skip to main content

Integrated Concrete Farmhouse/Prep Sink

11 years ago

I'll be making our countertops and sink for the new kitchen (not a huge undertaking, less than 35sqft of counter surface) out of concrete. A daunting task, to be sure, but I have significant background in casting (metal and clay) and ceramics and plaster work, so I know how to think in negatives and I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty.

If you're poising those typing fingers to dissuade me from doing this, I'll save you the trouble now. I understand all the pros and cons and it is the only material that is as customizable as I want it. Folks in the bathroom forum found out what happens when you try to discourage me from doing crazy over-the-top projects...10,000 hand painted glass tiles later, it's kitchen time.

I would like the wise cooks and kitcheneers in this forum to give me an honest technical assessment of this plan. What we're looking at is this:

36" wide "shorty" cabinet on which the sink will sit

Left basin is 19" square (so I can soak a cookie sheet) and will have a food disposal.

Right basin is 12" wide and 16 1/2" front to back.

Left side counter is a drainboard into the sink.

Right side counter has an inset cutting board (removeable) that slides over the little sink to reveal a hole in the countertop, underneath of which is the pull-out garbage can. So, veggies etc are washed in the little sink and then set on the cutting board that is on the right. When that step is done, the cutting board is slid to the left and chopping commences - and waste is easily tossed down the hole with no need for a garbage bowl or pulling the can out.

Two detail considerations: the bottoms of both sinks will be clad in copper (embedded in the concrete) so they're a little easier on dishes and the sink stays nice. The garbage hole in the counter will have a removable metal liner/flange that can be quickly rinsed when it gets icky (which it invariably will...my guy is a machinist so this is a super easy thing for him to make).

Again, we start with a Sketch-up model (forgive me for the simple shapes - the drainboard will have rails and the basins will be appropriately tapered). The concrete colors are not decided officially, I just made the counter black and the sink gray for ease of understanding the two units:

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (8)

CEFreeman
11 years ago
Pretty cool.

You seem to have it under control. The only question I'd have is if you're right or left handed. That determines a lot for me when I do things.

I find I prep next to the stove on the right, and my right, chopping elbow doesn't bump hot pans.
I find I prep next to the sink on the left of it, where I can slide garbage into the bowl with the disposer in it.

Wish you were around me! I'd love to learn how to do this for my guest bath. I can't find any stone that speaks to me and have entertained the idea, but have no experience or courage!

I'm looking forward to seeing your pictures.
twodogs_sd
11 years ago
I like the idea. I can't tell if the following things are just because of the limitations of the sketching program (nor do I know if they are issues or just oddities I am calling out):

Along the top of the right side, you have the right-angle along the top that receives the cutting board. That may be a grunge catcher (and hard to clean out once grungy). I think you could have a rounded edge that would achieve the same purpose but be easier to keep clean, although I don't know if it's feasible with the material.

