When choosing a kitchen sink, there are many factors that you should pay attention to, most of which you can probably guess yourself. For instance, the aesthetic look, color and overall style will probably be matched to your kitchen’s interior and personal preference.
But when you’re looking at the real substance of the matter, there are three main components to a choosing a kitchen sink that you need to pay attention to. Doing so will ensure that you find the kitchen sink that is right for you each and every time.
Kitchen Sink Material
In today’s modern kitchens, there are many different varieties of sink materials that are used in homes. Despite this fact, stainless steel is still the number one choice for new installations while cast iron remains the material of choice for consumers seeking a colored finished. Still, just because nearly everyone else is using something, that doesn’t mean it’s always right for you:
- Stainless Steel— The most popular kitchen sink materials for new installations due to its low cost, lightweight, and virtually unbreakable construction. Light-gauge stainless steel is higher in number (20-gauge) and more vulnerable to denting and scratching. Mirrored finish stainless steel is shinier, but also more likely to make scratches visible. If you’re looking for durability, go with heavier gauge stainless steel and brushed-stainless finish (also called satin finish), both of which not only make your sink more resilient, but will also hide dings and scratches better.
- Enameled Cast Iron— For a fashionable, colored sink, choose this solid cast iron base coated with a deep enamel surface. This means you getatremendously heavy-duty sinkwhich is resistant to almost any type of structural damage. Of course, this makes enameled cast iron more problematic to install and higher in price. This is offset by the long lasting durability and ruggedness, making it a cost-effective choice in the long run.
- Porcelain on Steel— Combining embossed steel casing with a layer of a specially glazed clay to createsmooth, strong and appealing surfaces. Its light weight makesit less costly than other materials. On the downside it is fairly noisy during operation.
Other materials for kitchen sinks that might not be as popular but certainly have their advantages and fans are corian, quartz composite, granite and vitreous china. See the link below for more on the different types of kitchen sink materials available.
Kitchen Sink Installation Type
Next, you need to consider the type of installation you want (or need) for your kitchen sink. This will affect the function, look and price range of the sink you choose.
- Self-rimming or drop-in – The most common kitchen sink, it’s mounted from above the counter and has afaucet sitting on a built-in rim.
- Undermount or recessed – Installed from underneath the counter and so they don’t have a rim, meaning food and debris can be wiped straight into the sink. Best for counter tops made ofsolid surfaces, natural stone or concrete.
- Tile-in or tile-edge – Running up flush to a grouted sink edge, this type of kitchen sink is tiled on the edge for aesthetic purposes. It also makes it easy to fix a portion of the sink if a tile were to crack, rather than redoing the whole edging.
- Apron or farmhouse sinks – An exposed decorative face panel makes this authentic farmhouse lookvery popular; just keep in mind that they have special cabinet requirements so you will have to work hand-in-hand with a cabinetry expert when installing this kitchen sink.
Kitchen Sink Bowls
Depending on the size of your kitchen and how much usage you need out of your sink, you can get a kitchen sing with one, two or three bowls. These bowls range from deep to shallow and have either straight or sloped sidewalls.
The most basic kitchen sink is the single bowl which generally comes with depths of up to 10” or 12”. This is idea for low-usage homes e.g. couples, singles, washing dishes for the dishwasher, etc. Two bowl kitchen sinks and three bowl kitchen sinks allow for garbage disposal, heavy usage, washing animals and a number of other actions. If you have a family, it’s probably best to go with two or three bowls for your kitchen sink.
Depending on the size of the pots and pans (or pets) you’ll be putting in your sink, you may want to look at deeper bowls depending on your under-sink space availability. Another thing to consider is having a center-drain sink or a rear-drain sink, the latter of which gives you more usable bowl space as well as more under-sink storage space.
Other Options for Kitchen Sinks
Of course, there are many other features and options for kitchen sinks that will help you find the right one for your purposes. Things like spray hoses, garbage disposals, soap dispensers, faucet types and other features will help you customize your perfect kitchen sink so that you’re as comfortable in your kitchen as you are in your bedroom.
Image courtesy of Michelle Meiklejohn/FreeDigitalPhotos.net
About the Author – Ant Langston, the author of this article writes on behalf of Plumb World, UK’s largest independent online retailer of bathroom, plumbing and heating products, kitchen waste disposers etc. If you need any help in choosing a new kitchen sink for your home, get in touch with Plumb World today.