Undermount Stainless Steel Kitchen Sinks
By Derek Farley
Undermount Stainless Steel Kitchen Sink. The rise in the use of granite and quartz solid surfaces has caused a multitude of undermount sinks to surface, most notably, stainless steel. Brushed stainless steel is an excellent, reasonable, difficult to scratch material. There are many brands, makes and models, and the price is greatly affected by the manufacturer. Farm or apron sinks are very popular but also add considerably to the cost. The most widely used undermount sink would be a 50/50 sink, each bowl is the same size (typically 14×16 and a depth of 8.5 – 9.5 inches). Other sinks would be a 60/40, large bowl/small bowl, a 70/30, larger bowl/useless bowl, or a single bowl. Typically, the larger bowl will be deeper. There are deeper ones, but I suspect if you have a garbage disposal or a normally plumbed house, you would have to spend additional plumbing dollars to prevent your water from flowing uphill.
There are many websites out there and many stores that sell undermount stainless steel kitchen sinks, the websites are great, but its another case of, “if its too good to be true…”. Eighteen gauge is the most common of the sinks, the gauge being the thickness of the steel, the lower the number the thicker the metal. A good price for a medium quality 50/50 18 gauge would be no less than $150.00 retail. Name brands demand higher quality, but also demand a raise, honestly if its not an issue get the name brand. I have worked for a countertop organization and we would buy in bulk, by the pallet, 18 gauge sinks for $85.00/each. So please, buyer beware. Make sure that if it is an off brand, that they offer a return policy if there are quality issues. When the undermount stainless steel kitchen sinks arrives, make sure that you give the cutout template from inside the box to your fabricator, this will allow the fabricator to make your undermount cutout precisely. Also another thing to watch out for is if it is either brushed or polished stainless, polished scratches a lot easier. Do your homework and choose carefully, once the material is cut to that sink, you are married to it. Good luck and happy hunting.
