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carol9999_gw

Do you like silgranite sinks instead of stainless?

carol9999
15 years ago

I was wondering why there is such a love of the silgranite sinks.... i am considering between a stainless and the silgranite.... what are the differences? advantages? disadvantages? thanks

Comments (27)

  • devorah
    15 years ago

    I really, really like the silgranite. It looks good all the time (no water spots) and best of all it is quiet - no clanking which I can't stand. Mine is a dark charcoal. I have the European style with the built-in drainboard which I love, but I have heard it is no longer available in the U.S.

  • jtalb
    15 years ago

    If you do a search on silgranit sinks there are lots of great testimonials about silgranit. When I was resarching, I couldn't find anyone who doesn't like the silgranit. We now have a blanco 1 3/4 silgranit sink (in anthracite) sitting in a box waiting to be installed. I think it is beautiful :)

  • neesie
    15 years ago

    I also went with the blanco silgranit 1 3/4 like the previous poster, except in a different color to compliment my granite choice. I'd never heard of a granite composit sink until I came to this forum. TKO's highly recommended this sink and I should know, I searched and read several threads and posted my questions like you are doing.

    You don't mention what you have now, but I had a dull, lack-luster used stainless for the last 15 years. The thing never shined and totally brought down my kitchen. I couldn't wait to ditch it! I freely described it as a dull nickel. Now the silgranit is not shiney, it is more like a smooth unpolished stone. But there is something about it that makes me want to "pet" it everytime I walk near the kitchen. My plumber mentioned that he is doing more of these granite composits in high end homes. Good luck in your search for a sink that will work for you!

  • suzieca
    15 years ago

    I'd never seen or heard of them (Silgranite) and really wanted a SS sink...I'd had one in another home years ago and loved it. Well, this one is a pain so far...I call it high maintenance. I have soft water but it always has some kind of water spot or streak on it. I'm constantly drying it with a towel. And that's not practical in a busy kitchen. I'm working on finding the right cleaning/polishing procedure so it won't be so high maintenance.
    HTH

  • amysrq
    15 years ago

    I have Blanco SS now. While it looks fabulous when it's just been cleaned, the rest of the time it looks crummy. I also did a lot of research here and decided to go with the Silgranite. And I haven't even seen one in person. How's that for trust in the TKOs? :-)

  • beware
    15 years ago

    Just got a silgranit in black/anthracite, and I like it very much . No problems with rings or visible scum/dirt. It just looks great and is EASY maintenance so far. Had it about 3 weeks. Like that it is very "forgiving" i.e. not a hard surface.

  • alex9179
    15 years ago

    YES!

    I was so resistant to the idea for a long time, but took the plunge sight unseen because of the rave reviews here.
    I have a 33" single bowl in metallic grey and I adore it. The look is so soft, the upkeep is minimal. I never really see anything as far as grungies but give it a scrub with Barkeeper's Friend once in while. My daily dishwashing takes care of it for the most part.
    We have horrible water here and you wouldn't know it from my sink.

    I bought mine from Home & Stone on Ebay for a really good price and free delivery.

  • revans1
    15 years ago

    We've had Blanco Silgranit in Anthracite for close to a year. Looks like new, nothing special required for maintenance...we're sold!

  • cheri127
    15 years ago

    I love the everything I've read and seen about silgranit on this forum but I'm so worried it will look like plastic once it's installed in soapstone. Does it really lose that *plastic-y* look after a few weeks?

  • jab913
    15 years ago

    Love our Blanco siligranit. It is one of the things people really seem to notice and ask about when they see our kitchen.

    cheri27 I'm not sure what you mean by plasticy look since ours never had that.

  • berryberry
    15 years ago

    Really like our blanco silgranit sink. I have never liked SS sinks - for whatever reason they scream cheap and uninspiring to me.

  • oruboris
    15 years ago

    I'm having a hard time tracking down silgranits in my area-- I'd like to buy locally since I'm worried about it getting damaged in shipping.

    But there are a few just like I want on eBay for well under retail. I hate the hassle of returning stuff, though...

    Has anyone bought their Silgranite online? Was it a success? If you bought locally, did you pay full retail?

  • cincyj
    15 years ago

    Someone above used Home and Stone and others have complimented them; I used Quality Bath and it was packaged so well I had a hard time imagining it could break. I was nervous about cracks, but working my way through their packaging gave me good confidence about what I'd bought. It was fine.
    I was really sold on the pictures of those super shiny stainless sinks... but no one I know has one- they're all dingy looking and water spotted, etc. On this forum I started reading about silgranit and as my counters are dark I was a little skeptical about "all that black" but it looks great. Like jab913, everyone who walks in here is intrigued by our sink.

  • marys1000
    15 years ago

    I loved my huge single Kohler enameled cast iron sink but I was always worried I was going to chip it. The strainer thing I kept in the bottom helped a lot but it wouldn't fit in the dishwasher and would get grungy looking.
    Does silgranite chip? Can you take a little piece of the edge off or? I have Le Creuset enamled cast iron - big heavy hard - I hate having to worry about chipping stuff but also hate SS.

  • rmlanza
    15 years ago

    oruboris, I got mine from faucets direct for a great price, free shipping, and no damage. I LOVE my siligranit super single in anthracite. It's my favorite thing about my kitchen. I call it my hot tub because it's so big. I don't know what cheri27 means by a plastic look and I've heard of several people putting them in with soapstone counters.
    It also works as an injured foot washing station...


    Here is a link that might be useful: my sink on faucets direct

  • rosalita
    15 years ago

    I just bought a Blanco silgranit sink in Anthracite color from HomeAndStone but on their E-bay site. I compared pricing to the one at the local Expo store and to the regular HomeAndStone online site. On the ebay site (and I had previously NEVER bought a thing on Ebay) it was SO easy that it was basically like shopping any online store. I guess you can "bid" on the ebay store- I don't know - I just paid their asking price as it was about $100 cheaper than I could find locally and it included free shipping and no tax! The sink was sent by Federal Express and arrived within 4 days of the order and I had a lot of email communication by the company to confirm my order, my shipping, etc. The customer service on the front end has been great. It's not yet installed but I'm sure I am going to love the depth over my small stainless. I decided on the equal double bowl. The only small thing I noted on several posts in other threads is that you have to be careful on the installation with the corners. I've got all those posts ready for the installation guys to see so hopefully , no problems there.

  • neesie
    15 years ago

    I bought my silgranite on line at Homeclick.com; the specialty plumbing store in my area would have charged $600 with a 20% discount. I paid around 325.00 for mine on-line with free shipping. It was packaged extremely well. I also got the sink grids which look like cooling racks to keep things up and off the bottom of the sink. For the poster that worried about chipping with the Le Creuset cast iron, I think this is one of the benefits of the grids. Yes, they could chip like a ceramic sink, but I believe it would really have to be banged hard for that. The good news is that the silgranit is colored all the way through unlike a ceramic sink where it would show badly.

    I was concerned about a plastic-y look. The photos on the internet sellers site are not flattering. The actual photos on GW were much better. The other brands of granite composite that I saw in the Big Box stores looked plastic-y. The blanco silgranit is more like a smooth stone, not highly polished but like a stone that was worn smooth on the shore of a lake. I took the leap of faith and trusted the TKO's on this site and am so glad I did. I love my blanco silgranit and so does my husband. He's glad I did all the research because he would have just bought from the big box store. Here is a photo of mine before the faucet was installed.

  • alex9179
    15 years ago

    Here is a photo of mine. It's topmounted because I have laminate countertops right now. I think a gray soapstone or "actual" distressed zinc countertops is the way I'm going whenever I change them. I decided on the gray after I painted the counters and because it wouldn't show water spots. It does not look plastic-y IRL. It looks like a soft, honed stone. I, too, give mine a pet when I walk by :)

  • Babka NorCal 9b
    15 years ago

    Yes, Silgranit can chip. I doubt it would from a heavy cast iron pot or pan though. My chips came from dropping a heavy 8" chefs knife point straight down from about 10" up. The other chips came from dropping the sharp edged Kohler drain basket a couple times (arthritic hands). Something very sharp edged has to hit the sink very hard for that to happen, and even then you only get a tiny minuscule chip that no one else even notices. After that I bought the sink grid. No more problems. I might add, that either of these "drops" would have created chips or dents in a stainless or ceramic sink too. Over all, I cannot think of a better, easy to care for sink. It always looks good.

  • morton5
    15 years ago

    Are Silgranit sinks of a different material than Corian sinks? I know they are different brands, but are they essentially the same stuff? I have had a terrible time keeping my white Corian sink good looking, and would not want to repeat the material.

  • tami3
    15 years ago

    Yes, Yes, Yes! Did I say Yes? I LOVE my Silgranit and would never go back to stainless. Looks great, no marks, etc. My stainless in the laundry room looks "old" and water marked in comparison.

    Tami

  • gshop
    15 years ago

    I bought my Silgranit sink from eBay Home and Stone. Great price, free shipping, great service! Packaging was more than one foot thick around some areas of the sink, no problems with delivery at all! Highly recommend the Silgranit sink and getting it via internet. Good Luck!

  • astridh
    15 years ago

    Silgranit and Corian are completely different. The Corian is all plastic, basically. The Silgranit (has the word "granite" in it) is mostly quartz with a bit of resin to hold it together. They look, feel, and perform very differently. Most people seem to dislike the Corian and like the Silgranit. Other companies make granite composite sinks, also.

  • lynninnewmexico
    15 years ago

    Thanks to this great site, I put in a Blanco Silgranit anthracite sink in our new kitchen and will NEVER go back to a SS or porcelain sink again. I love it for all the same reasons that are already listed here, although the totally easy upkeep of it with no worry about water spots or pot scratches has got to be the best reason of all for me.
    Lynn

  • laurap_2007
    15 years ago

    I'm assuming the silgranite is heavy....

  • alex9179
    15 years ago

    Not really that heavy, I found a weight of 45 lbs for the average double bowl/super single. It was very easy to work with, it was working under the sink that was a pain! :)

  • tamjo44
    15 years ago

    We have the 1 and 3/4 in biscuit. Love it! Everybody who comes over comments on it. We ordered it and the grids from Homeclick.com. Excellent service, no problems, and about $100.00 cheaper than Expo. It did look plasticky in the box, but once installed it lost that look.