Wow! That is one big "flaw"! Can't believe Blanco blew you off like that. I can't help you, I'm afraid, just wanted to commiserate.

Contact Blanco back and ask to speak to a district manager. I would want it replaced or if they still say they will replace if it fails, I would want it in writing that they will pay for the labor at that point.

I would not want to install that sink. It's not worth the trouble of the possible failure. Even if Blanco makes you whole on the installation, what if the failure provokes other problems- like with your cabinets. You paid for a perfect sink and you either get one from Blanco or you choose a new sink.

My advice, worth what you paid for it ;-)

Blanco is correct; there's nothing wrong with that sink. It's the nature of the beast. If the sink is strapped in place with a Hercules Universal Sink Harness or a Sink Strap it will take an hour and a quarter to change if I do it, you'll be done within two, tops.

I've seen worse looking. That never had an issue once installed. It's the inside that counts. The outside can be pretty ugly.

No, not acceptable. What is wrong with the people on this thread who say it is acceptable? I've had 3 Silgranit sinks and all 3 came flawless out of the box.

I would never order this item through a KD. I always bought mine through Blanco-certified online sellers. They all came packed with multi layers of styrophome. The markup on this sink with a KD must be big. That markup is supposed to cover after-sale service. What I gathered from your post is that you didn't speak with Blanco, your KD spoke with Blanco (or the KD's supplier of the sink, more than likely, not Blanco itself), and you see how they are covering their butt. Call Blanco directly yourself. Blanco is known for their customer service.

ETA: Blanco customer service: 877-425-2626

Thanks for all your comments. I could have ordered the sink from amazon for cheaper but thought KD would be less hassle. Anyway I have told them that I will not accept the product and would like a replacement. I have also contacted Blanco directly as well.

These are plastic sinks with quartz filler. The plastic shrinks when it's curing. Not a big deal. I would install this sink for a customer without a second thought.

"These are plastic sinks with quartz filler"

Joseph is wrong.

SILGRANIT consists of 80% natural granite. The granite is combined with an acrylic matrix, ceramic and colour pigments. It resists scratches, stains, chips and heat up to 536° F. It is also resistant to acids & alkalis, easy to maintain, and colored all the way through.

Composite sinks may be 80 percent granite, but what matters is that they are encased in a plastic/epoxy resin binder. You know the old saw about a chain being only as strong as its weakest link. That is the situation here.

Miranda33:

Dig a little deeper and I'm fairly sure you'll find that these sinks, like engineered stone, are given percentages by weight, not by volume. So a 93% quartz top (by weight) really only makes up about 66% of the sheet. The rest is plastic too.

Silegranite may grind up granite to make their sinks, but I can assure you they're making more work for themselves if so because they'd have to remove the feldspar, iron, and other impurities in the process to get to the quartz.

What do you think "acrylic matrix" is? It's plastic, just as I said.

Joseph:

I don't know why you want to spin it this way, but Silgranit is 80% granite. Blanco holds seven exclusive patents for Silgranit, so if they are obfuscating the actual makeup of the sink, how are they getting the patents for the product. They are not "plastic sinks with quartz filler". And please, do not respond with "the logical fallacy of relevance, ad hominem circumstantial" the way you always do when someone has the courage to disagree with you. That phrase is a useful tool to you because it always shuts the conversation down. Just because you use a latin phrase, doesn't make you right.

The topic of this thread is about whether the pictured sink is acceptable. The OP paid good money for the sink, and Blanco makes sinks that arrive to the customer flawless. Yet you, speaking as a contractor, say she should accept it. According to you, she should accept a flawed sink for which she paid more than what she could have if she bought it herself online. Regardless of what you say the sink is made of, the OP should have received a perfect sink because that is what she paid for.

This is interesting to me on an academic, not personal, level. Joseph, others,

Am I understanding your posts?

1. the quartz/plastic sink is encased in pure plastic.
2. The plastic casing sometimes shrinks in curing
3. The casing shrinkage does not/ should not affect the integrity of the quartz/plastic sink body?

It's not a casing. It's the thinner batter for the granite flour. Fold in the ground up rock flour, and mix, press the dough in a mold under pressure. The plastic is integral to the unit as a whole. The front side is what has to pass quality control. It's the part that has to physically work. That's the side that needs to be ''perfect''. The back can be ugly, often IS, and it does not affect performance. This is like someone rejecting a brand new car because the undercoat on the bottom side of the body was blobbed on a bit ugly in places. It's not pretty, but it will still do the job it's intended to do.

Only your plumber will see it. No one is going to judge you because the underside of your sink isn't pretty. No sink under side is pretty. Although there's a few in this thread that seem like they would judge, simply because something that doesn't need to be, isn't ''perfect'' to their standards, not the company standards. If it passes QC, it is acceptable, and it's fine.

80% by weight translates to about 50% by volume. Standard industry marketing BS done by all of the companies, and started by the quartz marketers. Consumers tend to swallow the marketing without looking deeper and actually educating themselves. A quartz sink is just a harder, less repairable, version of a Corian sink. A quartz counter is the same thing. A harder less repairable version of Corian with a different filler than aluminum trihydrate. Marketers rely on repeated advertising and ignorance to get away with their bending of the truth. Parallels that could be drawn with the current political environment....

Kasparkl, you made the right decision. However, you shouldn't have to spend your time communicating with Blanco.

The vendor you purchased it through should be able to make you a satisfied customer. That's what you paid for when they accepted the transaction. It's not like you're dealing with a couple year old product.

if the vendor or installer wanted to push there's no issue. Then they should have no issue to put in writing a labor free installation should a replacement is needed due to failure in the future.

"Am I understanding your posts?

1. the quartz/plastic sink is encased in pure plastic.
2. The plastic casing sometimes shrinks in curing
3. The casing shrinkage does not/ should not affect the integrity of the quartz/plastic sink body?"

1. No. The quartz and plastic are mixed together and molded.

2. Yes, the plastic and quartz mix shrinks when it cures.

3. Minimal shrinkage as pictured does not affect the integrity of the sink.

Everything I do as a contractor is always based on an instant evaluation as to whether or not the thing I'm installing is going to result in an unpaid callback. Installing this sink would not. I wouldn't even give it a second thought even when being wrong could cost me money.

This is another reason why I sometimes don't want my customers to watch me work. I often make things look much worse before they look better. An ignorant set of second-guessing eyes does not help. Same thing here.

Imagine if someone peeked underneath a cultured marble sink/top and seeing the popped bubbles and air holes, announced the top/sink as flawed. That's laughable, as is this.

The corner cracking of granite composite sinks has been due to shipping, which Blanco does not always control. Manufacturer's defects are not passed,and seconds remain unsold and are destroyed. Blanco has high quality control standards and produces an outstanding product.

It is easy enough to test to see if there is a hidden corner crack induced from shipping. Apply cornstarch powder to the sink interior all the way around, and then wipe out with a paper towel, leaving the surface slightly dusty looking. If there is a crack, the fine powder will settle into it and make even a hairline crack visible as a white line against the darker surface.

If there is no crack, then the sink is perfectly fine and able to be installed. The back side of a fabricated product is often rough and unattractive. It does not affect performance.

The only remaining risk of cracking is the plumber over tightening the sink or disposal flange. That would not be Blanco's issue either.

Hey Joseph, Sophie, appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions!