OT: Granite Countertop Questions

Sue D. said:

Hi all,
I know several of you have granite countertops,
and am wondering about picking sinks...do you
just do the stainless steel, or try to co-ordinate
with the color of your granite? Also, undermount
sinks...anyone have one of these...if so how do you
like it...I really like the look of these, but our
counter guy said we would need to put a support
thing in the cabinet under the sink and am wondering
how much space I will lose. Picking the granite was
so easy, but the sink and faucet are driving me nuts!

Any input would be tremendously appreciated!

elkay.com

Sheldon

Sue D. said:

Hi all,
I know several of you have granite countertops,
and am wondering about picking sinks...do you
just do the stainless steel, or try to co-ordinate
with the color of your granite?

This is purely a matter of taste. Personally I prefer
functionality over appearance. I went with a Franke SS
undermounted, single bowl. It's durable and roomy enough,
which is what I really care about. Appearance is secondary
to me.

My criteria were:

Single bowl, not double!
SS, at most 18 gauge (smaller gauges are heavier)
Insulated, if possible (helps deaden the sound)
At least 9" deep, preferably 10"

Quoted message said:

Also, undermount
sinks...anyone have one of these...if so how do you
like it...I really like the look of these, but our
counter guy said we would need to put a support
thing in the cabinet under the sink and am wondering
how much space I will lose. Picking the granite was
so easy, but the sink and faucet are driving me nuts!

I hear you. The sink took me the longest too, kind
of that last piece in the puzzle. I almost had to have
one custom made because of the dimensions of the space.
Take your time and keep looking.

I really like undermounts, and not just because of the look.
They make for easy cleanup too. It's a must for granite
countertops, IMO.

You're getting good advice, undermounted sinks can be
prone to leakage problems if they're not properly installed.
I had the contractor add some extra supports underneath
and it hasn't given me any problems. I can set a loaded
20 qt stockpot right in the middle of the sink and not worry
about the seal loosening. You will lose some space by doing this
but it's worth it.

Another recommendation: get at disposal with at least
a 3/4 hp motor.

--
Reg email: RegForte (at) (that free MS email service) (dot) com

Sue D. said:

Hi all,
I know several of you have granite countertops,
and am wondering about picking sinks...do you
just do the stainless steel, or try to co-ordinate
with the color of your granite? Also, undermount
sinks...anyone have one of these...if so how do you
like it...I really like the look of these, but our
counter guy said we would need to put a support
thing in the cabinet under the sink and am wondering
how much space I will lose. Picking the granite was
so easy, but the sink and faucet are driving me nuts!

Any input would be tremendously appreciated!

Sue D.

We have granite with an undermount SS sink. The SS is so preactical, and
we think it looks good too (SS applicances for the most part). Initially
we did not have a support but after 3 years it started pulling loose so
we had one installed. It consists of two vertical boards, each about 1x2
inches, under the sink. You lose a little room but not that much.

Peter

Sheldon said:

Sue D. said:

Hi all,
I know several of you have granite countertops,
and am wondering about picking sinks...do you
just do the stainless steel, or try to co-ordinate
with the color of your granite? Also, undermount
sinks...anyone have one of these...if so how do you
like it...I really like the look of these, but our
counter guy said we would need to put a support
thing in the cabinet under the sink and am wondering
how much space I will lose. Picking the granite was
so easy, but the sink and faucet are driving me nuts!

Any input would be tremendously appreciated!

elkay.com

Sheldon

Thanks for the link. They really have some great looking sinks.
I really love my current sink...probably just because of the
configuration...a big deep sink with a smaller not so deep
sink next to it...I think it will probably have to be a stainless
steel sink for us. I keep seeing pictures and like the way
the ss contrast with the dark granite.
Thanks again,
Sue D.

Reg said:

Sue D. said:

Hi all,
I know several of you have granite countertops,
and am wondering about picking sinks...do you
just do the stainless steel, or try to co-ordinate
with the color of your granite?

This is purely a matter of taste. Personally I prefer
functionality over appearance. I went with a Franke SS
undermounted, single bowl. It's durable and roomy enough,
which is what I really care about. Appearance is secondary
to me.

My criteria were:

Single bowl, not double!
SS, at most 18 gauge (smaller gauges are heavier)
Insulated, if possible (helps deaden the sound)
At least 9" deep, preferably 10"

Quoted message said:

Also, undermount
sinks...anyone have one of these...if so how do you
like it...I really like the look of these, but our
counter guy said we would need to put a support
thing in the cabinet under the sink and am wondering
how much space I will lose. Picking the granite was
so easy, but the sink and faucet are driving me nuts!

I hear you. The sink took me the longest too, kind
of that last piece in the puzzle. I almost had to have
one custom made because of the dimensions of the space.
Take your time and keep looking.

I really like undermounts, and not just because of the look.
They make for easy cleanup too. It's a must for granite
countertops, IMO.

You're getting good advice, undermounted sinks can be
prone to leakage problems if they're not properly installed.
I had the contractor add some extra supports underneath
and it hasn't given me any problems. I can set a loaded
20 qt stockpot right in the middle of the sink and not worry
about the seal loosening. You will lose some space by doing this
but it's worth it.

Another recommendation: get at disposal with at least
a 3/4 hp motor

Oh my gosh, we totally forgot about the disposal...thanks big time
for the heads up!

Yeah, I think the undermount style is winning...they just look so
"together" and I love the easier clean up thing. I have had
a ss sink before and remember it being a pain to keep looking nice.
I am guessing the new products out like softscrub will make it
easier.

Thanks for you input!
Sue D.

P.Aitken said:

Sue D. said:

Hi all,
I know several of you have granite countertops,
and am wondering about picking sinks...do you
just do the stainless steel, or try to co-ordinate
with the color of your granite? Also, undermount
sinks...anyone have one of these...if so how do you
like it...I really like the look of these, but our
counter guy said we would need to put a support
thing in the cabinet under the sink and am wondering
how much space I will lose. Picking the granite was
so easy, but the sink and faucet are driving me nuts!

Any input would be tremendously appreciated!

Sue D.

We have granite with an undermount SS sink. The SS is so preactical, and
we think it looks good too (SS applicances for the most part). Initially
we did not have a support but after 3 years it started pulling loose so
we had one installed. It consists of two vertical boards, each about 1x2
inches, under the sink. You lose a little room but not that much.

Peter

I think I'm sold on undermount and will deal with a little less room
under the sink.
Thank so much!
Sue D.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I really like undermounts, and not just because of the look.
They make for easy cleanup too. It's a must for granite
countertops, IMO.

I like the look of the undermounts and stainless steel only when
they're on the showroom floor. The undermounts are easier to clean at
the top edge (countertop) but some of them are mounted so that there is
a catch-all groove right under the mount, where lots of crud can
collect. At least that's what I think when I see them. And I'll
always like a plain white porcelain sink the best - stainless steel
never looks clean to me because of the water lines and water marks.
JMO and YMMV, and really, nobody even asked me ;-)

(Garbage disposal h.p. is IMPORTANT. Pay more and get a good,
well-known brand.)

N.

On 26 Jan 2006 13:47:26 -0800, "Nancy1" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I really like undermounts, and not just because of the look.
They make for easy cleanup too. It's a must for granite
countertops, IMO.

I like the look of the undermounts and stainless steel only when
they're on the showroom floor. The undermounts are easier to clean at
the top edge (countertop) but some of them are mounted so that there is
a catch-all groove right under the mount, where lots of crud can
collect. At least that's what I think when I see them. And I'll
always like a plain white porcelain sink the best - stainless steel
never looks clean to me because of the water lines and water marks.
JMO and YMMV, and really, nobody even asked me ;-)

(Garbage disposal h.p. is IMPORTANT. Pay more and get a good,
well-known brand.)

N.

I totally agree about the h.p. in disposals...I hated leaving the one
we had just replaced when we moved...won't mind updating this one!
Will have to talk to the counter guy...if he can't promise me a smooth
fit so there will be noplace for the "crud" to collect I will have to
rethink things...a clean looking sink is important to me.
Sue D.

Sue D. said:

Any input would be tremendously appreciated!

Sue D.

We went with the Blanco Silgranit undermount sink. It looks great,
wears well, and cleans up easily
(http://www.blancoamerica.com/SILGRANIT_BENEFITS.htm)

I'll second the suggestion on getting a good disposal with a decent
amount of power. We got a 1.75HP one and I could put a human femur
through the damn thing. Not that I've done that. Often...

TL

--

Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist
the black flag, and begin slitting throats.

H.L. Mencken

Typhoon Longwang said:

Sue D. said:

Any input would be tremendously appreciated!

Sue D.

We went with the Blanco Silgranit undermount sink. It looks great,
wears well, and cleans up easily
(http://www.blancoamerica.com/SILGRANIT_BENEFITS.htm)

I'll second the suggestion on getting a good disposal with a decent
amount of power. We got a 1.75HP one and I could put a human femur
through the damn thing. Not that I've done that. Often...

Yowzer. I was tempted to go with a 1 HP but the motor is
so large I would have had to do much more to fit it in.
That must be one big unit.

--
Reg email: RegForte (at) (that free MS email service) (dot) com

Reg said:

Typhoon Longwang said:

Sue D. said:

Any input would be tremendously appreciated!

Sue D.

We went with the Blanco Silgranit undermount sink. It looks great,
wears well, and cleans up easily
(http://www.blancoamerica.com/SILGRANIT_BENEFITS.htm)

I'll second the suggestion on getting a good disposal with a decent
amount of power. We got a 1.75HP one and I could put a human femur
through the damn thing. Not that I've done that. Often...

Yowzer. I was tempted to go with a 1 HP but the motor is
so large I would have had to do much more to fit it in.
That must be one big unit.

FWIW - we have been told that the vibration of a disposal is a major
factor in causing undermount sinks to detatch.

Peter

P.Aitken said:

FWIW - we have been told that the vibration of a disposal is a major
factor in causing undermount sinks to detatch.

That's what I've been told. The contractor who did my last
undermount was a bit put off by the amount of extra supports
I had him install. They rest on the subfloor. Better
to overdesign than end up with an ongoing problem is the
way I see it.

--
Reg email: RegForte (at) (that free MS email service) (dot) com

On Thu, 26 Jan 2006 20:52:47 GMT, Reg <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

My criteria were:

Single bowl, not double!
SS, at most 18 gauge (smaller gauges are heavier)
Insulated, if possible (helps deaden the sound)
At least 9" deep, preferably 10"

Howdy,

We have SS undermount in granite. Our main sink is 28" X 16"
X 11" deep. By kitchen standards it is H-U-G-E, and we are
delighted with it. We have lots of large cookware that could
not be handled without it.

We have a second smaller one in another part of the kitchen.

I will also add that when we built, our builder asked if we
wanted one, or two, dishwashers. We thought that two would
be a bizarre extravagance... until he told us that having
two would offer significant savings (because the dishwasher
was so much less costly than the cabinet it replaced.)

We ultimately got two, but joked about getting a dozen.

All the best,
--
Kenneth

If you email... Please remove the "SPAMLESS."

Sue D. said:

Hi all,
I know several of you have granite countertops,
and am wondering about picking sinks...do you
just do the stainless steel, or try to co-ordinate
with the color of your granite? Also, undermount
sinks...anyone have one of these...if so how do you
like it...I really like the look of these, but our
counter guy said we would need to put a support
thing in the cabinet under the sink and am wondering
how much space I will lose. Picking the granite was
so easy, but the sink and faucet are driving me nuts!

Any input would be tremendously appreciated!

Hi Sue... we're finishing up turning part of our basement into a
family room type area. We used a dark granite and an over-mount ss
sink that I bought at auction years ago when a local plumbing supply
place went out of business. http://tinypic.com/view/?pic=mrvcbc

The faucet is a duplicate of what we are using at the present time in
our kitchen. http://tinyurl.com/eyspn Go to www.faucet.com and
you'll be overwhelmed by your choices (they even sell sinks).

I like ss and prefer over-mounts because they look better to my eye
than the great majority of under mounts. IMO, the single drawback of
an over-mount is that you can't "sweep" liquid etc into the sink. If
that's important to you, then figure out the best way to design an
under-mounted sink.

Good luck! Don't stress; take pictures and post when you've made up
your mind.

🙂

--

Practice safe eating. Always use condiments.

Sue D. said:

Quoted message said:

Hi all,
I know several of you have granite countertops,
and am wondering about picking sinks...do you
just do the stainless steel, or try to co-ordinate
with the color of your granite? Also, undermount
sinks...anyone have one of these...if so how do you
like it...I really like the look of these, but our
counter guy said we would need to put a support
thing in the cabinet under the sink and am wondering
how much space I will lose. Picking the granite was
so easy, but the sink and faucet are driving me nuts!

Any input would be tremendously appreciated!

Check with someone else about installation. We have an under mount sink with an
engineered granite counter and it is "sealed" on. They used some sort of silicone adhesive
sealer that forms a very (very) strong bond. I bet I could stand in the sink without fear
of breaking that seal.

