Unlike you, an apron front sink was my one "must have". The reason I settled on a Rohl was that I just liked the look better than any of the others. To me, it looks more original.

There are irregularities and that is why they say not to cut your sink base until you have your Rohl in-hand. In hindsight, I should've sent my Rohl back and gotten another due to the variances in my sink. However, my contractor didn't tell me it was so out of wack until the granite was installed and I noticed the space between the counter and the top edge. In my mind, it was too late by then.

My contractor, who is really a skilled craftsman, said cutting the space and putting in supports under the sink was the hardest bit of construction he's ever done. And that says ALOT. FWIW, I think he did a superb job and definitely better than some I've seen. If you get a fireclay sink, make sure your contractor is aware of it and your cabinet guy is aware of it and that they are all onboard. They are definitely unique products to install.

Still, with the gap and everything, I wouldn't change it. I really like the look. As for the function, I couldn't say. We're still a week or so away from being in the kitchen.

Good luck.

Thanks Jeanar

Was wondering if there are big differences between the Rohl and the Whitehaus. Is the Whitehaus more free of irregularities? Is the quality of the fireclay different from the Rohl's?

I love my Shaw's. I strongly recommend not ordering online because of the irregularities and the very high costs of shipping (including shipping it back if there's a problem). I bought mine locally but rejected one at pickup.

I'm not familiar with Whitehaus. I looked at Kohler but I liked the chunkiness of the Shaw's better -- hard to explain, but IMO this is one place where chunky is good.

My cabinet installer spent a whole day on the sink install.

You need a deep sink base instead of a regular sink base. I'm not sure if a compact garbage disposal is necessary, but I have noticed that a lot of Shaw's owners have the ISE Evolution Compact disposal.

I really like mine!

I went with the Herbeau Lubron fireclay sink. I looked at the Shaw, but wanted a more flat sink for space reasons. The Herbeau measurements came in very close to the specs. It is a beautiful sink, but really expensive.

Haven't used it yet, but the 36" Whitehaus is sitting in my living room. It is the large bowl/small bowl model, same depth as my sink now (8 1/2") and was $910 off the net, w/free shipping (Home and Stone). I considered the Shaw, but really wanted 2 bowls, one smaller/one larger and their model was 39 1/2", too big for the space mine will go. After opening the box, I am not disapointed -- while I love the chunky look of the Shaw, I think this one will work fine for us.

Thanks everyone. I saw the Kohler Dickinson today at Ferguson's but they didn't have any fireclay sinks in the showroom. Will have to keep hunting.

We have the Franke/ Villeroy and Bosche. It's ok. I went with it because it was $500 less than the Shaw and that seemed like a lot at the time. It is not as chunky, or as big. The interior dimensions are similar (not quite as deep) but the overall sink is smaller-- only 27 instead of 30".
So far we like washing dishes in it, it's pretty...no real complaints, but I do think the shaw is just better looking.

Have Franke/ Villeroy and Bosche 36" double bowl. Huge sink takes all cookie pans, roasters for 20 turkey. The right side has the Viking Disposer. We got the SS grids for both and my wife loves them and the sink. Got the white and it is very elegant vs the Shaw which we looked at but wanted a double bowl that was large.

FWIW, we have the Kenmore compact disposal and used the Insinkerator flange extender. I was afraid the two wouldn't work together, but it worked out fine.