I didn't notice this initially, but now that I have, it bugs me more and more (and I am not sure I will describe this right). The right hand sink has that top piece, which puts it in a different plane. Furthermore, the left hand sink juts out while the right hand doesn't (a different vertical plane). As I said, those disparities didn't bug me initially, but I don't think they would even be noticeable if the top "plane" wasn't a darker color in your pics. I don't know if you intend to have 2 colors, but I might recommend you avoid it unless you wanted to call out those plane differences.
Related Discussions
Apron/Farmhouse Sink- worth it?
Q
Comments (28)
The idea of a double sink, I think, is that each side can be used for different tasks. Wash dishes in one, wash veggies in the other. Defrost meat in one, soak pots in the other. Etc. However, for me this is like saying two hands are better than one, because you can use one hand to rub your belly and the other to pat your head. It just isn't a common ''use case'', you see. In my so-called-life, a double sink always gets used as follows. Dirty dishes are piled in one side, and everything else gets done in the other. So, at the end of the day, it's like having a single sink plus a pile of dirty dishes. Now, dirty dishes are a fact of life, so maybe it's not the worst thing for them to have a snug, welcoming home. But I find that extending hospitality to detritus comes at a price, which is that the side of the sink that actually gets used is Just Too Small. Which is, too small to soak the half sheet pan that got black goober scorched all over it. Too small to wash two stockpots at once. Too small to bathe the new puppy. I would far prefer one Great Big Sink. You can always put a square plastic tub in it, should you ever really need a multi-chambered vessel. Better yet, a Great Big Sink and a Useful Little Sink somewhere else. Even better, my fantasy of a stainless steel darkroom sink, six feet long and two feet wide and only six inches deep, an endless counter that can be flooded with water and hosed down as needed. Add a deep end and a diving board, and Olympic Barbie has her swimming pool. On a perhaps more practical note, my friend has a sink I covet. It is a slab-built slate farmhouse sink extending all the way to the wall, with wall-mount faucet. Without taking up much counter width, it can swallow a half sheet pan with room to spare. Compared to a ''standard'' sink, she loses only the ledge of counter between sink and backsplash, which has to be the least useful part of a kitchen counter.
...See More
Seeking layout advice, please for old farmhouse kitchen
Q
Comments (6)
First of all, THANK YOU for taking the time to read this, look at my plan, and assist me. In response to some of the questions/comments... The right side that desertsteph mentioned not being able to see/read on the drawing - right now there is a large old butcher block table there, with 3 wall cabs and some shelves above. We do not use the table - it basically collects junk. I think that area could be used much more efficiently. Yes, this is mostly "steamlining and prettying up"! I'm not opposed to changing things *if* it really makes sense to do it but am not looking to change things just for the sake of change. I think I have a good base and there is no need to tear it all out and start from scratch. I just want to be sure that I am making the most efficient and effective decisions. I was thinking of putting another oven beside the refrigerator; it seems like the easiest place for a new appliance. I do have a floor-to-ceiling pantry that holds a ton of stuff. If I don't put in a second oven, the space beside the refrigerator would probably be a combo of deep drawers and a good sized pantry cabinet, and/or some kind of built-in microwave as right now we have a countertop MW that just sits on an old dresser! The floor is pine planks - very pretty, warm color - all the first floor floors are the same material, and it will remain. The hall door sees the least traffic, so it seems like the cook center is already in the best place given that I need to keep 5 doors into this space. The space between the island and the kitchen table is basically a corridor to the living room, so that needs to stay clear. I briefly considered a new countertop with an overhang on that side but the overhang would make my existing top drawers unusable, so I ruled that out. We do not have an entry room or mudroom at this entrance to the house; there is a brick patio outside this door. Our laundry room is as long as the kitchen but about 6 ft wide; part of this is a half bath, some is laundry, and the rest is storage and "mud room" functions. There is a lot packed into that little space but it works pretty well. I have aspirations of building a covered stoop at the back since we do use this entrance all the time, but that will be a few years away. I don't think our site setbacks would allow a full mudroom or entry here. I like the shelf above the cabinets too, although I'm not much of a collector, so I don't know what to put up there. I'm short so it is too high for me to access for storage, and works as display only. I'm having outlets installed above the shelf as part of this project so I can install lighting up there to light the ceiling. My finish plan is: *keep the floors *cover the ceiling with an anaglyptic wallcovering that looks like tin tiles which will be painted white *install crown mold all around, painted white *paint the cabinets white, add a "light rail" piece of trim to the bottoms, switch out the hinges with something less obtrusive, change the pulls on the drawers to bin pulls, and change the door pulls to new ORB/white porcelain pulls *paint the wainscot and trim (now blue) dark brown, picking up on the darkest brown tones of the floor and the dark brown fleck in the laminate countertop *paint the walls a very light cream/yellow (BM Pearly Gates, I think) *I'd hoped to replace the countertop to the left of the range with Corian to match what's on the right. It's probably 20 years old and it looks great, but this CT is so old that I am having trouble matching it. I am still looking at options here - would like to use something white/light colored but have also considered the Ikea butcher block for economy reasons, although I am not sure I am up to that DIY project *I bought subway tile for the backsplash at the range, but I have to replace the CTs first because they are not currently at the same height (only a fraction of an inch off, but against the lines of the tile it will be really evident) I guess my biggest question is - is it worth it to consider moving the sink? Would I gain the same benefit by undermounting a new sink at the existing location on the island and having a butcher block piece made to cover half of it to expand the prep area? That would certainly be less expensive, but would it be as effective as the combination of a main sink and a prep sink? I appreciate your time and your thoughts. Thanks for your help!
...See More
Prep sink to compliment farmhouse main sink?
Q
Comments (3)
I don't like Corian. My sinks don't feel like plastic or corian. Yes, it is a composite material, but I'm not sure somebody would walk up to it and say "ooouuhhgg it's composite." They look metallically, silvery gray and wear like iron. If your mindset is that composite equals fake, then they aren't for you. Frankly, sometimes composite materials are better, IMHO, than natural. YMMV. And this is coming from someone who makes the huge majority of her food from scratch with organic and locally-sourced ingredients so natural matters to me. My cabinets were made by Cornerstone Cabinetry, a one-man shop in Buckley. His quote equaled or was better price wise and included much more than quotes I received elsewhere for semi-custom cabinets. My cabs were made without fillers and included end panels without extra charge. I received personal attention, hand holding, and patience with last minute changes as the cabs were being made that I doubt you'd receive from a big box store or many other places. After experiencing a custom shop and products, I can't believe I would have been happy with anything else.
...See More
Farmhouse sink or undermount?
Q
Comments (33)
I'm reviving one of my old threads with some progress. I managed to pick up a 36" Kraus Stainless Steel sink on Woot for $200, so thtat is what we are going with. We found that we can get some good stock size windows, and use the same trim style I put up in the rest of the downstairs and it will look something like this Here is the trim I from the dining room I just finished: Here is the island that we put in the kitchen, doors were added later and can't find the good pic... Couple of the cool features... First is the step for my daughter. The drawer uses heavy duty self closing slides. It locks in place, and she can slide out the step piece. The other is the pull out pot racks: I actually had two threads on kitchen design. We had a few things we would run up against. The fridge cannot be moved due to several issues. Also the fact that my wife was dead set against several "good" layouts. We ended up taking several ideas and notes from those threads and came up with what we have now. The island ended up a LITTLE bigger than we wanted, but we have 40" inches between the dishwasher and island, as well as the fridge and island. I was hoping for 48" on the other sides, but I think I ended up with 42 and 44" Overall it's not bad. The only issues we've had is that if the fridge door is open all the way we can't walk past, the kids fit fine ;) We finally finished the one side of the kitchen, and hope to start the rest very soon...
...See More
User
11 years ago
The only suggestions that I have for you is to practice, practice, practice. It's a lot harder than it looks on TV and your previous casting experience will only help so much as it's has much different properties than either metal or clay. Your experience there can actually bite you if you don't make several practice runs to get the mix and molds correct. You'll also need an actual concrete mixer if you don't want to end up with tendonitis and be out of commission for a year's time. (Experience talking here.) Harbor Freight has one for about $400 that will work great and that's better money spent than renting one for $200 for two weekends in a row and paying extra for having put integral colorant in the hopper. (It's a lot harder to get the color out, and they'll charge you extra to clean it.)

