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marg143

Help with sink size!

marg143
9 years ago

I have a small kitchen and found GW after plans were done and in process. I had originally suggested a smaller sink cabinet (even 33") but KD said to stick with 36"... so I did. Cabinets are installed. Sigh.

I am all set to order a double bowl silgranit 1 3/4 low divide (Diamond), 32" wide. But I suppose I could order a single bowl and end up with a few more inches of counter space. I was leery of single bowls... because change. But you all can be persuasive.

How would any of you suggest playing this out at this stage? Most non-GW feedback is, go with that sink, and use a custom sized cutting board for more "countertop" space if needed. I would really only get 1/2 of the additional counter space (on left side), because right side abuts peninsula.So I suppose max additional space is 3-4", adding onto 26" (over DW and to sink edge).

Would a smaller-than-necessary single sink seem a bit odd in a 36" cabinet, IOW?

Thanks in advance!

Here is a link that might be useful: Silgranit Low Divide Sink

Comments (22)

  • scrappy25
    9 years ago

    I think either a blanco super single with a side positioned drain or
    blanco cascade super single sink with low divide (both utilizing the 36 inch cabinet) would work better than the double drain sink; the single drain saves loads of cabinet space underneath which can be used instead for a pull-out trash, the more rectangular shape allows use of readily available over sink cutting boards. A large sink combined with an over sink cutting board is a wonderful combination and you will find yourself doing a lot of prepping on the sink itself, I don't think you will miss the counterspace with that setup.

  • huango
    9 years ago

    Can you post your layout? How little countertop do you have?

    I love my very large 33" single-bowl sink, so I have a hard time understanding why anyone would want a smaller sink than the space allows.

    My 36" sink base cabinet allows me to do 18" trash pullout underneath.

  • practigal
    9 years ago

    The best countertop I ever had was an over the sink cutting board. So long as you get one that is truly useful you'll be fine (mine was some type of lightweight, sturdy clear acrylic? that washed and dried in seconds, not a really heavy cutting board and it did not need to be babied). The mistake that I subsequently made was not realizing that not all sinks/faucets are installed such that you can lay an over the sink cutting board firmly and flat...A situation that will be corrected on my next sink.

  • marg143
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thank you!

    Scrappy - thank you, I will look at those in more depth. The cascade idea seems to allow for a little hint of double bowl.. for draining on the upper deck at least.

    Huango, here is a photo. Not much there! Maybe 30" usable by refrig, 26" over DW until sink starts, and then small peninsula 21" out from sink wall.

    Practigal - what didn't allow yours to be overlaid well?

    Probably a question answered in other threads, I'll check - is there any reason I'd need two drains?? Going with one would open things up in the cabinet, for sure...

    Thanks.

  • HomeChef59
    9 years ago

    I made the conversion to single bowl sink years ago. Getting rid of a double bowl sink is one of my justifications for a remodeled kitchen.

    Double and triple bowl sinks were solutions in kitchens that did not have dishwashers. You needed to be able to wash, rinse or sanitize simultaneously. Today, most kitchens have dishwashers. The need for the second bowl has diminished.

    I love being able to drop everything into a large single bowl. Any sink longer than 28" will accept most larger items. I have large cutting boards, roasting pans and half sheet trays. A double bowl sink will not accommodate items this large.

    Space under the cabinet with one set of drains is another good reason for the simplification of a single sink.

    Some people like to have the second drain for the garbage disposal. I have lived on a septic system for so long that the garbage disposal is no longer a habit. I can take it or leave it.

    Put me in the single bowl sink contingent.

  • scrappy25
    9 years ago

    Just posted this on another thread but is also a good alternative for you The Ticor 4000 sink (about $400) has integral drain and cutting board fitting on a ledge inside the cutout. The drain is offset to the back but not to the side, you'd have to be a little creative with the plumbing but could probably fit a pullout trash underneath.

    {{gwi:2141889}}

  • practigal
    9 years ago

    An aftermarket cutting board will have pull out wires to rest on, that way it can adjust to a variety of sink sizes.
    If a sink is sold with an integrated cutting board, most such sinks are installed with a reveal or lip such that the board is sitting on the edge of the sink and the top of the board will be even (or close to even) with the countertop. In my case the problem is that the current sink is an old undermount sink with old plumbing too, everything is curvy and nothing is flat.
    From the front to the back-the faucet plate is in the way (most faucet installations don't use plates to cover up the unused holes anymore, they use hole plugs which may still be a problem, I cannot tell), such that the pull out plastic wires that hold up the board do not have a flat place to rest on the faucet side.
    From side to side-one side is the countertop on top of the undermount sink and the other side is the lower center divide, The height difference is about 5 inches so the board the board would rest at quite an unusable angle.

  • practigal
    9 years ago

    Scrappy25 has posted an excellent illustrative picture, showing how an over the sink cutting board needs flat edges to rest on. As to the single bowl or double bowl question, if you have a dishwasher you really only need one bowl. Two bowls were highly desirable when you needed one to wash in and the other to rinse in. Even though the dishwasher has reduced the desirability of a double bowl sink, I have found that many people do not put their dishes directly into the dishwasher but instead let them stack up in one of the bowls while they use the other bowl. If that has been your pattern it's going to be a bit of an adjustment going to a single bowl, otherwise you will probably be quite happy to have only one sink to clean.

  • marg143
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks, everyone, for your thoughts.

    HomeChef, thank you for articulating your thoughts on pros of single bowl/reasons for double. I think I could still do a garbage disposal in one drain?

    Scrappy - thank you! Looks like it can fit everything. I was thinking not to do stainless... but that setup looks so efficient.

    Eliza - thanks for the feedback on smaller sink in larger cabinet looking Ok - that is one of my questions!

    Practigal - thanks for describing your situation - it seems if I don't have one of those escutcheon plates, I eliminate your issue and the board could rest front to back OK even with a curved sink. I do put my items into the DW unless they can't fit or should be hand washed. I don't always wash those right away.

    I guess having two bowls would allow washing hand washables in less water without keeping a plastic tub, having a below-counter space for drying/draining (lower priority - it's near a corner and I could place that in corner space), having a 'clean' bowl if my too-bigs and hand-washes are not washed, and having a free drain to dump things into if one drain is covered. Grids would take care of the latter. For me, I think cons of single are mainly the less water needed/no tub... And price...

    With low divides available to accommodate large items, I'm thinking the biggest advantage for single bowl for me is cabinet space from one less drain. Given the small kitchen, that seems notable. It would need to justify a $150 - $200 additional price (if I stay with the silgranit options - the cascade seems nice with that additional shelf). I don't have a garbage pull-out, so that may be worth it.

    Anyone else /any other thoughts / what else should I think of?

    Thanks!

  • huango
    9 years ago

    What kind of countertop are you planning?

    If you're planning on hanging things across the sink, do not get soft stone, like marble.

    I have white Danby marble and it is so soft that when I hang a pot off the marble edge (to help hold the pot when I'm filling up water, etc), my pot edges/handles scrapes the marble edge.
    I've stopped that bad habit now.

    "I don't have a garbage pull-out":
    You can still install one. You have all that space in that 36" base cabinet.
    like this:

  • sherri1058
    9 years ago

    I have been doing the self debate about single vs double sink for the past year. I have always had a double sink, and I have a garbage disposal. What I've decided on (finally!) is to go with a single large sink with the side offset drain. I discovered that while I often have dirty dishes soaking in the sink, it is the dishes are filled with water, not the sink. This means I can have dirty dishes in one side and use the garbage disposal on the other. I also discovered that I wash dishes without filling the sink more often than with a sink full of water. Once I realized all this, it was easy for me to reconcile a large single sink with all of the advantages everyone has listed above.

  • debrak2008
    9 years ago

    I converted from a double to single basin and would never go back. Your habits may have to change but thats a good thing. 1st put dirty dishes directly in the dw. No need to fill up the sink. Run/Use the dishwasher as much as possible. Ask yourself why you are hand washing something? We don't need fill up the sink to hand wash something. Items don't have to sit in water to be washed clean. You don't have to sit in a bathtub to wash yourself, you can take a shower. I think a single basin is better for a GD because everything does down it. No mistakenly dumping something in the wrong side.

  • marg143
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thank you, Huango, for the tip on stone - I am going with granite so should be OK. Photo is a good inspiration for what can be done there!

    Sherri and Debra - thank you for your thought processes - most helpful to hear how others have come to their decisions as well.

    I think I will post a selection of singles for a 'vote' in another thread. Thanks.

  • ardcp
    9 years ago

    i will be the dissenter and say i started with a crappy builder grade double bowl and replaced it with a ss single bowl 32" long and have gone away from the single.
    i liked the single bowl for soaking but hated digging under pans for silverware, small items ( my sink almost always has some dishes in it, i think my kids multiply their dishes when i am not looking)
    when i did my reno my 33" sink base had limited options but i went with a diamond silgranite in the 1 1/2 bowl style, color is anthracite.
    the very small side bowl allows me to drain pasta when there are dishes in the big part of the sink and where i dump all the silverware as i have never had a dw that does a good job on the silverware.
    the big bowl is big enough to soak 9x12 pans and cookie sheets. for me it is the best of both worlds. btw my model and be top or undermounted

  • marg143
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thank you, ardcp! I appreciate that perspective and the reasons why!

    By the way, I really like your granite - what is it? Mine also will have some dark/black streaks. I have white cabinets and appliances, though, so I don't think I can do antrhacite - would be the only black except the small streaks. So I'm thinking of truffle for whatever model I ultimately choose.

  • ardcp
    9 years ago

    my granite was called antartica at my granite place but my kd said it looked like blue ice to her so it may have many names.
    i loved the truffle and the cinder and the sparkly silver color too! i went to a plumbing supply place near me and saw them in person. they are so pretty!
    if you have a showroom near you maybe seeing them in person will be helpful. i found 2 places near me from the blanco website. good luck!

  • Shayerah
    9 years ago

    I also went with a double bowl sink. I like having one bowl in which to wash dishes and the other to set them in to dry (I have racks in both halves to keep dishes off the sink base to keep from marking it up). I prefer that set-up to having a dish drainer on the countertop with all my drying dishes on display. I do have a dishwasher but there are some things I prefer to handwash. I also have room under the sink for a 13 gallon trash can.

    {{gwi:2141912}}

    This post was edited by Shayerah on Fri, Jan 2, 15 at 17:26

  • marg143
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    That is such a pretty sink, shayerah! Thank you for your feedback.

    And ardcp, thanks for yours too. And if you're still reading this - do you like the battery soap dispenser vs. installed?

  • Liz
    9 years ago

    So my single bowl sink is installed now. It feels HUGE. I don't miss the second bowl at all. I see a PP uses her second bowl for drying dishes. That would be great - we always have a drying rack in the counter - but I would have needed a massive sink to hold a rack big enough for us.

    My 32" near-zero radius, rear.center drain sink is huge. Could definitely go down to 30, even 28 or 26, and have plenty of room.

  • ardcp
    9 years ago

    i really like the battery operated one alot so much so that i got another one for my bathroom.
    i haven't ever had an installed one but i did have a delta wall mount soap pump in the bath and it stopped working after a couple of years. i had to take it out and fill in the hole in the wall so that was forefront in my mind when deciding on a sink mount. i am leary of built ins.

  • AvatarWalt
    9 years ago

    Interesting perspectives on something I've long been going back and forth on. I'm leaning towards a 36" double bowl with one almost-19" bowl and one 10" bowl. I'd like a bowl big enough to soak things and easily clean cookie sheets, but I want a small spot that's not on the counter to dry things that we use every day (coffee pot and filter, knives, etc.) too. so that's what I've decided on today. Check back tomorrow and it's likely to be different.