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emily_saba

Anyone regret getting a single 10" deep sink?

Emily Saba
10 years ago

I am going back and forth on getting a 70/30 or a single stainless sink. I have heard some people complain about their backs hurting when doing dishes using the deeper sinks. Do you have one and regret it?

Comments (41)

  • olympia776
    10 years ago

    I don't regret it. I'm still kind of bad about letting it pile up and I liked having a split for that reason but it's really nice when I need to clean the cookie sheets or filters from the hood.

    I don't tend to ever fill it up and wash everything in it though. I could see that leading to some backaches. I also did a flush mount so it's not even deeper.

  • nini804
    10 years ago

    Not at all!! My sink is actually 11", not counting the countertop...so really over 12" down. Never had a single twinge or pain from it! I LOVE having such a big, deep sink...everything fits in it! Our kitchen is open to the family room, and I can stack A LOT of dishes in there w/o them being seen! :)

  • Emily Saba
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks for the replies! That is what I am most looking forward to - being able to put large cookies sheets/pans in it to soak. It is an undermount, not flush mount. Can they flush mount any sink? How is that done?

  • happy_grrl
    10 years ago

    I'm wondering that also...I have always had a double sink, but I really like the look of a single. I understand the functionality of a double sink...But I have large jelly roll pans and roasters that I use quite often and there's never enough room in any double I've used.

    DH doesn't care. He has no opinion anymore. (He's a bit burnt out on the building process, and tired of making choices.) I just can't make up my mind. (sigh).

  • sherri1058
    10 years ago

    I can't answer your question, but I can understand your dilemma! I have always had a double sink - either same size or the larger/smaller basin split. I don't think the extra depth will be an issue for me as I don't spend a lot of time doing dishes. I really want to like a single big deep sink, but based on the way I do dishes, I am unsure. It seems I always have something to dump down the smaller sink after I am up to my elbows in soapy water! In the mean time, since my reno is still in the early stages of design, I am seeing if I can get used to just one sink. If I can't, I will likely buy one with a low-divide.

  • Amy Sumner
    10 years ago

    Just last night my husband said to me, "that's a really nice sink!" He was talking about our deep, single bowl Silgranit. We love ours. I'm decently tall for a woman (5'8") and it does not bother my back. It is such a treat to be able to lay cookie sheets, 9 x 13s, etc flat and let them soak a bit. It also is nice to be able to clear the table and set non-dishwasher items down in it, out of view until I'm ready to hand wash. The sink and faucet are my favorite utilitarian items of the reno. My glass mosaic wall is my favorite glam part. ;)

  • fishymom
    10 years ago

    I'm not sure if it is the added depth or just me getting older, but my back does bother me when I am at the sink. We have stone floors, so I purchased a gel mat from Costco to see if that would help and it has not. I have a Silgranit Super Single, 9 1/2 inches deep that I use with a grid. It is also top mounted, so I don't have the extra 3mm depth of the granite. I absolutely love my sink, but I can stand at the stove or at the counter prepping with no problem, so I assume it is the depth of the sink that is causing me problems.

  • Lauraeds
    10 years ago

    No way. I have had both 50/50 and single bowl, and my absolute preference is the single bowl. Just received my new Kohler Riverby for the kitchen reno in progress, and am so excited to get to work in it!!

  • illinigirl
    10 years ago

    I'm going to a single bowl with the drain in the corner and I can't wait! Like others mentioned, being able to lay a pan with a long handle, or cookie sheet or other long pan to soak is a great reason to go single bowl. In addition, since there is only one bowl, one drain, and one garbage disposal it doesn't matter where the family puts their dirty dishes, all the crumbs can be washed down the drain with the garbage disposal. With our current double sink setup I am always battling for family to put dishes only on the garbage disposal side of the sink so I can rinse crumbs down the drain. They never do it so I always have to hand clean the crumbs/food bits out of that side- ICK!

    So yeah, can't wait for the single bowl. This topic comes up a lot, and those who want to hand wash dishes in a separate side often suggest getting a dish pan and put it on the other side of the single bowl to get the dual bowl functionality the times when you want it.

  • tinker1121
    10 years ago

    Have you looked at the 70/30 sinks with a "low divide"? It is the best of both worlds. Divide is only halfway up so the sink can fit large roasting pans, cookie sheets etc. and can fill the sink as a single bowl. Smaller bowl is great to have for rinsing veggies, or to use a dish drainer to place washed pans, dishes or whatever instead of a drainer or mat.
    I like the one by Swanstone with the curved divide and I think Blanco also makes one as well as Kohler in cast iron enamel.

  • quadesl
    10 years ago

    I have a single sink and most things go in the DW other than pots, pans, knifes and cooking utensils. I pick one of the pots or a clean bowl to hold my soapy water. If the Vitamix is being cleaned, I use the soapy water from that.

  • smiling
    10 years ago

    I've had both a double and a single, and I find the single better in every way. Also, I'd suggest you read the threads about sink grids, they are such great functional additions in sinks. One point not yet mentioned above is how much cleaner and drier your counter stays with a deeper sink. I find I don't have to dry the sink area after quick uses the way I had to with a shallower sink.

  • ControlfreakECS
    10 years ago

    I love my deep single sink, but I am short. However, my husband is 6' and he has never complained. (yes, he helps with dishes sometimes) :)
    I felt the real test was when my MIL stayed with the kids for 4 days. She's tall for a woman (5'9") and I knew would spend more time at the sink than my DH typically does. Plus, she has had a traditional double bowl her whole life. When we got home from our vacation, she told me the sink was her favorite part of my new kitchen. So, I am guessing it didn't bother her either.

  • dcward89
    10 years ago

    I currently have a deep, single bowl sink and will NEVER, EVER, EVER go back to a double bowl! I am 5' 2" and my husband is 6' 3"...neither of us have any trouble at the sink and I have a history of back issues. I have said on other threads that I actually feel sorry for people when I work in their kitchens and they have the double bowl sinks...they obviously haven't discovered the benefits of the deep, single bowl!!!

    We are 1/2 way through our kitchen renovation and will be replacing our current, 33" enamel over cast iron sink with a 36" stainless, apron front, 10" deep single bowl. The old sink is not in the best shape with a few chips and scratches but certainly usable and my neighbor has asked us if she can have it to replace her double bowl. She's not ready to do a complete re-do of her kitchen but, after working in our kitchen some, she's as excited to get our old sink as I am to get the new one.

  • raee_gw zone 5b-6a Ohio
    10 years ago

    I am happy with my 28" blanco Stellar single bowl. It is roomy enough for everything that I want to do; I actually can't imagine having a larger sink! But I try to not let dishes pile up (I used to, as a working single parent with a broken dishwasher -- a bad habit that I am breaking!)

    I know that this sink is deeper than the one I replaced, but so far it hasn't really been noticeable to me. However, a regular visitor who will do dishes, and is obese, has complained about it -- so I guess it is the added depth combined with the added distance that she is reaching.

    I think those 2 tier sort of single bowl ( with shelf) sinks look interesting and can think of a few instances when it would be useful -- like when I am making preserves.

  • windycitylindy
    10 years ago

    I LOVE our deep, single bowl sink. In fact, I now loathe the divided sink at our weekend home and plan on ripping it out soon to replace it with a single bowl.

    I often wonder if people's reactions to single vs. double has to do with their dishwashing style. I never fill the sink with soapy water, so I don't have to worry about dumping something when the sink is full of suds. Almost everything goes in the dishwasher, and the things I have to handwash get washed using a cloth with soap on it. I can't imagine having enough to handwash at a time to need to fill up the sink, but I am one of those people who cleans up as I go along--a pan here, a knife there.

    If you're the type of person who regularly fills the sink to wash dishes, maybe you'd like the single bowl if you kept a dishpan under the sink to pull out for dishwashing?

    To me, the low-divide sinks are not at all the same as one large one. I still can't set a large cookie sheet or some large pans flat in the bottom to soak if needed.

  • beckhenley
    10 years ago

    I love my single sink. I guess it depends on how tall you are. I'm short and it doesn't hurt my back.

  • meganmca
    10 years ago

    I have a single sink & love it. But--when renting a house, I used an extra-deep one & it absolutely hurt my back, so when I pick a new sink, I'm not going to get a really deep one. Alas, I didn't have a tape measure with me to measure the bad depth...Also, I'm 6' tall. But it was really clearly the sink causing the issue (very annoying to be on vacation & have your back hurt every time you wash dishes!). Single sink for sure for me--just not too deep.

  • Awnmyown
    10 years ago

    I think the apron front sinks make a huge difference here too! I just swapped to an apron sink and noticed RIGHT away how much easier it felt on the back to wash dishes. Largely because I didn't need to reach OVER the counter edge to get into the sink. It was just nice and straight down to wash dishes. Plus the big single bowl meant no holding big heavy dishes at odd angles to try to fit them in the sink.

    Last though though, with a small volume of dishes, it takes FOREVER to fill the sink! (or so it seems). With the bottom grate on it, it's a pretty big volume of water to fill just to get an inch or two over the grate.

