Browse Forums Kitchen Corner 1 Oct 18, 2010 10:30 am Currently redoing the kitchen and have decided that I should get a new kitchen sink. Currently I have a double bowl with two drainers. Was thinking of either getting a double bowl with one drainer or and undermount double bowl (benchtop could be engineered stone). I am unsure which is better insert or undermount sink? I would love to see different peoples sink. Thanks Re: Kitchen Sink - Undermount or Insert 2Oct 18, 2010 10:51 am I think an undermount probably looks better whilst an insert performs better. If you go with an undermount and an engineered stone benchtop you WILL get chips (my mother in law got her first one in her first week). But if the form is more important to you than function then undermount is probably the look for now. Re: Kitchen Sink - Undermount or Insert 3Oct 18, 2010 1:55 pm Hi We have the undermount sink, it is 2 sinks with a drainer cover. We have not chipped the bench top and I do happen to live with some pretty clumsy people. Re: Kitchen Sink - Undermount or Insert 4Oct 18, 2010 3:13 pm I am one of the most clumsiest people and I have a huge 3 bowl undermount (approx 1.3m in length) on my c'stone bench. No chips here after close to 1yr living there. I personally don't think that one is better then the other - just depends on your personal taste and needs. Some things are worth waiting for. Re: Kitchen Sink - Undermount or Insert 6Oct 19, 2010 1:23 am ours is undermount but it has a lip, so that the accessories can sit there. we have a drainer, chopping board, colander and drainboard. Most of the time the drainboard sits on the bench with the drainer/dishrack. The chopping board and colander are never used! Next time I will be tempted to get a modern double with single drainer insert sink. the drainboard is pretty much used all day everyday. (kids = plastics which don't go in the dishwasher) Recently moved to a 60's home in need of some improvement! http://s797.photobucket.com/user/leenii ... ch%20House Old house: http://s797.photobucket.com/albums/yy25 ... loo/House/ Re: Kitchen Sink - Undermount or Insert 7Oct 19, 2010 7:05 am My undermount sinks. I hate to admit this but I have chipped mine already but the good news is, you can't see them because of the fleck in the stone. Unfortunately, it is very easy to do and it happens before you know it I am very very VERY careful now and I won't let anyone else wash up which has really upset them NOT! I would still get the same though Re: Kitchen Sink - Undermount or Insert 8Oct 19, 2010 7:38 am Trust me, at some stage in the next 10 years you will get chips. I am yet to see an undermount over 5 years old that did not have chips. Re: Kitchen Sink - Undermount or Insert 10Oct 19, 2010 9:37 am I assume its no worse that the join on the outside of an inset sink my new build thread- Ben Trager https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=89826 my switch build thread (2011) https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=36569 Re: Kitchen Sink - Undermount or Insert 11Oct 22, 2010 8:40 am I've been considering the same. Have decided to go the normal above mounted sink. My turning point was seeing a picture of a house say 5+ years old and you could see the mould/gunk under the rim. Grose ! Now I see why people say about the cleaning of the undermounts. I never knew about the chipping, so definately NO TO UNDERMOUNTS for me. Just my thoughts. Re: Kitchen Sink - Undermount or Insert 12Oct 31, 2010 12:48 pm Have decided that an insert sink is the way to go. I was thinking of getting a Blanco BTIP085S not sure if it would left or right. Does anyone else have a Blanco sink. If so are they a good quality sink? Thanks Re: Kitchen Sink - Undermount or Insert 13Nov 01, 2010 7:41 am Don't know much about the Blanco but the things to look for from a quality point of view, test the flex in the base of the basin....dose it "feel thin". Should feel very solid. Look at the edges, are they rolled over (cheaper) or do they flatten and flush with the benchtop. It will cost more to get the flush style but they do not get the grime build up that the rolled edges eventually get. Also ask about the grading of the steel. The higher the grading the more expensive obviously. Re: Kitchen Sink - Undermount or Insert 14Nov 01, 2010 8:17 am I have two undermount Blanco sinks and love them, nice and deep. As for the grime under the rim..... if you clean under there each time you clean your sink, it won't happen. After one year, I have no sign of mould or gunk Re: Kitchen Sink - Undermount or Insert 15Nov 01, 2010 8:50 am I saw a place that got sold recently. It had an undermount sink. I'm guessing the kitchen was done a few years ago. Still looking rather new'ish, but I noticed the inside edge of bench (where it meets with the sink) it looked slightly crackled and grimy. It was definitely showing more age than the top of the bench. Re: Kitchen Sink - Undermount or Insert 16Nov 02, 2010 10:56 pm the join should be filled with silicone (well ours is, anyay!), I'm sure if it get's yuk you can pull it out and reseal? Recently moved to a 60's home in need of some improvement! http://s797.photobucket.com/user/leenii ... ch%20House Old house: http://s797.photobucket.com/albums/yy25 ... loo/House/ Re: Kitchen Sink - Undermount or Insert 18Nov 07, 2010 12:57 am I wonder if this is not a normal thing that is done then? Our plumber recommended to us to do it, (he was a mate so left stuff that we could do for us to do) so I though it was a standard thing... Recently moved to a 60's home in need of some improvement! http://s797.photobucket.com/user/leenii ... ch%20House Old house: http://s797.photobucket.com/albums/yy25 ... loo/House/ Re: Kitchen Sink - Undermount or Insert 19Nov 07, 2010 10:49 am leni I wonder if this is not a normal thing that is done then? Our plumber recommended to us to do it, (he was a mate so left stuff that we could do for us to do) so I though it was a standard thing... We asked about the silicone, but they had done it on the underneath side so it wasn't noticeable I agree, that your going to get gunk whether it be an above mount or undermount. The rental we are in is only a few years old and the rim on the outside of the sink (above mount) is disgusting, and no matter how much I try to clean it everytime I do the dishes, it always looks gross. Re: Kitchen Sink - Undermount or Insert 20Nov 07, 2010 11:27 am Never had an undermount sink until we put one in on our recent kitchen reno. Undermounts certainly look good but - - one thing that became apparent immediately was that you become quite conscious of the stone edge - ie that you don't knock or bump it. How easily will it be to chip an edge off? Not that one gets anxious about it but perhaps it is so new for us we may be over cautious. - silicon between the upper surface edge of the sink and where it adheres to the stone should be in there only and not exposed. If you fill this join edge with silicone it will discolour and disfigure. Same problem as when silicone is used in the shower around the edges. Gunks up quickly. So our plan with our sink is to simply brush around the edge regularly with something like a stiff bristled soapy nail brush. If I was to do it again I would not go for the undermount. cheers barkly Have had stone benches with undermount sink (kitchen) and drop-in (laundry) and top-mounted basin (bathrooms) for coming up 13 years and not one chip/scratch of any kind.… 2 9680 No. It's not original. Circa early to mid 90s would be my guess and maybe even as late as early 2000s 1 6636 2 4686 |