I just installed a kohler whitehaven 36" in cane sugar, and a franke 15" SS prep sink. I love the kohler whitehaven. I like the SS also, but it really shows waterspots. I never noticed waterspots in my old SS sink, but in comparison to the kohler, the SS waterspots bug me. We do not do all dishes every night, but we do rinse the sinks well, and have the grates to help with the rinsing as well. The SS looks good with my marble, but so far I love the ease of care (while still looking good) the Kohler whitehaven allows.

For UCL, i have tried an RGB option from HD, with 18? Preset colors, didnt like any of them. Then tried the Armacost warm white LED tape also from HD, and I like it well enough, and will be installing permanently. I felt I had to try the lights out first, which is why I bought from HD instea of online. I bought both of my sinks online, the Kohler Whitehaven was perfect, the Franke has a small pea sized dimple in a corner, that I decided would be covered by the grate insert, so I didnt even mention it to the place I bought it from, too many other things to deal with, I let the pea sized dimple go. (Not normal for me at all to let it go)

I am down to hardware and BS, and I think I have my BS choice. So tired of decision making!! And then DH has the nerve to make comments after the fact...grrr. If he had done half the research I have! Then maybe he could seond guess!! As DH has said, we will move rather than remodel ever again, it has been painful.

I have the Franke Oceania SS. It has been installed for more than a year and does not have any water spots at all. At the end of the day, I do a quick rinse with a soapy dish sponge, rinse, and dry with a microfiber towel (I do miss a day or two now and then). Every once in a blue moon, I squirt a few drops of Whirlpool stainless cleaner and do a quick 1-minute polish. It still looks pretty much brand new. I'm crazy about it! It replaced an old porcelain cast iron.

" Can others please share what sinks they have and how they have held up?"

cani123:

I'm assuming the chipped Kohler is porcelain. You'll never find this in any of the sales literature, but when that sink scratches or gets chipped, you'll stare at it until the day you replace it.

I try to stay up on what's repairable and what's not and I'm not aware of anyone successfully removing scratches/chips from Silegranite either, although a week-old sink should be under warranty.

Stainless steel will dent but those can be removed and stainless is surprisingly easy to refinish as it gets progressively scratched.

Pictured is a hot-pot/bruise in a solid surface sink that was customer abuse and was completely avoidable with metal grate use. It extends from about the center of the disposal flange downward in an arc.

This post was edited by Trebruchet on Sun, Mar 2, 14 at 20:49

This is after the hot pot/bruise has been ground and polished out.

I'd urge you to consider the repairability as well as the durability of your sink selections.

Love my kohler cast iron enamel. They are said to wear like iron. It's a very fresh. looking sink. Warranty on chips.

Love my kohler cast iron enamel. They are said to wear like iron. It's a very fresh. looking sink. Warranty on chips.

Installed a silgranite but haven't used much yet. No cracks and bought local to check before installing.

Used Phillips EW Powercore 3000 k LED UCLs. Love them-- here is a bad picture. Didn't need a light rail to conceal b/c they are about 3/4 in thick and fit under cabinet nicely.

They mount in the front and provide good task lighting on counter in addition to ambient lighting on b/s. I have them on a dimmer switch too. Learned all that and more here on GW. One thing I learned too late was to install outlets lower and horizontal. I didn't like the idea if cords hanging down so skipped plugmold.

Here is a link that might be useful: UCL link

We have had several Silgranit sinks in our homes, they are a must have for us and never have had any cracks or issues. Love them. :)

I bought a Franke Fireclay double farm house sink but haven't had it installed yet, cabinets are still being built. I don't have any experience with fireclay and are hoping for the best.

An alternative to the Philips UCLs is the Maxlite UCLs. They are available in white only (the Philips are also in black) but substantially less expensive. They are direct-wire and dimmable with CFL/LED compatible dimmers. We used them in our kitchen, and so far no regrets.

Ed

Congratulations!
I have the Kohler Irontones Smart Divide (cast iron). The divide is 70/30 (I think) & the divider is low 4". If I fill the sink beyond the 4", I have a single basin sink.
I'd wait to choose your backsplash until after your countertops are installed.
There area couple of threads about regrets, oops, etc that may help you to avoid some of the mistakes others (like me) have made.

Thank you all for your replies.

Romy, I won't pick the backsplash yet but I am keeping it in mind when I look at countertops. I'm trying not to go for anything too busy on the countertop so I can have more options for a backsplash. I'm looking at quartzite or one of the man made quartzes.

Snookums2, my friend bought a cast iron (she thinks it was the Anthem) and that is what chipped. Kohlers answer was to send her a repair kit that she was supposed to do herself. She is still battling with them. I guess the products just aren't like they used to be. My sink is probably 20 years old and just started showing wear last year. I'm so used to that type of sink that I hate to change but I'm worried about getting an inferior product now. I'll check out the one you got.

I did read some reviews of the silgranit where there were cracks but if I remember right, they could have happened during the install so they probably weren't handled properly. Everyone that has one seems to love it. My neighbors silgranit sink was replaced so she was happy.

Trebruchet, who can I call to get a ding out of my SS fridge? i was thinking of asking the mobile guy that takes dings out of cars if he could do it. Since you seem to have a lot of experience with repairs, what type of sink would you go for?

OOTM mom, I had to chuckle about your husband. Mine got irritated with me in the store the other day when I again quoted a review or consumer reports. He said in the old days before you could google things you would go to the store and just pick something you liked. I have to admit, the more I read the more confusing it gets. He tries to stay out of it and only went with me because I asked him to. No patience on his end so next time I'll go with a friend. lol

Thanks to everyone for the lighting suggestions. I'll look them up to see what they are.

I ordered led lighting online from inspiredled. For the price ($300) they cut everything to size, included a dimmer, transformer and all wires including ones rated for in wall use, and made up a little plan for me. I had to pay my contractor and his electrician to install as I am not a diyer but they looked easy to install. Looking good so far!

cani123:

We've always loved our solid surface sinks, but have a stainless steel Edge sink by Karran installed in our solid surface tops now and like it too.

I'd call the car dent removal guy if I had a dent in my sink, probably.

robotropolis, I think it was at your suggestion, we also called and got a plan and parts from inspired led. Hopefully will be installed today or tomorrow (the wiring is available in the back of a cabinet, but we just got the lights, transformer and dimmer). I need some task lighting!

hi sjhockeyfan, great! I hope they work well for you as they do for me! I have EVERYTHING in my kitchen on dimmers -- hope I use the dimmers, for now I seem to like lighting everything up like an operating room. The outdoor light is so blue b/c it's dusk...