You'll also want to use the fibers to reinforce the concrete and the plasticisers to reduce the amount of water needed. Concrete shrinks when it cures, and you need all of that stuff to not have cracks develop and for it to have enough strength to support it's weight. It's also better logistics to divide the projects into distinct sections that can be actually handled and then just color epoxy them together in place. You don't have as much risk of cracking, or in getting a hernia.

Speaking of weight, a lot of cabinets may be able to handle granite weight, but concrete counters are typically thicker and heavier than granite, so you may want to look at re-inforcing them before you begin the project. Especially if they are the typical inexpensive box store style framed cabinets with the 1/8" back and 3/8" sides.
marcolo
11 years ago
Looks like an absolutely miniscule amount of prep space, unless you have more counter to the right.
bill102
11 years ago
I question the size of the left basin. Nineteen square seems tight to me. My sink will be 18 x 27 single bowl which will handle a full size cookie sheet. If your largest pan is smaller than 19 square, I say go for it.

Bill
bill102
11 years ago
I question the size of the left basin. Nineteen square seems tight to me. My sink will be 18 x 27 single bowl which will handle a full size cookie sheet. If your largest pan is smaller than 19 square, I say go for it.

Bill
cloudbase
Original Author
11 years ago
CEFreeman - All good considerations! The only change from what I'm used to working with now is that the drainboard is on the opposite side of the sink to where I'm used to setting my dishes. Since this is a new kitchen in a new apartment, I'll be adapting to everything else anyhow, so I don't forsee it being a problem.

Twodogs - All the features will be rounded so there are no "crud catchers" including rounding the cutting board to fit in the rounded lip on the counter. I could model it that way in the program, but I am lazy and it would take too long for what it's worth - sorry for the confusion.

