There isn't a sink make that's impervious to some type of damage or the other. Stainless scratches, and can dent with a heavy enough impact. Cast iron can chip or rust. Silgranite is very scratch resistant, but not scratch proof. It can crack with a heavy enough impact as well. And fireclay can also chip and crack with impacts as well.

It's why most people use a sink grid. It helps to protect from chipping. And some people lay a towel over the edge when using it to protect the edge as well.

Hm, all I can say is that my 22-year old Kohler sink does not have a single chip. I'm using it daily to wash pots and pans as well as the gas top grid and occasionally my barbeque grids. I've never had a sink grid. Every now and then I have water with a bit of bleach sit in it, which makes it bright white again.

I have two Kohler sinks and they both developed small chips ... I have no idea how they happened. The good news is that they don't look worse over time

GreenDesigns- Yes but it says "guaranteed not to chip,crack, or burn" I believe the warranty says they will replace, but I could be wrong. I'll call Monday.

Truly timeless

Constructed from durable KOHLERî enameled cast iron, Whitehaven sinks will give your kitchen style for years to come. Plus, theyâÂÂre guaranteed not to chip, crack or burn, so you can cook, clean and prep in a sink that will withstand the test of time �" guaranteed.*

*KOHLER enameled cast iron sinks installed in North America carry a Lifetime Limited Warranty for as long as the original consumer purchaser owns his or her home. For complete warranty information, visit KOHLER.com/warranty.

Actually, come to think of it, my first Kohler sink was replaced after a few months, second one has been chipless for 22 years now.

I have the same guarantee on my new Kohler cast iron/enamel sink. I will be interested to hear what they say. Good luck.

Do you use a sink rack in the bottom? Just curious.

No, I don't use a rack. I'll see what they say : )

I'm curious what they say as well since I have the same sink. I do use the overpriced Kohler rack and as of yet, have no defects to report.

I am looking at mine wondering how in the WORLD they would get it out to replace it!!!

Nancy

springroz- I was thinking the same thing!!! However, maybe they just send you a sink, in which case it could be saved for a time when it really needs to be changed out. Anyway, the woman apologized, and had me send pics and they will get back to me in a day or two. I'll let you know what they say. The chip is super tiny and looks worse in the pics than in reality, but I figured it's best to address the situation now and see what their course of action is...

Glad you let us know...just in case we need to know!

Nancy

Kohler called. The rep said it's a chip and being there is a LIFETIME guarantee on not chipping, cracking, or burning they will send me a letter that I will take to the plumbing supply where I bought it to get a new one at no cost.

He said even if it were 10 years from now they'd replace being there is that guarantee. I fear switching it out will be a real PAIN in the butt, but for now I'll hold onto it until the sink gets more worn.

They will replace the sink but they will not reinstall it. I am in the same boat and have a brand new Kohler replacement sink in my basement. They were very kind and extremely gracious in replacing the actual sink. It's not the same model as yours, but it's a white cast iron. Since I bought my sink from one place and the granite from another the granite installers will not touch the sink except to start all over again, I can't blame them. Note to self, buy sink from granite placeâ¦. So for now until I can afford new granite I will just use the sink. They told me I couldn't leave it too long since it's a crack and it will eventually rust through and leak. A chip would not do that though. Good luck!

Right. I'm thinking if anything we'll end up with a sink in the basement. In it's box. : /

Great warranty but if you can't get it in without spending a fortune it's kind of a waste. I'll see what happens! Thanks!

Mine also chipped badly yes they replaced the sink no questions asked. For years it's been sitting in the box in the basement because it's an under mount sink under granite and I cannot find anyone to change it. They all say it's impossible not to break the granite and it has a huge flange and impossible to remove from under the cabinet. So yeah they will give you a new sink but then what. This has been a very sore spot for me for years . It cracked after just a couple of months around the drain and now the finish is coming off in other places. I have had several companies come to look at it and no one will touch it unless I want to buy all new granite since there isn't any of this type to be found anywhere. I have looked and looked all over the country. I am stuck with this ugly sink that is gross looking and Looks way worse than my old sink before the remodel. BTW I used the sink grid at all times and just recently got rid of it because why bother at this point...it was too much trouble to keep clean as it was also leaving more marks on the sink. We are careful with everything and do not cook that often or have kids so this was not in anyway neglect on our part. I'm afraid that if we ever do get it changed the replacement will do the same thing.

