Might be easier to help you if the links actually worked!

On the advice of my KD and my contractor, I went with Houzer stainless, a brand I'd never heard of. They said gave excellent value for the money. At Amazon I got my 18-gauge MEC-3220SR-1 double-basin kitchen sink for $235 and my prep for $60 on an Amazon warehouse deal. These were going in a $50K kitchen, mind, and I'd expected to pay at least $1K for my sinks.

I have to say, I could not be more pleased. They make little sound, clean up beautifully, and went in easily. My contractor said he'd always had good luck with Houzer. I wanted the 16-guage version but it was OOS at the time, but I'm happy with the 18.

That glowing review aside, I would have preferred Blanco Silgranit over stainless if I could have found a color to go with my scheme. It seems far and away the preferred sink here, and with good reason, IMHO. My sister has had one for ten years, and it is indestructible and gorgeous.

A timely post for me! marvelousmarvin, I've also been looking at those old Ticor threads. I've been looking for a low divide sink, and Ticor has a 16 gauge 32.5" 50/50 model for a good price (~$215, not the retail price). I've also been wondering about long-term performance, so hopefully someone else chimes in!

If you want stainless, check out Kraus sinks on overstock or expressdecor. Kraus sinks are made with the thicker 16 gauge stainless and come with sink grids free. Having said that, I agree with MizLizzie that the Blanco Silgranit is a preferable material to stainless steel. I am on my third kitchen reno, and have had two Silgranit sinks so far. They're so great. No scratches, no water marks, always looks clean. Sorry MizLizzie couldn't find a color that was right for her kitchen, but IMHO, the biscuit color (if you want light or cream-colored) or the anthracite (if you want dark-colored) go with everything, and there's a bunch of other colors too. Anyway, I'm never going back to stainless, no no.

Is there a way to edit the title?

I meant to write Best Bang Sainless Sink, and somehow wrote inBest Bang Stainless Sk.

Is ticor available again? Where?

I've never seen a way to edit the title. The good news is that I understood exactly what you meant to say, so all is not lost.

I've seen them on amazon writersblock.

Thanks, sstrazisar. I see they're only at faucetdirect and only a couple of models, so I guess they're still getting rid of old stock, maybe. Certainly very much higher prices than used to be available at Galaxy et al.

I have the Kraus 30 inch sink from Expressdecor and have been using it for 8 months now. I don't see any reason to pay premium for Blanco or Julian. Sink doesn't have any mechanical parts, as long as it is thick and sturdy, then it should be good.

Ah, I see. So, Ticor's prices are much higher than when those old posts were written about its prices.

How much higher are we talking about? 20%? 33%?

With Ticor's price jump, it doesn't seem like its the winner for the best bang for the buck category anymore. For stainless steel sinks, what's the best bang for the buck winner now?

Kraus sinks? Or, did their prices increase a lot too?

I have a Ticor sink, single bowl... that I installed at my lake house in 2007. LOVE IT! I especially love the wire rack in the bottom. Cleans really nicely and is quiet. In fact, I am getting ready to remodel my kitchen at home and plan to purchase another.

I don't think it's that Ticor's prices have jumped per-se - I think it's that Galaxy Tool Supply, the main source for most of our Ticor sinks is out of business. They were selling them at much less than other sites at the time.

From what I've read here, Ticor and Kraus are probably comparable. Ticor's are also 16-guage. My Ticor also came with the sink grids and strainers (one basket, one regular). I don't know if the Kraus sinks do or if the other sites include the grids, etc. for the Ticors they're selling.

This post was edited by buehl on Wed, Sep 25, 13 at 0:12