There were temporary braces used to hold the sink in place while the adhesive set, but
they ran it through the empty drain hole to another support on the counter that spanned
the sink opening. No problem.

We really like the under mount sink and it's a breeze to clean the counter, chop and slip
the remains into the sink, wipe away spills, etc. We had a drop in sink previously and
are really happy to have the under mount now.

--
Rick R
[email hidden]
replace default with com to email

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Sheldon

Thanks for the link. They really have some great looking sinks.
I really love my current sink...probably just because of the
configuration...a big deep sink with a smaller not so deep
sink next to it...I think it will probably have to be a stainless
steel sink for us. I keep seeing pictures and like the way
the ss contrast with the dark granite.
Thanks again,
Sue D.

We have had Franke and now Elkay... Franke is my favorite. When you clean
the sink (barkeepers friend) Franke has far more luster. Franke makes 16
to 20 gauage products with good nickel content which is downright pretty
polished up and offers great configurations. Granite installers now use
clips.. granite is drilled for the clips. I also installed 2 x 2's and a
2x4 on the lip and bolted them to the cabinet base, front and rear. Extra
Support is not that hard and can be configured so that the storage in
cabinet is not lost.

jay said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Sheldon

Thanks for the link. They really have some great looking sinks.
I really love my current sink...probably just because of the
configuration...a big deep sink with a smaller not so deep
sink next to it...I think it will probably have to be a stainless
steel sink for us. I keep seeing pictures and like the way
the ss contrast with the dark granite.
Thanks again,
Sue D.

We have had Franke and now Elkay... Franke is my favorite. When you clean
the sink (barkeepers friend) Franke has far more luster. Franke makes 16
to 20 gauage products with good nickel content which is downright pretty
polished up and offers great configurations. Granite installers now use
clips.. granite is drilled for the clips. I also installed 2 x 2's and a
2x4 on the lip and bolted them to the cabinet base, front and rear. Extra
Support is not that hard and can be configured so that the storage in
cabinet is not lost.

Thanks for the input. We are 99% decided on a Franke. I will
show my husband what you wrote about about the clips. People
on this newsgroup are the best! 🙂
Sue D.

RoR said:

Sue D. said:

Quoted message said:

Hi all,
I know several of you have granite countertops,
and am wondering about picking sinks...do you
just do the stainless steel, or try to co-ordinate
with the color of your granite? Also, undermount
sinks...anyone have one of these...if so how do you
like it...I really like the look of these, but our
counter guy said we would need to put a support
thing in the cabinet under the sink and am wondering
how much space I will lose. Picking the granite was
so easy, but the sink and faucet are driving me nuts!

Any input would be tremendously appreciated!

Check with someone else about installation. We have an under mount sink with an
engineered granite counter and it is "sealed" on. They used some sort of silicone adhesive
sealer that forms a very (very) strong bond. I bet I could stand in the sink without fear
of breaking that seal.

There were temporary braces used to hold the sink in place while the adhesive set, but
they ran it through the empty drain hole to another support on the counter that spanned
the sink opening. No problem.

We really like the under mount sink and it's a breeze to clean the counter, chop and slip
the remains into the sink, wipe away spills, etc. We had a drop in sink previously and
are really happy to have the under mount now.

I wonder if they could combine the adhesive seal and the clips that
Jay posted about?

Thanks,
Sue D.

On Sat, 28 Jan 2006 10:54:28 -0800, sf <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Hi Sue... we're finishing up turning part of our basement into a
family room type area. We used a dark granite and an over-mount ss
sink that I bought at auction years ago when a local plumbing supply
place went out of business. http://tinypic.com/view/?pic=mrvcbc

The faucet is a duplicate of what we are using at the present time in
our kitchen. http://tinyurl.com/eyspn Go to www.faucet.com and
you'll be overwhelmed by your choices (they even sell sinks).

I like ss and prefer over-mounts because they look better to my eye
than the great majority of under mounts. IMO, the single drawback of
an over-mount is that you can't "sweep" liquid etc into the sink. If
that's important to you, then figure out the best way to design an
under-mounted sink.

Good luck! Don't stress; take pictures and post when you've made up
your mind.

🙂

Wow, nice picture! I bet your family is going to get alot of
enjoyment out of your new family room. Thanks for the link
to the faucet place!
Sue D.