    BUT when me and the DH have kids it'll make an excellent bathtub. ;)

  • vvesper
    10 years ago

    I do think it depends on how you individually wash dishes or use your sink. While I would love to have a sink big enough to set large pans flat---I don't think I could possibly do without two sink bowls. It seems whenever I need to do something in the sink, half of it is full of something, so thank goodness for the empty half!

    I really don't wash that many things by hand. Most goes in the dishwasher. But there is always something that didn't fit in the dishwasher by the time we ran it, or I have multiple pans to scrub and some are still soaking while I do the first and then have to be emptied somewhere... Always something!

  • romy718
    10 years ago

    I have the 70/30 with the low divide. Once the water gets above the level of the divide, it becomes one large sink.

  • gr8daygw
    10 years ago

    I have a 70/30 split undermounted in 3 cm granite, the large side is 19 þ at 10 inches deep, a bit less with the sink grid and the smaller side is 9 inches wide. I find the 70 side big enough for everything I want to do. I haven't had to soak a cookie sheet since I started using Silpats to bake on. Life changingâ¦love.
    I like the 30 side because I can set a colander in it and it just fits hanging on the divider and the sink side. I like setting things in it to dry and hanging my dishcloth over the divide. It also has the garbage disposal in the small side which is nice to not have it on the same side as the sink IMO.

    For me the division works but I would NEVER have a 50/50 split. My mother has one and I don't know how she puts up with it. It's just not good for anything, too small, it's hard to rinse dishes with that center divide in the way and yet she likes it or is just too stubborn to try something new. When we redid her kitchen she wouldn't even hear of anything else and yet she complains about how the faucet is too low to get dishes under, lol. Gotta love "mom".. and I do. : )

  • angela12345
    10 years ago

    I am going to be the lone dissenter to all of the above posts.

    Double bowl sink for me !

    I have used both and greatly prefer double bowl. I would never want a single bowl. BUT ... I wonder about all of the above posters if they have ever had a GREAT double bowl sink ? Or has it always been "builder basic" 50/50 split, then they went to a single sink. So of course they liked that better compared to their previous sink(s).

    Thanks to Buehl's suggestion, my sink is double bowl 70/30 split and easily holds my 14x17 cookie sheet flat in the bottom of the sink. I have no problem with broiler pans, 12" skillet that has a loooong handle plus a helper handle on the other side for a total of 23" across, and the enormous canning/crab pot, all flat in the bottom of the sink. It will hide a TON of dishes before they go in the dishwasher. We can use the big side for dirty dishes and still have the small side "free" for other uses.

    I like the flexibility of having both sides, but honestly, I usually use the smaller side. It is big enough to suit my needs most of the time. The smaller size is big enough to easily hold my 8qt stock pot. As mentioned above, it takes forever and a ton of water just to get an inch or two of water in the large sink side. I have no interest in having to store or pull out a dishpan to have a smaller area to wash in. The double bowl side is 19 x 21.5 and the small side is 16 x 10.5. I have it in a 36" cabinet.

    Lots and Lots more responses to this question here ...
    http://www.google.com/search?q=single+bowl+sink+double+bowl+site%3Aths.gardenweb.com

  • fourten1j
    10 years ago

    I love my single 10" deep rectangular undermounted sink and cannot imagine going back to 2 basins!

  • Majra
    10 years ago

    My single-bowl Kraus sink (10" deep,with offset drain and grid) is absolutely my favorite thing in my newish kitchen. Love love love it. Tall DH does too.

  • skaun
    9 years ago

    A little late, but I'm glad to read these posts. I kept going back and forth regarding single or double bowl as late as this weekend. I bake a lot and use my jelly roll pan probably on a weekly basis. But, I also like being able to soak dishes on the other side before loading them in the dishwasher(I know, I know, I'm one of the clean dishwasher people) - especially if I let them pile up.

    The final decider was washing pans this weekend and playing the rinse the left side - then the right side flip game. Oh yea, mind the water and your shirt.

    A big plus was the almost zero radius corners. Too curvy corners like the one posted take up valuable room. Zero radius might be a little harder to keep the corners clean. The Kraus sink seems to solve both problems.

    I decided that no matter what I do, I would lose something. Might as well get ready to make some changes. So I placed the order and saturday on Amazon and received my sink today! Will be installed on Thursday.

  • fourten1j
    9 years ago

    I've had a 50/50 for 11 years, and got a single basin deep sink with my remodel. Been living with the new sink (and kitchen) 6 months now and can't imagine going back!

  • scpalmetto
    9 years ago

    Deep, single bowl here. There was a huge single bowl here when we bought this house and while I was sort of put off at first I quickly learned to love it and it drives me crazy when I am helping a friend with a double bowl in her kitchen. For me there just isn't any room to maneuver. At my age everything aches so I have not noticed anything specific to doing dishes.

  • Bunny
    9 years ago

    Single deep bowl here. Not sorry. At first I was, because, like many, I reacted to all the new things in my kitchen: sink too big and deep and singular, faucet too high, blah blah blah. It took me about a month to come around to liking it.

    One big sink can have many zones. I don't have a prep sink so when I'm slicing and dicing, I put a colander in the near side to catch all the scraps, leaving the rest of the sink free for rinsing or stashing used dishes.

    I often cat-sit for my neighbors and marvel at their old 50/50 shallow sink. It's like, what is this thing and how can they even function with it?!!!

  • quadesl
    9 years ago

    No regrets, love mine, couldn't imagine going back to my double Kohler.

  • jerzeegirl
    9 years ago

    I also like being able to soak dishes on the other side before loading them in the dishwasher(I know, I know, I'm one of the clean dishwasher people).

    I don't know if it depends on the brand of dishwasher but we were told to just scrape the plate so that there are no food chunks on it and then pop it in the dishwasher (it can even be dry food). Apparently the dishwasher works better if it has some plate crud to attack!

  • cba6777
    9 years ago

    I would never go back to a double bowl. We could never fit any cookie sheets, large cutting boards or pots in the double bowl. We got a Hahn sink from Costco with very small (not zero radius) corners. It's easy to get into the small curve when cleaning. It's large enough so that I can have a pot soaking on one side and still wash other dishes or use the garbage disposal. My husband says the new sink is his favorite part of the kitchen!

  • jennifer132
    9 years ago

    We love our single 24"x 10" deep sink! But this is a big move up for us. The old sink was a small "D" shaped 21"x8" single bowl. When my dad first saw my old sink he asked where the other bowl was because it looked like half of a double bowl! My DH is 6'4" and I was concerned that the new sink would bother his back, reaching down and into the sink. He sometimes complained about the reach down in the old sink. The grid in the new sink helps. And we usually have it piled with dirty dishes anyway so there isnt a reach reach down! Haha. We like having the full cookie sheet option. And I have a dishpan I can add if I want to split the space to soak anything.

  • cookncarpenter
    9 years ago

    I too, was apprehensive about getting a single, after being a lifelong double bowl user.
    After a year and a half with my Silgranite Super Single, It represents one of my favorite changes in our kitchen freshen up, I love it!

  • angela12345
    9 years ago

    Well, after falling in love with my sink, my girlfriend has just found out that she is going to have to get a single bowl sink because of the size of her sink base. Perfect timing since this thread is on page one. What I am wondering is . . .

    - who is the manufacturer of your sink and what is the model number
    - what are the interior dimensions of your bowl (length width depth)
    - is your sink farmhouse, undermount, or top mount
    - what size cabinet base is it in

    All who have already responded, would you mind coming back and editing your post to include this information, please ? Thanks !!

  • PhoneLady
    9 years ago

    Before and after below. New granite and new sink installed yesterday. Can't wait for plumber to get here tomorrow so I can start to use it!

  • jeanwedding. zone 6
    9 years ago

    no way. I vote for big single My former sink was a Swanstone with a small sink with a basket.. i had it for over 20 years.. the white got kind of not pretty anymore....
    we replaced that with an Elkay big single bowl. Crazy about it.. we last week sold that house
    but in this house older remodeled one has a double bowl cheapo sink. wanna replace it soon
    thanks yall

  • quadesl
    9 years ago

    The OP brought up the issue regarding sore back from washing dishes in a ten inch deep sink. Consideration needs to be made regarding whether the sink is apron front. This type of sink in many cases stands in front of the base cabinet and allows you to stand with better posture while doing dishes. Many sinks are set back several inches from the base cabinets and require you to reach over while doing dishes, I'm 73 inches tall and standing up straight in front of my sink can touch the bottom of my ten inch deep sink.

  • plumberry
    9 years ago

    i know you didn't ask but i do love my 70/30. The large side is huge and 10" deep and the small side, still a decent size, is 8" deep. I had concerns about back probs but so far so good. For me, it's the best of both worlds. When I was trying to decide single/double sink I finally decided on the double because I don't have a separate prep sink.

  • Scrappygal
    9 years ago

    I've had both in different houses and really don't have a preference. I did see in one magazine that they have a single sink and a little square Tupperware that they use to put soapy water in while washing. I usually fill a pot that I'm washing of soapy water and just wash from that anyway. My MIL looks at me like I'm crazy when I mention a single sink, but she does that on other decisions as well :)