I understand what you're describing about the different planes - it's the best compromise I could come up with to keep both my sliding cutting board and my apron front sink. It also simplifies the sink casting so that the complex lip edge is built into the countertop instead. I think of it as the apron announcing "this is the sink area" and the encroaching countertop on the right is just a fancy feature.

Hollysprings - Thanks for the informative post! I plan on doing four big pieces: the island, the sink, and the long run in two separate sections split by the sink. Our cabinets are being custom built out of quality plywood, and I had a long discussion with the cabinetmaker about considerations for the countertop - they are plenty sturdy.

Marcolo - I have a 12.5' run of base cabinets plus a little home plate shape next to the stove in the island (I am considering doing that spot in walnut butcher block - thoughts?). Here's the sink in context of the larger kitchen (with an older sink version, but you can see the garbage drop):

Bill - That's intense! You can wash a FULL sheet pan - industrial baking size. That wouldn't even fit in my oven. Standard cookie sheets (a "half" sheet pan - thanks Wikipedia!) are 18" long, so 19" should be plenty. The the interior of my oven is 24"x18" so it's feasible that I could buy and use a pan longer than 19", but that would probably be a once-a-year sort of thing (I use cookie sheets much, much, much more often).

A lousy picture of the delicious walnut veneer that will wrap around the slab frameless doors:

What's installed so far:
beaglesdoitbetter1
11 years ago
We had two concrete sinks made for our house by a concrete artist. I LOVE my concrete sinks. HOWEVER:

1) The sink for our upstairs bathroom does not really drain. You must be very carefully w/ getting the perfect slope for the drain and doing it in a way that still looks right when you are making your sink. The guy who made our sink has been doing concrete work for years and he may need to remake the sink because of this issue.

2) The sink in our kitchen is starting to discolor slightly. This is after one month of living here. We have softened water and two water filters (whole house). We barely cook, the sink is wiped out after every use AND our housekeeper thoroughly cleans the sink three times a week w/ all natural soap and water. And it is still discoloring. So, be aware. We don't really mind this b/c it is in the bottom of the sink and it is just turning a different brown (it is a sort of tan sink). But it is noticeable.

Related Stories

KITCHEN DESIGN Kitchen Counters: Try an Integrated Cutting Board for Easy Food Prep

By Christine Tusher

Keep knife marks in their place and make dicing and slicing more convenient with an integrated butcher block or cutting board

KITCHEN SINKS Everything You Need to Know About Farmhouse Sinks

By Anne Ellard Design

They’re charming, homey, durable, elegant, functional and nostalgic. Those are just a few of the reasons they’re so popular

KITCHEN DESIGN Clever Extras for a Perfectly Personalized Kitchen Sink

By Mary Jo Bowling

Streamline cooking prep and cleanup with integrated sink racks, baskets, inventive cutting boards and more

KITCHEN DESIGN Butcher Block Makes the Cut for Holiday Kitchen Prep

Countertops and cutting boards will likely take a beating over the holidays. These butcher blocks have the chops to perform under pressure

KITCHEN DESIGN The Return of the High-Back Farmhouse Sink

By Janell Beals - House of Fifty

See why this charming and practical sink style is at home in the kitchen and beyond

KITCHEN DESIGN How to Choose the Best Sink Type for Your Kitchen

By Jennifer Ott Design

Drop-in, undermount, integral or apron-front — a design pro lays out your sink options

PRODUCT PICKS Guest Picks: 20 Ways to Add Farmhouse Style

By Kelly Donovan

Get the Rustic Look with Reclaimed Wood, Apron Sinks and Pieces Rich in Character

KITCHEN DESIGN 8 Ways to Configure Your Kitchen Sink

By Jennifer Ott Design

One sink or two? Single bowl or double? Determine which setup works best for you

FARMHOUSES Kitchen of the Week: Renovation Honors New England Farmhouse’s History

By Becky Harris

Homeowners and their designer embrace a historic kitchen’s quirks while creating a beautiful and functional cooking space

KITCHEN DESIGN 15 Farmhouse Kitchens That Made Us Swoon This Month

By Mitchell Parker

Raw wood, natural light, shiplap siding — we just couldn’t get enough of these farmhouse-style kitchens uploaded to Houzz in January

Sponsored

More Discussions

Before and after

9

hello , what are your thoughts on two tone countertops?

5

kitchen countertops

2

Kith cabinets? They look great and well made?

4

Need help with kitchen remodel

1