One of the drawbacks of choosing a farmhouse sink is the installation process. Depending on how your kitchen is set up, you may have to alter the size and design of your countertops before the farmhouse sink installation. Farmhouse sinks are much deeper and wider than classic kitchen sinks.
Most farmhouse sinks are durable but they can also become chipped, scratched, or stained if not taken care of. Here are some tips we recommend. Use a sink grid to protect the bottom to prevent any scratches from heavy pots & pans. Use a non-abrasive cleaner and microfiber cloth to buff out any small nicks in the sink.
Fireclay Sinks
These sinks are extremely popular these days and understandably so. Fireclay is made when clay and glaze are fused together at extremely high temperatures. This creates a highly durable material that is hard and resistant to chips and cracks.
Maintaining a Farmhouse Sink
A simple mild solution of baking soda + vinegar or eco dish soap + water is all you need. Wipe surfaces clean with a soft brush, sponge or cloth. Keep the sink free of standing water to prevent buildup from the mineral deposit.
A porcelain farmhouse sink is a highly coveted kitchen feature—and for good reason. Farmhouse sinks are beautiful, spacious, and timeless, plus they add a distinctive look to any kitchen they're placed in.
2. Farmhouse sinks (+26 percent) Porcelain, apron-front sinks are a splurge kitchen choice for sure—but apparently they pay you back big-time in the long run.
Yes, absolutely. A garbage disposal can be installed to any farmhouse sink be it a single bowl or a double bowl. In most cases, you can use the stainless steel drain attachments that come with the garbage disposal unit.
Placing hot pots or pans directly into the sink could cause damage to the sink. and nicks in the sink from daily use. Avoid pouring boiling water into sink. Run cold water if hot liquids are poured into sink.
Finally, there is a difference in the style of the two sinks. Farmhouse kitchen sinks are designed to add a rustic, farmhouse-style aesthetic to the kitchen, while apron sinks are more modern and sleek. Both farmhouse sinks and apron sinks are excellent choices for any kitchen.
Can you use bleach on a farmhouse sink? You sure can, as long as it's well diluted with water, and it won't hurt a thing. And it's great (as we will see in a minute) for disinfecting the drain, garbage disposal, and sink grid (if you have one).
Step 6: Add Support to Cabinets
Because farmhouse sinks are pretty heavy, you'll need to add support to the inside of the cabinet to be able to hold the weight. You can do this by adding two two-by-four pieces of wood to the sides horizontally.
Even so, having said all that, there are plenty of reasons farmhouse sinks will never go out of style. As George pointed out, “they are extremely versatile” and as long as you're careful and “you keep on top of cleaning, your sink will remain in good quality for years to come.”
Size. If you are concerned about wasting water, look for a farmhouse sink that has a smaller capacity. The depth of the traditional farmhouse sink is great for washing big items, but it means to fill it you'll need a lot more water than for a typical sink.
By its nature, a farmhouse sink involves more than a traditional unit, and the price difference is justified. These larger, deeper, more statement fixtures are often made with more expensive materials, such as fireclay or copper.
No matter what you do, you will most likely need a special or custom cabinet to accommodate your new farmhouse or apron sink. This is because there are many styles of sink designs and how they need to be installed, typically requires a non-standard cabinet. The two most common types are Drop-in or Undermount.
A good place to start when looking for the right size is with the most popular sizes for farmhouse sinks, small, medium, and large. Or the most common, either a 30″ or 33″ single bowl.
Kohler makes farmhouse sinks with smaller aprons to keep the same aesthetic in a more manageable size for some cabinets. In most new homes the kitchen sink is approximately 30 inches in length, which is a standard size for a farmhouse sink. The other standard sizes are 24, 33, and 36 inches.
The primary benefit of a grid for new farmhouse sinks is to protect the brand new finish. Fresh copper and even hardened fireclay scratch more easily than you might realize. The metal bottom of pots, the metal tines of forks, and even the scrape of ceramic plate edges might cause a small flaw in the finish.
Fireclay, which is a ceramic material made by mixing clay and glaze, can crack or chip if you drop something heavy on it, but it takes more force to do damage.
A fireclay farmhouse sink is much harder to scratch or chip than the porcelain coating on a cast iron sink, and of course will not rust as exposed iron tends to do. Fireclay tends to come only in shades of white, and is more expensive, but its light weight and strength make it a very practical choice.
Compared to other ceramic-style sinks, fireclay is incredibly durable and resistant. It's hard to break or nick a fireclay sink. The downside is that the fireclay material can show surface scratches, especially if an object creates a hard impact.
Some sinks will be labeled 30" Kitchen sink, but the basin size is in fact 28". [This sink will fit!] While other sinks are named after their TRUE 30" basin size [This will NOT fit]. Which means you CAN fit some "thirty" inch sinks in a 30" kitchen sink base cabinet.
'Can you install a farmhouse sink in an existing countertop? ' is a common question, one with the short answer of 'yes'. If you're looking for more specifics, we'll cover more details about everything from installation to costs to obstacles that might get in the way.