Local eater, which model do you have? I'm seriously considering a low divide, since I don't want a prep sink, but I like to maintain one side as "clean" when cooking is underway. Is that how you use the 2 sides and is it working for you? Or anyone else who has this?

I have the performa low divide. I use it exactly as you describe. The entire sink is across from my island, where I prep. I installed the sink with the small bowl closer to my stove. I use the small bowl for rinsing veggies during prep. After dinner I use it as a drying rack. I do not have a separate prep sink in my kitchen and that was a factor in my selection.

Thanks, Localeater-- that is exactly what I was thinking, though had not thought of the drying rack angle. This place is such a great resource!

In a heartbeat. I've had my white Diamond Super Single since early March 2011, close to two years now. Constant use, and nothing that hasn't cleaned off with dish soap, baking soda and a plastic scrubbie.

LOVE this sink.

Absolutely! When we removed this past fall I insisted in Silgranite after reading such good things here as well as a personal testimony from my aunt, who got one for her new house in Colorado. Ours is a double bowl, with runnels on the side, in Anthracite. It's fantastic.

Localeater, have you found a drying rack that fits in the small sink side? I plan on getting a low divide but it seems all the drying racks are just a little bigger than that small side!

Williamsem- I frequently just dry things on the stainless grid. However, I have a multi-tool approach. I also have a collapsible drainer that I use for overflow days. I like it because it takes up so little room under my sink. I also have a drying mat.
So I can dry on the stainless grid, I can hang the collapsible rack over the grid and still have other dishes drying right below on the grid, or in a pinch I can pull out the drying mat set it on the counter and place the drainer on top of that.
The link is the exact rack I have, it doesn't fit in the basin, however if I got out my sander and shaved the handles it would because it is just off a hair. That is just not a requirement for me.

Here is a link that might be useful: my collapsible drainer

If you have Silgranit now and love it, did you have stainless before? Why do you love Silgranit more than stainless? I know hard water leaves spots on stainless but we don't have hard water so I am not concerned about that issue.

I'm so tempted by Silgranit but I have Swanstone now and just hate it. I'm worried that Silgranit is like Swanstone.

Good question, Nanj. I'd love to hear some silgranit lovers respond. Since my sink is an undermount in granite, I need to be POSITIVE it's the right choice for us! The threads I've found about cracked silgranit sinks does cause me to pause and question my decision to get silgranit. BUT, I really want a lovely sink! :)

I know nothing about Swanstone. What about it dont you like, Nanj?

Yes, I've owned SS before. Why do I love silgranit over SS? Let me count the ways.

1. The water were I've lived with SS hasn't been particularly hard, but water spots show anyway. Anywhere that water touched, left a mark. (I wouldn't call it a stain.). It's meant wiping down every...single...time I turned on the water. I use my sink(s) dozens and dozens and dozens of times per day; I use my kitchen hours a day. Wiping them down after each use is unthinkable so I lived with the marks and my sink looking, to me, grungy. This is a sink were talking about. It should work for me, not me having to work to keep it looking like its supposed to.

I have zero water spots on my silgranit.

2. I cannot stand the way SS sounds when something is set or dropped into it.

My silgranit makes no tinny, metal sound.

3. To make SS shine, people use furniture polish.

My silgranit requires no such chemical to make it look nice.

4. SS scratches.

Silgranit does not scratch at all. No patina develops from scratching.

****In fairness, I should say that my SS sinks were not of my choosing so I have no idea the gauge or pricing of these sinks. I know they were not high end. That might make a difference. But you would have to pry my silgranits from my cold, mangled, dead hands to get them from me now. I would NEVER go back to stainless willingly. Nor could you pay me to do so.

Hope that answered your question, Nanj!

EDIT: Added scratching to list.

This post was edited by breezygirl on Sun, Jan 13, 13 at 15:23

Nanj - in response to your post, Silgranit is NOTHING like Swanstone. Swanstone is a solid surface created by a compression of plastic compounds. Silgranit is 80% granite. That is why Silgranit doesn't stain, doesn't chip, feels solid, doesn't look dull, withstands heat up to 500 degrees, and doesn't scratch.

I am linking a recent thread in which people compared stainless steel sinks to Silgranit sinks. The opinions are pretty polarized, but you can read it for yourself and make up your own mind. I myself wish I'd chosen a Silgranit sink instead of the stainless sink I have.

Here is a link that might be useful: Thread called Anyone Regret Stainless Steel Sink

The endorsements for Silgranit are so passionate, so convincing! Breezy, thanks for your input. I do wonder if more expensive, assuming higher quality, stainless sinks are better.

What don't I like about Swanstone: the staining. For instance, if I rinse out a pot that I cooked marinara sauce in, there are faint stains left in the sink. Yes, the stains can be removed with cleaners that contain bleach but it is such a nuisance that so many things stain.

I've had porcelain over cast iron and SS and currently have a SS bar sink. I agree with Breezygirl. Always look dirty and the sound. My bar sink even makes a weird sound when the water is running into it, like a vibration. It was here when we moved in, so I have no idea what gauge it is. I can almost guarantee average builder type, though. On the other hand, the silgranit material is quiet whether you're placing dishes in it or running water.

The surface of silgranit reminds me a little of teflon. It's nice and smooth and things don't stick to it. Stuff does stick to SS. Chiseling off the dried oatmeal is something I don't miss.

Nanj--A higher quality SS may have less tinny noise, but it would still show water spots and SCRATCHES (forgot to mention scratches in my list above--hate those) and not look shiny. From what I've read here, only the noise can improve with more $$. Also, from reading above, you can see that some folks with the light colored silgranits have that same light staining issue on occasion, although it doesn't sound like they need to use bleach to clean. I do not have that trouble with my metallic silgranits. From what I've read, the truffle color, while still light, doesn't have this issue either.

Shannon--good info on Swanstone vs silgranit.

Stainless always looked dirty unless just cleaned in my old houses and that drove me crazy so I figured with the dark silgranit that it would show less and it would if we didn't have hard water, which we had no clue we would have since we were the first to build in the neighborhood. We now have a water softner, but can't get the hard water stains off.

Numbers junkie, I've tried magic eraser, other scrubbers with and without various cleaners including CLR. I think I'm just doomed to live with it as is. I have even used a razor blade on some of the edges and that helped, but can't do that on anything else since the sink isn't smooth in it's surface.

Shannon- Great info! Thanks.

I'm tickled that the Silgranit I am interested in is within what I have budgeted for a kitchen sink. Thanks to everyone for sharing your opinions!

Lyfia--That's really interesting. I've not heard anyone else with those issues before. Have you contacted Blanco to see what they recommend in your situation? I'd be curious to hear what they have to say about it.

Thanks everyone--very good information.

I was sold, totally sold, on the Blanco Silgranit low divide in our kitchen remodel. But THEN, i picked my color scheme and am confused on which color to get. I'm dismayed that I may HAVE to get SS just because of this!! Can anyone help me decide on a color that would work for my palette? I'm stuck.

We will have a red island with probably a charcoal countertop. The Blue Star on the wall will be a matching red. The backsplash will be a fun splash of color (not sure what--yellow/red/white?) All the cabinets will be white (since i have to have SOMETHING neutral!) we love color :)

The wall trio will be stainless and the fridge will be paneled.The peripheral counters will ???? because I have no idea except for white what would work! And then because of that, i'd have to get the white sink which i didn't want since more people seem to love the dark colors because the light ones stain.

The pics above helped me a bit. Thanks much in advance!

Thanks everyone--very good information.

I was sold, totally sold, on the Blanco Silgranit low divide in our kitchen remodel. But THEN, i picked my color scheme and am confused on which color to get. I'm dismayed that I may HAVE to get SS just because of this!! Can anyone help me decide on a color that would work for my palette? I'm stuck.

We will have a red island with probably a charcoal countertop. The Blue Star on the wall will be a matching red. The backsplash will be a fun splash of color (not sure what--yellow/red/white?) All the cabinets will be white (since i have to have SOMETHING neutral!) we love color :)

The wall trio will be stainless and the fridge will be paneled.The peripheral counters will ???? because I have no idea except for white what would work! And then because of that, i'd have to get the white sink which i didn't want since more people seem to love the dark colors because the light ones stain.

The pics above helped me a bit. Thanks much in advance!

Yes, I would buy a Siligranit sink again. I love the ones we just had installed. We had porcelain over cast iron for the past 19 years, and SS in our other house. I like that there is no shine to it-the SS was blinding when the sun shone in the kitchen and the porcelain always was getting marked up from pans in the sink and never looked clean to me.

I'm coming to Silgranit from decades of enameled cast iron and enameled steel sinks, some chipped and worn to the point where it was impossible to get them really clean.

Obviously any new, integral surface would be a big improvement there. But the Silgranit gives me the familiarity of a white sink, easy to clean and easy to see that it's clean, warmer than enamel-on-metal and less prone to damage (inflicting or sustaining it) when something clunks against the side of the sink.

