was not a big deal to do the support.

I can't imagine the sink ever leaking but I know BCS would fix any problems if they developed because of their great reputation and customer service. I would definitely make sure you buy it from a reputable dealer.

I love it however there are a few things to think about...

I broke a lot of dishes (particularly wineglasses) in it initially. If the glass fell over, it broke. So I measured the interior dimensions of the sink and bought a sink grid from Julien sinks on ebay which has solved the problem. Now the glasses only break when they fall into the side of the sink.

The edges of the sink do get beat up from washing large pots or whatever. I like the small dents and dings but some people make get disturbed when the edges are no longer perfect.

The corners do get a little gunky but I just use my sparayer and sponge to do a wipe. Not a big deal.

I occasionally wax/oil it to even out the color. The color really retains in the sink though from the grease in the foods.

Good luck. My sink will be around longer than me.

kevin flyguy, My DH & I are considering a diy counter and sink since there are no installers in our area. I would love to know how to make the sink, if you don't mind sharing.

We have a soapstone sink - all one piece, not slab, from M Tex installed 3 years ago. No leaking, no problems, easy to clean - nothing stains or even seems to stick to it. Just have the proper support cradle under it as mentioned above - we alerted our cabinet installers to this in advance.

The only thing I would reconsider today is the double bowl configuration. I prefer a 3/4, 1/4 format, which you don't really find in ss, so the next time I think I would have one large bowl instead, or would have the middle divider be a lot lower than the sides to have better clearance when working. I used one like that at someone else's home and loved it.

From the perspective of someone who has used one for several months, I think it's very simple to clean and maintain. I have used min.oil/wax on the front of mine and on the surrounding edges, but I leave the inside of the sink unoiled.

Unless I'm washing something large like cookie sheets, pizza pans, Dutch oven, etc. I do my hand dishwashing in a plastic Rubbermaid tub I keep under the sink. It saves water and helps cushion glasses and dishes.

As long as you have a spray that can rinse out the corners, you should be all set.

I have 2 100 year old ss sinks. They are pictured in the thread currently on this page about aged soapstone. I never oil the sinks. They are both slant fronts. The cabinets under them are standard wood cabinets and even the double bay which weighs 400 # has not been a problem. The sinks do have flat bottoms as they did not design them back then w/ a slope. I just wipe out and it has not been an issue at all. Good luck. You might want to look at Nor'east Architectural salvage's web site for great antique ss sinks. Fl joshua and Mimi are getting one I believe. Caroline

Thanks so much to you all for sharing such valuable information! I cannot wait to give the info over to my DH right when he walks in the door from work tonight! (Boy, is he gonna love this).

frances00...I just typed out a long e-mail to you and the found out you elected to not get e-mails through this forum. You can shoot me an e-mail through the forum and I will see what I can do to help you out. Forgive me if it takes a while to respond as I work all day and then when I get home my 2 year old boy wants to play.