Please tell me about your fireclay sink . . .

14 years ago

Trying to decide between the 30 inch Whitehaus and the Shaw's. They are both lovely. Please correct me if I'm wrong but have read that the Shaw's is handmade and can be a little bit off perfect square, but the Whitehaus is not handmade and does not have the "eccentricity" of the Shaw -- is that correct? If you have a Shaw, did it present any special challenges? Was it acceptably square? Any suggestions for how/where to order either one? I talked to my GC and he has installed them before and is familiar with the requirements for the custom scribing and the support. I'm just trying to decide between the two . . .

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Comments (9)

datura-07
14 years ago
I'm trying to decide on mine too. I had ordered a Franke Orca in SS but not sure if I want SS now. Thought about the Silgranite but read a post where someone has repllaced two and now has chips - that would be my luck. Franke has the same sink design (Orca) in the fireclay. What is it and how does it wear??? thanks for any help.
pinch_me
14 years ago
I ran across a Belle Foret brand of farm sink. I had never heard of that brand but truth to tell, I haven't been looking at sinks until now. Any opinions on that brand?
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I admit I don't have a sink grid(would never had even known what that was before reading this forum) and I have once or twice used a bleach product minimally but i now have "crazing" on ny Shaw's Fireclay sink. I bought it two years ago for the looks but had no idea this could happen. There are many hairline cracks all over the bottom of the sink and honestly didn't know to make sure my plumber did not overtighten the flange, as some have warned here. Rohl's will not replace it since it's outside the 1 year warranty-I wish I had paid better attention to the sink earlier because it's possible that the cracks were there within the one year timeframe. Even if Rohl's were willing to replace it though, I'm not sure I'd want to deal with re-installing. I guess I'm just going to live with it like this as long as it doesnt' cause any real problems like leaking. So, unless you won't mind dealing with these possible issues, I would not recommend this type of sink despite how charming it looks.
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I'm using the Moen Level faucet. It is nstalled at the center of my sink and reaches the offset drain just fine. I realize this faucet is totally different from your desired faucet but I just posted to show you that a faucet with a different shape can reach the drain just fine. Here is a link that might be useful: Moen Level This post was edited by itsallaboutthefood on Wed, Jul 17, 13 at 15:53
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Hi gr82bgrammy (LOVE your username by the way), The Formica basalt slate was in our old kitchen. I agree that the sink looks just perfect with it. It's a Blanco double sink, the material is silgranit which tons of people rave about (just run a search for silgranit). The colour is anthracite which is black with a few speckles of grey. It cleans like a dream, hardly ever looks dirty. For our new kitchen, we bought the same Blanco silgranit sink, only a single bowl variety and in the Biscuit colour because our granite is light coloured. I heard the Anthracite looks "clean" longer than the Biscuit. If you have other questions, let me know!
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Added to what others have said... the corner in the lower right is going to feel like a cave with the tall fridge so close to it, and the wall cabinet will be mostly out of reach unless you're quite tall. I agree that losing the corner cabs and the bottom of the U and making this be a galley kitchen might be a better option. Questions: Are you wedded to the idea of the tall pantry cabinet? It would be much easier to juggle appliances if it could be a normal base + wall. I know you have a shortage of storage here but the tall cab may not be the best way to solve the problem. How many people in the household, and how many cooks at once? If you only have 2 people you might be able to fit a small semi-circular table (even a dropleaf) against that big window at the top of the plan, with stools that slip underneath when not in use. As a previous poster said, a standard 30" wide table just isn't going to fit. Then again, with only 2 people, why such a big fridge? Consider dropping down in size even as far as an apartment size fridge. I would try losing the cabinetry at the bottom of the U, then on the left wall, left to right, have counter/sink/counter/fridge: on the right wall, left to right: counter/range-oven/counter. All counter sections could have wall cabinets above them. You could have a large counter area one side or other of the range, and a short setdown section the other side. You'd even have your sink under a window. Dishwasher left or right of the sink, as desired. On the wall around the window at the bottom of the plan, there could be narrow storage like spice racks, pot lid racks, or pegboard for holding all kinds of stuff. The arrangement I just described is very similar to an 8' x 8' kitchen I lived with for 13 years, including cooking a sitdown meal for 18 people, and lots of baking and family cooking. It works best for 1 cook but you can fit 2 in if you're friendly :)
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labradoodlemom
14 years ago
There was recently another thread similar to this one. You may want to look back and try to find it.

In any case, I did a ton of research and ended up going with the Shaw's sink. I looked at many of the common brands and always kept going back to the classic style of the Shaw single bowl fireclay. But, the deciding factors were a few:

1) Home & Stone (recommended by other GWers) had a great price, great return policy, and great shipping options,

2) Shaw's has warranties that are much better than some of the other brands. Belle Foret was one sink style (and price) that I liked, but the company doesn't have a direct contact number and after TONS of phone calls, I came to find out that they don't warranty the sink AT ALL! I'm not spending my hard-earned money on something that isn't warrantied or doesn't come from a company w/ good (or any) customer service.

3.) My cabinet maker said he's installed many farmhouse sinks and he thinks the Shaw's are the extremely reliable, even though they have sometimes imperfect shapes. But, a good cabinet maker should be able to work with handcrafted sinks and still make it look great!

So, Shaw's it was. I'm about a month away from installing and using mine, but, I love what I see in the box!

HTH!
rococogurl
14 years ago
Four years with the Shaw's now. I still adore it. It's the best sink I've ever had. Yes, it is handmade. Here's a link to the English site which has a ton of info. It's sold here through Rohl.

Mine has a very complex upmount and is set in stainless counters. No issues at all.

However, this has become a generic style and there are many brands available.

Here is a link that might be useful: Shaws of Darwen
bitsya
14 years ago
I have a 30' Whitehaus. According to the literature on the site, they are handmade and yes, there can be 'eccentricities.' They do advise to have the sink on site prior to constructing your sink cabinet because of this.
Our contractor has installed these before and had no problems, but it was necessary to make adjustments in the cabinetry to accommodate the sink.

I bought mine from Blue Bath's Ebay store; paid $599.

And I love it...here's the one I have.

Here is a link that might be useful: Blue Bath
pirula
14 years ago
I fell in love with the Shaw in 1993 while living in India and reading British design magazines. Yeah. So I didn't even consider another brand. There certainly didn't seem to be this many options available when I was shopping five years ago anyway.

Yes, it is handmade, yes it is slightly "not quite perfect" but you only notice it at installation, if at all, which can be a bit tricky. It just depends. I love mine, so glad I have it. Wouldn't have anything else.

Ivette
ebse
14 years ago
I also love my shaw's... for those of you with shaw's, do you experience draining issues? It's not such a huge deal, but I get a bit of pooling on the left side of mine and wonder if it's normal.

I just make sure that all the water drains at night when we are done with the sink.
pirula
14 years ago
I don't get a pool, but the left side does stay wetter longer, drains slower. But does eventually drain and dry completely.
Circus Peanut
14 years ago
Like Bitya, I have the Whitehaus, albeit the plain front version, ordered online from Blue Bath. (Excellent experience with them, by the way.)
Love it, love the quality, and it drains perfectly. Part of this is the skill of the carpenter who sets it in for you, and this is likely a tad easier for the Whitehaus since they're more regular in shape. But Shaw's are gorgeous, too - at any rate I went for the money-saving option of Whitehaus and haven't regretted it.

Please tell me about your fireclay sink . . .

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datura-07

pinch_me

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