It's also a giant bonus that the Diamond super single model fits exactly into the cutout of the old (1963) sink it replaced; unlike most GWers, ours is overmounted - drop-in. The plumber only sealed it lightly, because we hope someday before too long to put in a new counter run on the cooking-sink wall, at which point we might undermount it. I expect it to be still in good shape when we get around to that.

KitchenConfused--So if I understand correctly, you will have one sink on the perimeter with white cabs and counter yet to be decided. Island cabs will be red with charcoal counter. Right?

First, I'd suggest waiting to decide on your sink until you have your counter material decided. Counter material is everything with sink color choice.

Second, have you considered the metallic silgranit? The color is so hard to capture in photographs for me, but here's what my metallic prep sink looks like.

It's a little more silver/stainless looking IRL. The color in the top right corner of the sink is close to how it really looks. I find the color to be a great neutral and goes well with stainless appliances. It really goes with lots of different colors.

So, decide your perimeter counters FIRST, then sink color second. I would not be forced into a stainless sink under any circumstances. When you've got your colors all together, start a new thread with pics of all the materials together, and we'll help you decide!

BreezyGirl, Thanks SO MUCH! Good to know that you would not be forced to do SS. I REALLY want this sink but i don't want white since i don't want any staining at all, even from my pots.

Oh, and yes, the perimeter (U-shaped kitchen) has white cabs and the main sink (blanco performa is what i'm thinking, wanting the low divide). On the perimeter also is the red Bluestar range and colorful backsplash.

The red island with charcoal countertop will have a prep sink (not sure if i shut so blanco silgranit again here or blanco SS Ronis sink with the cover).

Thx again!

Breezygirl, is that the gray metallic in your photo? If so, that's the color I've been thinking I will choose. It's beautiful!

Southernmum--yes, that's the metallic. It's even prettier IRL. I hate to show this pic of my metallic, super single cleanup sink because the color is so wrong! Yikes! Its sickly brown here. Like I said, it's hard to photograph the metallic color well.

It really does match the charcoal veins in my Carrara.

For KitchenConfused and anyone else interested in what color works best for them, call or email Blanco. They'll send you little silgranit color chips so you can look at them with your other kitchen elements. I received my chips in the mail within a few days of emailing.

thank you all! we picked all our countertops and the metallic grey works best! thanks!

thank you all! we picked all our countertops and the metallic grey works best! thanks!

The off chance anyone here have Bordeaux River (Colonial Creme is a close match) granite countertops and biscuit Silgranit sink? If so, is this a good match? Would love to see a picture if this is the combination you have in your kitchen.

The off chance anyone here have Bordeaux River (Colonial Creme is a close match) granite countertops and biscuit Silgranit sink? If so, is this a good match? Would love to see a picture if this is the combination you have in your kitchen.

Kgolby - I googled Bordeaux River granite, but the pics that came up varied so enormously in color from slab to slab, that it would be hard to advise you without seeing a pic of your slab. What color are your cabinets? I am thinking a darker Silgranit might look good cause it'll have a nice contrast to the Bordeaux River counters. But I am in general partial to the darker-color Silgranits like anthracite and cafe brown, so probably I'm not the right one to opine!

My advice is that you can contact Blanco and they will mail you color chips of the Silgranit colors you are interested in. Their customer service number is 800-451-5782. It may be best to hold up the color chips right against your granite to see which color goes best in your kitchen.

This post was edited by alwaysfixin on Fri, Feb 1, 13 at 21:34

Thanks again, alwaysfixin! I do have to say I really like cast iron sinks but didn't want to get another one because of the black marks & the cost. I think a Silgranit sink is going to give me the same look with better benefits. The only concern I have about going with a darker color is the hard water we have in NE Florida. We need to get a water softener installed and I read that hard water spots are more noticeable with the darker colors.

Ditto to all of the positives about Silganit, including the "love" votes.

We also have hard water and although we have the Cafe Brown single sink it has not proven to be a major issue. If we get a mineral build up, I spray some CLR on it lightly (maybe every 6 mos. or so) and rinse off.

I heart it on an every day basis.

yes.

I have a SS and silgranite. I like them both. I like that the silgranite is not scary; if I knock a dish I'm not terrified it will break. I like that it's quiet and relatively splashless. I like that it's big. And pretty. I like that it feels silky and soft. I like it. Thank you GW.

This is the slab we've picked for the island where the sink is located. The cabinets are a painted maple ivory color. