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| Hi there, I'm new to these forums and want to know if anyone has a Schock-Houzer Granite Sink (either the Cristadur or Cristalite+). I've read many positive reviews about the Blanco Silgranit sinks and want a comparison between the two.
I visited 4 local showrooms here, and have seen the Blanco sinks in 3 of them and the Houzer in just 1. I was told that the Houzer granite sink is pretty new in the US with only about a 6 month history. The feel of the Houzer granite sink felt smoother/silkier than the Blanco sink. The sales rep. I talked to had just seen a demo model brought in, and had a brand new-in-box one they let me see/feel. She said she sells alot of Blancos, but was very impressed with the Houzer and feels it will be comparable and competitive with the Blanco...but of course can't speak for long term reliability or use yet. I am looking for ANY feedback on the Houzer granite sinks. Unfortunately, I need to buy a new sink pretty soon. I had been set on the Blanco because of my sink needs, reviews, and overwhelming positive feedback on this site - but I'd like to consider other options too. Another side note...unlike many of you who have beautiful granite countertops, I have corian countertops (looks solid med. tan but has light & dark brown speckles), oak cabinets, and just upgraded to SS/black appliances from bisque colored ones. If I go with Blanco, I am looking at the Metallic Gray Blanco color, but am interested in Truffle too. I like the speckled Met. Gray color since I thought it would complement the SS/black appliances, but can't decide if that will be too weird with the speckled tan countertops. Not sure how the Truffle will be either. I do have the sample cards of each but they are so small and sometimes differ with the actual sink color. What do you think?
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Follow-Up Postings:
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| I am going Blanco - but sounds intriguing! Let us know your decision and whether you like it downstream |
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| I bought a blanco silgranit (anthracite) sink 3 1/2 years ago. Love it. We are redoing our entire kitchen and will purchase the exact sink, only this time, I will get the undermount since we are replacing the granite. Good Luck! |
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| Thanks a2gemini & krad. @krad: do you have a single or double bowl? How has the anthracite held up? What do you use to clean it? What type of faucet do you have also? I need to replace that too! Thx. Here's the website for the Houzer sink: http://schock-houzer.com/ Having a hard time deciding between Blanco & Houzer, as there's not much out there re: Houzer granite sinks yet. |
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| I have the double bowl, with the left side being larger than the right. Until tonight, I was thinking about getting the double bowl with each side the same side, but the left side will be a tad smaller than what I have now. I think I'm keeping the same look. It has held up really well. It is black and when I first had the sink installed and used it, I would wipe it dry every time I used it to avoid those water spots. That got old. And to be honest, I rinse it out and let it air dry. I don't have water spots, except around the faucet (Moen brushed nickel), which I am re-using); you know how that goes. Last week, I used Lime Away around the base of the faucet and spray to get the hard water stains off and it worked. However, I only used it because I know I am getting rid of this sink and wanted to see if the chemicals did any damage. I even let it soak on the granite a little. I am sure it stripped some of the sealer off the granite (my sink is on the island). But the hard water spots are gone. Now I'm wondering if they can "under" mount an "over" mount sink? That would save some money! |
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- Posted by breezygirl (My Page) on Tue, Jan 17, 12 at 3:17
| I've never heard of this new brand. Both my sinks are Blanco's metallic gray. I really like the color and love the sinks in general. No scratching, no water spots, no metallic sounds, no black marks from pans like I used to get on my white sink. Looks clean so much that I forget to clean it. Someone else on the forum said the same thing, and I couldn't believe that could happen. My prep sink. The color is pretty true.
My cleanup sink right after marble install. The color is off here because of the lack of light in the room.
It sounds to me like the Truffle would be better with your kitchen. If you're worried that it might be close but look "off", you might look at the Cafe Brown. The brown has a yummy, rich depth to it. I was planning on that one when I was planning on using Bianco Antico granite. |
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| Blanco Anthracite here, in both the clean up and prep sinks. I love 'em. I just rinse them out, and if I want them to look extra fancy I use the cleaner I bought when I bought the sinks. Honestly, I have never felt I needed it. I also have a little hard water spotting around the base of the faucet, but it's very easily removed. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Cj |
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| I bought a Schock Cristadur D-150 waterfall sink in Magma (black) after doing 6 months of research on sinks. I have now officially seen every sink on the planet. The Latoscana electronic faucet is the perfect match for my sink. I talked to everyone who sells Schock and I even called Schock-Houzer. (I bought them both online at Wave Plumbing and they recommended the cool faucet to go with it) My friends go crazy when they see my sink and faucet. They want to play with it. Who knew that this was the best way to get my friends to do my dishes. When I found out that Schock actually makes most of the granite sinks for other brands on the market I eliminated the other brands. Then I was told that the new material used is superior and they are better, smoother, stronger, easier to clean etc. Here's some info that may be helpful from the manufacturer websites... Schock sinks have been very popular in Europe for over 30 years and they invented the granite composite sinks and manufactures 75% of the worlds granite sinks and actually make them for many of the leading brands of granite sinks. Houzer sinks partnered with Schock in 2011 to bring their best products to USA. The Schock sinks are the highest quality granite composite sinks on the market because they have improved the manufacturing process and have made their own branded sinks stronger, smoother and non porous and they have anti bacterial properties. The two new materials are superior to any of the other granite sinks as some of you have noticed by the smoother feel of them. That is the quality you are feeling. There is more info at the Schock Germany website or the Houzer website under granite sinks. CRISTADUR is the superior stronger material over the Cristalite+ that is an improved version of the traditional material used in the sinks manufactured for other brands. This is what the manufacturer says about Cristadur Sinks: The premium material that has an ultra-fine structure, resulting in unprecedented ease of care and featuring a dirt repellent effect (the dirt simply runs off). As well as all of the positive attributes of CRISTALITE+, CRISTADUR is silky smooth and wonderfully soft to the touch while offering maximum resistance to dirt and scratches. On the Houzer website click on e-catalog for the best information about these sinks. They also come in a lot of colors and there are sink drains and grates to match each sink. I use Gel Gloss granite counter gloss a few times a month to clean my sink. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Schock Houzer Catalog
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- Posted by breezygirl (My Page) on Wed, Feb 1, 12 at 0:41
| Echodante--Very interesting. Does Schock make silgranit sinks for Blanco? |
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| Echodante: Thank you for the addl. info. I was told that Schock or Houzer used to manufacture the Blanco sinks before. Not sure if this is true though. Did you see the sink before ordering online? I saw a Cristalite sink at a showroom and the feel of it was very smooth. But when I felt the Cristadur "sample" vs. the Cristalite sink- the Cristadur didn't feel as smooth. The sales rep said that they were shown a Cristadur and felt the look/quality was better than the Blanco (which she sells alot of already). I priced the Cristadur Montano N-100XL at the showroom and it was about $220 more than the Blanco Diamond Super Single. Wave Plumbing (which is local also!) has the Schock Houzer on sale right now, so I might look into that - it's still more than the Blanco sink though. Your LaToscana faucet has such a unique look. It's a pull-down sprayer, right? Can you tell me more about the functions? Does it have an on/off touch - since it's electronic? Or any other type of sensor? Can it be manually controlled if you turn off the electronic feature? Is the spray head plastic or metal? Is there a locking toggle switch from stream to spray or do you have to hold down the button while using spray mode? Sorry so long. Thanks for the feedback. Hope you continue to love the Schock sink! :-) |
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| Echodante: Thank you for the addl. info. I was told that Schock or Houzer used to manufacture the Blanco sinks before. Not sure if this is true though. Did you see the sink before ordering online? I saw a Cristalite sink at a showroom and the feel of it was very smooth. But when I felt the Cristadur "sample" vs. the Cristalite sink- the Cristadur didn't feel as smooth. The sales rep said that they were shown a Cristadur and felt the look/quality was better than the Blanco (which she sells alot of already). I priced the Cristadur Montano N-100XL at the showroom and it was about $220 more than the Blanco Diamond Super Single. Wave Plumbing (which is local also!) has the Schock Houzer on sale right now, so I might look into that - it's still more than the Blanco sink though. Your LaToscana faucet has such a unique look. It's a pull-down sprayer, right? Can you tell me more about the functions? Does it have an on/off touch - since it's electronic? Or any other type of sensor? Can it be manually controlled if you turn off the electronic feature? Is the spray head plastic or metal? Is there a locking toggle switch from stream to spray or do you have to hold down the button while using spray mode? Sorry so long. Thanks for the feedback. Hope you continue to love the Schock sink! :-) |
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| mystremom -- What sink did you end up getting? Any followup comments? Echodante -- how are you liking your sink? |
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| I was planning on getting the Blanco silgranite sink because I like the sink combinations/depths better. I didn't see a Schock double sink that was deep enough. So glad to hear that the color holds up well. But I am concerned with the recent Consumer Reports test that cracked the Blanco sink when they dropped a five pound weight in it (to simulate dropping a large pan). So, not sure what I will do now. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Consumer Reports Blanco sink
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- Posted by breezygirl (My Page) on Tue, Oct 16, 12 at 1:13
| Akatricia--that CR test has been discussed and pretty well dissed here before. The thread is linked below so you can read the discussion for yourself. |
Here is a link that might be useful: CR report hooey in my book
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