I'm in the exact situation. My chip is very small so not really that big of an issue but it's frustrating. Someone did mention having someone come out to paint or repair it… (like someone who paints porcelain bathtubs, etc.) but I haven't checked into that.

I called a company last week about resurfacing it and at first they were diligent in calling me back to discuss it and were supposed to call me back this past week and I never heard back from them. I'm so weary of dealing with this...seems to always be a dead end. One guy suggested using a certain type of saw to cut it out. It's a saw that cuts through metal. All the plumbing will have to come out and be sawed off to the back of the cabinet.

These are old photos it looks worse now and you can see through the finish to gray underneath the white finish . The granite is called ivory silk.

I have told this story before, but when we tore out our old kitchen, my KC removed my undermounted Kohler Lakewood from the granite, disassembled all the plumbing, and relocated the granite and cabs to the garage. My BIL picked up the whole mess on his pickup truck and drove it 200 miles away where he reinstalled it in my sister's canning kitchen. He had never undermounted a sink, but got the whole kitchen back together without a scratch, down to the drains and faucet. The granite was fine. My BIL is an extremely talented guy, but he had never worked with granite or undermounted a sink, so it's gotta be doable. You might have to sign a waiver to get the guy in there, but it would be worth it. JC will give him good guidance.

I'm sure it's possible but would be nervous to ruin my $$$ marble…

Actually, my sink was a Lakefield -- which is precisely what you've got there. Keep looking for someone.

Yes, I was responding to gr8tdaygw. Marble . . . .not sure I would have the guts for that. I just have no experience with it.

Thanks you all. You are giving me renewed hope and courage ❤️

I just found this thread. My 2 year old Kohler cast iron enameled sink has a chip. I am about to call to ask for a replacement. I just googled how to replace an undermount sink and here is what came up. Is this what the granite people would do?

____________-_____

Although undermount sinks seem to defy gravity, they are only slightly different to install than topmount sinks. Mounting clips that hold the sink tight against the countertop are hidden underneath the counter. With granite counters, the bolt portion of the clips are permanently glued to the stone with durable epoxy; you shouldn’t need new hardware. Turn off the water supply and disconnect the plumbing before replacing the sink or hire a plumber to do that for you. The sink will be out of commission for least 24 hours due to adhesive set-up time, so plan accordingly.

1

Lay a 4-foot-long 2-by-4 flat on the countertop across the sink opening.

2

Press the release button or trigger on an adjustable, ratcheting bar clamp. Slide the adjustable portion of the clamp along the bar until the clamp is fully open. A fixed half of the clamping mechanism mounts on one end of the bar, and the other half of the mechanism slides along the bar, adjusting to the thickness of the items clamped together.

3

Slip the fixed portion of the bar clamp through the sink’s drain opening. Pull up on the bar until the fixed portion of the clamp sits against the underside of the sink.

4

Move the 2-by-4 as necessary until it butts against the clamp bar.

5

Squeeze the clamp’s trigger repeatedly, moving the adjustable portion of the clamp down the bar until the clamp tightens against the top of the 2-by-4. If the sink is double-bowl style with two drains, fit another clamp through the second drain and tighten it against the board as you did with the first drain.

6

Slip the blade of a utility knife into the seam between the underside of the granite countertop and the top edge of the sink. Pull the blade through the seam around the entire sink, cutting the silicone or caulk that bonds the sink with the countertop.

7

Locate the mounting clips under the countertop around the perimeter of the sink. Twist the wing nuts or hex nuts on the bolt portion of the mounting clips counterclockwise with pliers or a small, adjustable wrench. Remove the nuts and the metal bar-shaped clips from the bolts. Do not remove the bolts mounted under the countertop. Save the clips and nuts, as you will reuse them.

8

Ask a helper to hold the bottom of the sink. Release the trigger on the bar clamps, remove the clamps from the drain openings, lower the sink down into the cabinet and remove the sink.

9

Scrape the silicone or caulk off the underside of the countertop sink opening with a razor-style scraper blade. Wipe off the scraped area with a clean, dry rag.

