Sara:

I run a sink replacement business. I've sold an Elkay 36" short apron Quartz Luxe every month for the last 4 months. I sold two last week. The first time I rinsed one out, and I rinse out a lot of sinks, I was amazed. These sinks are some of the best available.

Thanks, Joseph. I'm wondering how folks who have had them for a long time still like them with normal use.

I always prefer an offset drain (what you called a non-centered drain). It means you have a whole uninterrupted expanse of sink floor to set things down on without covering the drain. More room underneath the sink too. Don't know enough to comment on Elkay vs Blanco.

i would only want a sink grid if I had a stainless steel sink and was trying to reduce scratches. Many people love a grid and wouldn't live without one, and just as many people think a grid is one more thing to have to clean and it's got a lot of corners for crud to collect. Which are you?

The grid seems like another way to keep things from blocking the drain and keep them from sitting in and getting scummy in dirty water. Also (I'm imagining) a flat surface to place things on with less risk of them toppling over and breaking as on the slant of the sink itself. I've never had a grid myself but I think I want one. It reduces the issue of blocking the drain, which the offset drain helps with in its own way -- I wonder if with a grid the offset drain is still a big improvement? I can understand the benefit of plumbing to the side underneath, though.

Hi Sara! We do sell bottom grids for the 33 in. Rounded Single Bowl which you can view here. We have the largest offering of Quartz sinks in terms of color and style so you can find the perfect sink for your space. Check them out here. Additionally, we have a variety of accessories and color match drains that coordinate seamlessly with our Quartz sinks. Please let us know if there is anything we can help you with!

Thank you!

- Elkay

Elkay, what happens with your quartz sink if I pour boiling water in it? Quartz counters aren't known for heat resistance, what about the sinks?

Hi luckyblueeye, while we recommend you run cold water while pouring boiling water in our Quartz sink, they are heat resistant up to 535 degrees so your sink is protected from hot pots and pans.

Thank you!

- Elkay

Elkay:

While I've got your attention, please tell the product guys they need to make the 36" Quartz Luxe apron sink available with a faucet deck at least 4 1/2" wide from the rear of the bowl.

If one of my customers has a swoop on one side of her existing sink that is deeper than 18 1/2" or so from the cabinet front, your sink won't cover the gap. She has to have a faucet deck welded on to a stainless steel sink. Since I can't weld Quartz Luxe, you're losing retrofit market share needlessly.

I'm not optimistic; Kohler wouldn't listen to me either. I just approved the shop drawings for the Corlett model stainless steel apron sink with faucet deck this morning. No joke.

Yesterday's customer couldn't have a Quartz Luxe because your flange ends just past the small bowl cutout, leaving a gap between the back of the flange and the large bowl cutout. I can't add stone and can't weld Quartz Luxe so stainless it is:

Yes, the left sink reveal is a tad larger than the right. Not my fault. The peninsula top overhang is not consistent on the cabinets. I must install the sink parallel to the cabinet or the apron won't return to the cabinet. Better mismatched reveals than a gap. I post this so everyone who sees a "mistake" on Houzz may think twice. Contractors play the hands we are dealt.

No swoop? You may have a Quartz Luxe.

Wow, that grid is almost as expensive as the sink itself! What gives? Grids for other sinks are all <$100...

I can't find that product number on Amazon or Home Depot, and Home Depot does not link to this "matching" grid accessory like other sinks they carry do =\ Do you have a link for where I can actually purchase that grid online?

Hi Sara, our selection and price may vary by retailer but I have located that grid online at Lowes and Ferguson. You can also visit our Where to Buy page to search for the item in stores near you.

Thank you!

- Elkay

Hi Joe, thank you for the great feedback! As always we value your experience with our product. I have passed this over to our engineers and product managers so we can continue to improve and offer the best product possible.

Thank you!

- Elkay

Question for Elkay: The video for cleaning for the quartz composite sinks says not to use cleaners like bleach, only gentle ones like Barkeeper's Friend. Is there any disinfecting cleaner allowed? I'd like to be able to disinfect my sink.

My go-to is sprinkling some Comet to let sit for a little while (definitely not overnight, just while I wipe down the counters and such) before scrubbing and rinsing. Do these sinks stand up to that sort of thing? I'm okay with switching my methods to spraying a sink cleaner instead, I just want to know how delicate these really are.

Sara:

I take my car keys to my Elkay samples in front of customers and can't make a scratch. I doubt you're going to be able to with a little Comet.

Elkay:

I just beat your lack of an apron sink with a faucet deck this afternoon. The lady has a swooped sink, but it's on an island. She'll go from 11" to 9" on her cantilever, but pulling the island top forward and ripping, re-profiling, and polishing the sink side edge will reposition the swoop within range of the sink flange. Ha.

I just ordered her sink; I'll keep you posted.

I just went to a showroom in my area to look at the color finishes in person for the Elkay and was highly discouraged. They reported the sinks often arrived broken or with cracks. One anecdote was a hairline crack that was not noticed before install and led to ripping out the entire counter to replace ($$$). They said they'd have samples of the materials in store for me Monday but would never have one of those sinks in their showroom, they don't think people should get them (criticizing both Blanco and Elkay). Joseph, it sounds like you install Elkay quartz a lot -- is this a common issue of shipping quality? Does breaking in shipping indicate the sinks are fragile against pots and pans in everyday use? =\

I ended up being wooed by a black stainless sink they had, but it seems to be very uncommon (only Rohl seems to make such a thing) and at a steep premium (MSRP $1500 for brushed stainless steel, $3700 for black stainless), so I don't know if that's a prudent choice, especially if they're so uncommon, I'd hardly expect enough anecdotal data that the finish does not just get scratched off back to silver. Definitely comment on that if you know anything about it! =)

Sara:

The Germans are good at a lot of things and packaging sinks is one of them. Kohler should take notes; they sent a damn 80lb. cast iron in a cardboard box (miraculously it survived). You would not believe the padding in an Elkay box. I've yet to get a damaged sink from them and they're being UPSed to me.

I ruined a customer's Elkay by not following Elkay's knockout instructions. I tried to drill a faucet hole. Had I tapped it out as they told me to do, I wouldn't have eaten the sink. It takes some guts to whack an expensive sink with a ball peen hammer the first time, but I don't even think about it now.

Anyone who says they ripped out a counter to replace a sink is a liar or a fool. You need to stay away from that showroom. I can substantiate every single thing I say here with pictures or customer testimonials.

I don't know anything about black stainless with the exception that if it costs $3,700.00, I'm probably going to charge that much to install it.

Thanks, Joseph. The black stainless Rohl looked really slick (and would match our black stainless appliances nicely) but boy did it seem deep! Borderline too deep and the Elkays aren't much shallower :| I did finally manage to find that Whitehaus makes black stainless at a fraction of the cost of Rohl (though still double the Elkay Quartz). I don't like how little (to none) customer feedback I can find on either of them, though, so I think I'm swinging back toward the rectangular offset-drain Elkay. Still need to figure out which finish to pick. Dusk Gray is what I'm leaning towards (Luxe colors not available in the model I like, and I can't find any undermount non-apron-front offset-drains with luxe colors...). Have you installed any in that finish? How do they look? I have Cambria Berwyn quartz counters so I'm looking darker (more forgiving with stains) but not pure black.

And yes, the showroom has a lot of negative feedback on Yelp (so do the other Elkay "dealers" listed in my area...this showroom was listed as selling Elkay but barely even have sample chips for the finishes, luxe only!) but I will say they had an impressive collection of cabinet hardware. I'm already pretty set on the cabinet pulls I want but if I ever put in a bar or whenever I redo my bathroom, I may go back there.

"Have you installed any in that finish? How do they look?"

Not that I can recall, but all the Elkay's look good.

We tracked down a showroom that actually had Elkay quartz (others listed in Elkay's "where to buy" had none or only stainless, we learned to call first after that first anti-Elkay experience...) and ended up ordering it in Black, which had a bit more sparkle in it than we wanted, but we didn't like the mottled look of the Dusk Gray actual. Amazon had the best price by at least $100 but I am nervous it will arrive broken so our plan is to at least use the template if that happens then return and reorder through the local shop. On to picking flooring! =P

Almost-done-remodeling-update: We have our Elkay quartz sink in black with offset drain and love it so far! It does get what I assume to be white water marks, but...it's a sink. Barkeeper's friend cleans them up fine if we want things to be pristine, and sinks are meant to be used and get dirty! We got one of the stainless grids for the bottom and love it so far, especially that we can rinse things away and anything dirty put in the sink does not trap things to the sink surface or prevent water or other debris from draining.

Sara, would you be willing to post a photo of your sink? We're building a house and are in the market for a sink. I have a few that I am looking at, but would love to see some "real" pictures.

Hi Haley, Sorry I just saw your comment. Here are some photos I have in my archive. I can take different angles tonight if these aren't helpful. FWIW, 6 months later and we still love this sink. The dark color matches our black stainless appliances, but also just makes the sink more of a shadow, which is good to avoid drawing eyes to dirty dishes! We use the faucet hose+sprayer to give it a good rinse every evening after cleaning up dinner to keep food from drying in place. We've given it 1 deep cleaning (we also have a grid on the bottom, so deep cleaning involved a thorough cleaning of that, too). The water filter is good for filling water to cook or a tea kettle. The soap dispenser is actually really nice because it keeps the counter tidy. The faucet is touch activated (got it before the remodel) and it's amazingly handy. We added an air button for the disposal (which by code has to have a manual light switch on the wall, which for us is not in reach of the sink) and it has never been pressed accidentally and is very useful so I recommend it. The dishwasher air gap is required by code here so no avoiding that!

I assume the water filter is the smaller faucet on the left? I don't think I ever knew what that was before lol.

I have been tempted to get a soap dispenser, but wasn't sure if I would really use it. How does it store the soap?

Touch faucet sounds wonderful, but I highly doubt we could afford one. At least not in a color/style that would fit.

We will not have a disposal, so that won't be an issue.

Also, the sink looks great! Any trouble with water spots or chipping or anything?

Yes, the small faucet is the water filter. The filter itself is stored under the sink. Same thing for the soap; the reservoir is attached to the dispenser in a cylinder under the sink. You just pull the dispenser fixture/pump up to reveal the reservoir to fill it from the counter.

No chipping, and I shipped my sink from Amazon without cracking or other issue (was quite worried about it).

Water spots: not really. Sometimes white ones (we have really hard water) that easily wipe away, but to be honest: "mess" in this sink is less noticeable and bothers me less than our old white sink, which was pretty stained. The depth of the sink also means you have to be pretty close (using the sink) to see any mess on the bottom surface.

The depth is also amazing (having only had a split and shallow sink before) for how much it holds and how easy it is to hand wash large things. I do not regret single basin at all.

I also loved the Rohl black stainless steel sink. The price is steep and there is not a lot of information regarding the durability or longevity of black stainless steel. Amazon has a couple of other offers such as AguaStella and Lodear for as little as $299! Love the price but as I said...I do not want to be the guinea pig. Anyone have any deeper insight?

I am looking to install a black large single composite sink in my new home. I just saw an Elkay Luxe composite sink in Caviar which is a deep black color and looks great but it is much more expensive that the Classic Elkay black quartz sink. Will the Elkay Luxe composite hold up better than the Elkay classic and is the Perfect Drain better than the Elkay previous drain fittings which got bad ratings? Also is there a black or gold stainless steel sink grid since my faucet is brushed gold and black?

Sorry, I can't answer those.

@sara Do you notice any scratches in your Elkay sink?

Which of the Elkay Luxe sink colors are closest to a true white, if anyI? Some of the photos on their website vary. I have white cabinets and Cambria Britannica counters, so anything off-white would look terrible. Thanks!

Ricotta is the white white; Parchment is the off white. Order the samples please.