Bump - I am in a world of hurry and sure could use some help. In one day last week, my dryer stopped working, the hot water heater quit and the painter who was hired to paint my cabinets, remove wallpaper and paint - sold his company and stopped returning my calls. The kitchen ceiling is already down and I have about 2 weeks to get some things done. Which may drive some decisions...... I started with only a small cosmetic update - and you may identify with me that as we've gotten into it, it's grown. Anyway, IF I can decide on a farmhouse sink and could get delivery in about 2 weeks, I would love to have one. I have been reading this website for a couple of yrs and I know about lead times, but I'm just hoping someone could answer one question at least today. If I have my laminate countertop cut for a 33 x 22" sink which I have now, can I swap it for another sink later? I will have to live with top mount - no other choice at this late date. Any guidance would be seriously appreciated. By the way - here's what happened last week... - the kitchen designer showed up and found me a painter inside of 20 minutes who came over an hour later and bid $600 less on the job than the first guy, the hot water heater had the vacuum hose knocked off from a kid standing a piece of wood next to it and falling over - so fixed in literally 1 minute and the heating Co didn't charge me for stopping by, and mysteriously, the dryer is still limping along which is good because I really don't have time for it right now. I felt like I had the Divine Hand handling it all because I didn't even freak with 4 different trucks in the driveway and total chaos.

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.

Countertops are always made to order/ custom....no matter what he says about being pre-designed. They can do it. The reason they don't allow many changes is it then becomes a 'custom home' and custom homes require a lot more hand holding, project management and troubleshooting. A simple change or make one little thing custom, and it can hold up the job and cost him $. Building homes are getting more and more expensive....to keep his overhead down, selections are limited. My sister once wanted to have me supply her kitchen but the tract builder wouldn't budge. I get it. I get why they do that. Maybe the only way around it is to get the smallest sink you can....then get the larger sink cutout recut later with the sink you want. You might be able to find a place to do it in on site....but you may have to have the top removed and reinstalled. If i were you, I would tell the builder that his ugly double sink offerings are OUTDATED. Guilt him in to offering a larger more modern single sink like the one you pictured. Tell him that probably every job would pay the upgrade. Make him see dollar signs.

Fireclay is certainly more beautiful IMHO. But I like the ease of stainless, and being free of worrying about chips, cracks, wine stains, and boiling water. I was at the store yesterday looking at sinks, and my thoughts are identical to yours. A sink is -- first and foremost -- a workhorse, so I'm going with stainless steel ... even though I think a white fireclay sink is prettier. I don't like the Vigo apron front because the front is curved and thick. The big advantage of an apron front sink is the ergonomics of being able to stand right up against the sink, as opposed to an undermount sink where there is a strip of counter in front, which makes you have to bend slightly which can be uncomfortable over time for some people. But the Vigo apron front is curved and thick and so defeats the benefit of an apron front sink. That had not occurred to me. Thanks for this. I had no idea that was the benefit of a farmhouse apron sink. I might reconsider my choice now. Farmhouse sinks are great for us short people -- I barely scrape the bottom edge of 5' tall with my shoes on. We don't have to reach our short arms so far to reach into the sink, but don't take my word for it -- go to Lowes and pretend you're working at one of their sample sinks. You'll see whether you like them or not. i contacted kohler and their's is guaranteed for life against chips but yea i suppose if that happens i''ll be stuck paying to have the work done Yeah, having them replace a chipped sink is good, but having a sink that never chips in the first place is far superior! Even if they paid for the installation, you'll never find a convenient time to schedule workmen, clear out that portion of your kitchen, and miss a day of work while it's being done. A bounce-off question: Like I said above, I was at the store yesterday looking at farmhouse sinks ... and I notice that the cabinets underneath are noticeably shorter /a little harder to access. I'm sure it has to do with necessary support under the sink. Questions: - Assuming you're sold on the farmhouse sink, is this a worthwhile trade-off? - Is this shorty cabinet still enough for a garbage disposal? (You'd think I'd have thought of that question at the store.) - I'm thinking a pull-out shelf would work well here. Any experience with such a thing?