10

Fit the new sink inside the cabinet and ask a helper to raise it high enough for you to fit the bar clamps through the drain openings as you did with the original sink. Reposition the 2-by-4 across the sink opening as necessary and tighten the clamps down until the sink is near, but not touching the underside of the granite countertop.

11

Apply silicone adhesive around the top edge of the sink.

12

Align the sink with the perimeter of the sink opening in the countertop. Tighten the clamps until the sink fits snug, but not tight, against the granite.

13

Replace each sink mounting clip and nut around the perimeter of the underside of the sink.

14

Leave the bar clamps and 2-by-4 in place for at least 24 hours, then remove the bar clamps and 2-by-4 and reinstall the plumbing

If you are lucky, yours will be held with mounting clips, many people build a frame and attach it to the sidewalls of the cabinet and then it gets really tricky to get it out.

My husband is now contemplating going through the back of the raised bar to get the sink out. This would involve tearing out the drywall on the back of the raised bar. We still have the photos from when we built the house and know how it was framed in. It's looking worse as time goes by and there's that tick tock of the clock for when it rusts through and starts leaking! See photos above. It was brand new Kohler Lakefield two or now maybe three years ago that chipped at the drain and now the porcelain is see through to gray in other parts of the sink. Kohler was wonderful and replaced my brand new sink but that's the end of their liability and they of course don't install sinks. The granite company refuses to have anything to do with it since we bought our sink not directly from them but from Home Depot. Caveat, Home Depot uses this same granite supplier/installer but since we went direct to the granite place and not through Home Depot to buy the granite they will not offer to help either. Understandable I guess... The only reason we went to the granite place direct was because they did our original counter tops 15 years earlier and we had a relationship with them already. ... I thought I had someone to come and do it but then when I sent photos they never called me back...this was after the original and 2 other granite companies said it would be impossible and wanted to sell me a whole new kitchen of granite "so it would match". The last place we called was a resurfacing place but even they say it's not the best solution for a kitchen sink and apparently they are not interested since after several calls and photos sent I never heard from them again. I really don't want to go the resurfacing route anyway. I still have the replacement sink in my basement waiting to be installed if anyone would like to come to metropolitan area in Georgia to install it : ) One guy suggested using a diablo saw blade to cut it out. That made me a little nervous but I'm thinking about it...but still have to get the other one in. It weighs 126 pounds. Cast iron.

Disconnect the supply and drain lines, loosen any sink clamps, then hammer a rigid scraper between the stone and sink flange. Take a bite at a time and work your way around. I've removed many sinks this way without failure.

You can feel when it's getting really loose. Do the 2x4 and bar clamp thing as suggested above but without tightening. Make the final taps until it falls onto the clamps. Pull the clamps, then remove the sink from the cabinet out the sink hole or the cabinet, whichever is easiest.

Scrape the silicone from the stone bottom, install a Hercules Universal Sink Harness or Sink Strap, set the new sink in the cabinet, and pull it snug with the bar clamps and 2x4. Check the fit, back it down, squirt silicone between the flange and stone. Snug it up and check your reveals and adjust. You should have lots of nice silicone squeeze-out. Spray the squeeze-out with Windex and wipe it up with your finger. Put the excess on a paper towel. Acetone will remove any that's left.

Finish attaching the HUSH or Sink Strap, pull the bar clamps, hook it all up and you're done. No going through the back wall is necessary.

P.S.:

I traveled from Florida to Maryland to work 6 hours once; 30 hours driving. An architect changed an appliance location which screwed up his ADA compliance in a retail pretzel shop. Since you're not facing fines for not opening your kitchen on time, I doubt you'll find me as cost-effective as did the architect. I can make Atlanta in 8 hours or so.

Wow!. Thank you!. The problem is getting it out of the cabinet since the flange is wider than the cabinet. It has a huge flange several inches past the sink bowls that rests on the top of the cabinet sides. The cabinet has a center support which I'm ok with removing and reattaching. The cabinet sides have been altered to accommodate this. We know we pretty much will have to cut the plumbing out almost to the back of the cabinet for space enough to drop the sink down. I even thought about cutting the little drawers out in front of the sink and retrofitting a farm house sink to cover the open space but it would have to be a perfect fit and that's never going to happen probably... Is there a way to contact your business? I think you can contact through this site. Thank you all again as always, so helpful.

Simply cut one cabinet side with a laminate trimmer or a RotoZip. The sink will drop away. Reattach the cut cabinet side after the new sink is installed.

I had to remove the entire right side of a cabinet on this retrofit sink job as pictured. It isn't that big of a deal. You just hot melt and screw and cleat it back together. In fact, this cabinet side is now removable to provide access to the faucet.

I took the front off too.

I'm fairly easy to find here and on the internet. I don't want to get accused of advertising for work here.

"....this was after the original and 2 other granite companies said it would be impossible..." Show 'em these pictures, please. I never thought I'd done the impossible until now. lol. The lady I did this for gave me 5 stars on Thumbtack, so I'm fairly certain she disagrees with "...not the best solution.." too.

Ok, I understand completely and want to thank you so much for taking the time to go over the procedure and complete with pictures which is always worth a 1000 words. That's such a help. I think maybe we can do this or at least give it a good college try. My husband and his friend have tried to think of everything. Removing the whole front of the cabinet is something we hadn't considered, mostly because they are custom cabinets of high quality and we were afraid of ruining them and then being stuck at a point of no return. But certainly there would be a way to fix after the deed. Certainly preferable to tearing out drywall from the raised bar on the other side of the sink, that's for sure! I can't thank you enough for spending your valuable time helping us.

*I'll report the outcome, though it may be a while until it all gets finished and photo worthy. Much appreciation for the help, can't wait to get started!

gr8daygw:

I stared at the pictured sink job a good 20 minutes before I started. It was intimidating, and I've had considerable experience at this. Your husband and his friend had better be very experienced DIYers with a bit of fearlessness. Call me if you need to.

We will definitely do that and would much rather you be here if at all possible : ) No they are not experienced in this at all though both have done simple remodel type of DIY and both have built airplanes in the basement, lol, but nothing like this. I'm already getting nervous....yikes. I don't want them hurting themselves either, I already know the kitchen is going to be a disaster area..."serenity now".

Just to follow up, my husband and I finally got a resurfacing company to come out and do their fix to the sink. It looks OK for now but I can see this is not going to be a long term solution. I think in time it will wear differently and discolor at the feathered seaming. But for now I am so happy that ugly pitted our hole is fixed and the threat of it leaking is gone for a while. I'd much rather have the new sink put in but this at least buys us some time. If I had to guess I'd say in a year or two we will be revisiting this again but I'm so happy it looks 99% better now. Thank you all for the helpful and hopeful advice, I really appreciate it and I learned a lot and will refer to in the future.

Cost of repair was $150. Here's a photo of the fixed sink:

December 11, 2015

See my September 12, 2015 7:52 a.m.photo in this thread for the before photos.

Ok so it's 2018 and the sink is more cracked and worn than ever and all the resurfacing has worn off and looks so awful and gross actually. Back to Joseph's plan.

I just found this thread and am so glad for your update 2+ years later! We are starting a kitchen remodel in June 2018. I have wanted a Shaw/Rohl fireclay apron front sink forever but always concerned about the chipping/cracking... then stumbled upon the Kohler cast iron enamel option online... still clearly issues! Thinking I might just save my sanity and go with an undermount stainless sink?!?! I'm already going with marble bc it's beautiful and i'm just going to "let go" enough to not worry about staining/etching. But a sink that's virtually impossible to remove and replace is almost too much for me. I think the look cannot be beat but know that in the next 20 years there will undoubtedly be a chip that will haunt me!

I'd never recommend a Kohler cast iron or any cast iron sinks. I've replaced too many worn nasty ones. There are no sinks that are "virtually impossible to remove". At least I haven't run into one yet.

I've had my Whitehaven 2 years and it still looks like new. I do have the grills for the bottom. My previous cast iron sink was 18 years old when I replaced it and still looks good so I moved it to my basement kitchenette. I have a friend with a cast iron sink over 50 years old - stains easily, but cleans up great.

Gr8daygw- did you ever get sink replaced? I am in exact same situation with brand new Kohler white haven sink. It has a crack that we had patched. My crack is in back side wall but still worried it won’t last. I am scared it will be impossible to replace the sink without damaging my new cabinets and counters.

" I am scared it will be impossible to replace the sink without damaging my new cabinets and counters."

Your fears are unwarranted. I do this all the time.