I didn't put runnels in so I can't say how well they work. But I will say that the area around the sink does end up being a bit of a puddle at times, so maybe I should consider doing it after all.
I think they LOOK gorgeous, no matter how well they work.

- D

We have runnels on one side of our sink and a dish drain on the other. We use the runnels for draining produce and the dish drain holds our dishrack.

We LOVE them! What an enormous difference it's made, not having water pool up on the counter and not having to have towels laid out.

Hi there - we haven't had our soapstone counters fabricated yet, but are thinking about doing a recessed drainboard instead of runnels. We saw a sample in the fabricator's showroom and really liked the look. HTH

Thanks for the posts! Would having runnels mean you have to have a negative reveal for sink or would it be okay to have a positive reveal?

Farmhouse bound, I was getting ready to post the same question myself. I also have a question for Brook and elizpez, I am ashamed to admit I don't know about the recessed drainboard. what is it and how does it work? I am assuming you both like it? Any help (as always) is appreciated...

We have soapstone with runnels. I lcve the way they look, but mine only function so-so. Ours are 16" long and only about 1/8" deep at the sink side. So, be sure of what you are getting. Had I known to ask, I would have requested that they be 'deeper' to cause more of a slope. As it is now, it does direct the water from the counter toward the sink and certainly prevents it from spreading on the counter.

Does anybody know what a good depth for runnels is?

I have the recessed drainboard, and would do it again in a heartbeat. I am very pleased with it because I don't like having more damp towels around than necessary.

Go for it- you won't regret it.

Zelmar has a recessed drainboard on both sides of the sink, I think. The slope is minimal and does not interfere with other uses for the counter. Are runnels and recessed drainboards workable in other countertop materials, like IKEA butcher block?

Jenna here are two photos that might help: one is with a recessed drainboard with runnels, the other is simply recessed. Another way to describe it might be to say that the drainbaord is on an angle sloping down towards the sink, and actually cut into the soapstone. As mentioned we haven't had our soapstone fabricated yet but plan to do the recessed. The sample counter we saw was actually more of a dramatic angle than these two photos. HTH
{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

my soapstone drainboard took a lot of work...

but it was totally worth it, I love the thing, and it's being used multiple times a day.

Here is a link that might be useful: Drainboard, Phew!

staticfritz - love your drainboard! What kind of reveal do you have on your kitchen sink? One pic looked like possibly a very small positive reveal, then another negative. What type of reveal would you recommend for the drainboard application? I think I like your drainboard look better than the runnels and think maintenance would be easier. Thanks for posting.

Thanks!

it's a very slightly positive reveal of about 1-2mm, just to get past the tiny bevel at the very top of the sink. a good clear silicone seal between the stone and the sink has been easy to clean, and nothing gets caught in there.

I went with the drainboard for that exact reason, i was making some test runnels in a scrap piece, and they just seemed like they'd be such a pain to clean.

this is easy to wipe down with the rest of the counter, and can be oiled just as easily.

We have the Rohl 3719 - it's 36 inches with two bowls.

The soapstone overlaps the sink edge (is that a 'negative' reveal?!) I wanted to be able to wipe off the counter into the sink without crumbs catching on the sink edge.

The runnels DO contain the water and keep it from spreading on the counter. I guess I was thinking that they would channel the water more actively into the sink. But now that I have used it more - I realize that probably wasn't realistic, the runnels would be too deep. As they are now, they are very easy to keep clean. The runnels don't require any special maintenance and the only extra wiping I do around the sink is if I splash while rinsing or spraying dishes.

HTH

I absolutely LOVE my runnels! Mine work very well at channeling the water into the sink, but I think they are cut at a much more significant slope than ricklish's. I don't have any issue with mess accumulating there. I would call my reveal neutral or, perhaps, ever so slightly negative. Here's a close-up of them oiled and before the first oiling.

ricklish and holligator - Thank you both so much for the pics! However, you have now gotten me into a quandry as I thought I liked the drainboard better but also like how y'all's turned out. I guess the best thing would be to discuss with the fabricators and go from there!

That's why we did both -- runnels on one side and the drainboard on the other. And I have to say, they are both incredibly useful. But if I had to choose, hands-down I'd go with the drainboard. Our runnels funnel the water back into the sink, but a nice, big drainboard is just the easiest for wiping down into the sink.

Wait, I guess it depends what your use will be. We keep our dishrack in the drainboard all the time -- it never gets put away. I just lift up the dishrack, wipe out the drainboard and plop!, back goes the dishrack. Easy peasy.

But we're a dishrack family. If you have just the odd pot or pan you handwash, then runnels might be a better way to go ....

But I really love both of them!

Oh yeah, we have a slight negative reveal as well, for precisely the reasons mentioned above (so crumbs go into the sink, not onto the lip of the sink).