We have the Dickinson and have been very happy with it. But, Johnliu really did say it best. After drooling over the Rohl I realized I didn't want to shred my nerves over a sink or anything else anymore. I've seen 30 year old cast iron sinks that lived in households with 5 kids and they looked fine. DH all by himself can be the equivalent of 5 kids in the kitchen so I figured I was okay with the Dickinson. Bottom line, I guess, is "know thyself" (as well as the habits of others who will use the sink) and choose accordingly.

Thank you rubyvine for your post. I appreciate your interest in my sink. It is beautiful and I was hoping someone could use it. I am surprised that your cab guys can't make the change... My husband works with a cabinet guy that said just removing the drawer front on the sink base and creating a support for the sink's weight is all it would take. But I am sure your guys have their own reasons. Thanks again!

Thank you, everyone. We are meeting with the builder tomorrow and I am going to do that "point and ask." I want to hear their suggestions and remedies. My biggest problem now is that I doubt I can get another granite slab to replace this countertop if anything happens while trying to put in a new sink. We picked 2 consecutive numbered slabs for the kitchen after we looked at all the others in the lot. The 2 we picked were very well matched in color tone and movement but the others all looked a bit off from what we wanted. Advertguy, it isn't a dent, but a scratch in the glazing and I can feel it by running my fingernails across the surface. I will have to say that the plumber was definitely not superman but had a super big gut. The picture I have is of him leaning across the sink to adjust the pull out on the faucet and then swiveling to reach a tool. It's putting a shiver up my spine just thinking about it.

"Would the owners have any recourse with the original installer? I can't imagine they're the only ones who have had this trouble with them..." After speaking to the company and being told that "we never rod", I had a homeowner take the removed rod into their showroom with a video of me removing it once. The company promised a new top after the homeowner spent $700.00 having me fix the old one, but I doubt they offered reimbursement. I blame the builders for this. As a fabricator, you could have an ongoing relationship with builder for years, then get called into the office and told to lower your prices or you were out; they have someone new. You're going to start looking for things to cut, so you buy cold steel instead stainless for rodding and "save" 50% by buying polyester instead of epoxy for bedding those rods. Strapping sinks takes a bit longer for a more expensive installer than Jimmy drilling inserts at the shop. And let's not stop at the builders. Homebuyers love that the more cheaply done countertops have freed up budget for those nicer window treatments. I doubt the lady at this job has much recourse, but she did tell me all the homes in this development, $1,000,000.00 +, probably had the same fabrication sub. Even if the rod doesn't blow, they still have a nasty, gunky, unsanitary, un-cleanable sink flange right where they're prepping family food. Such is the importance of proper sink detailing that I keep ranting about. Good job security for me, but it hurts our industry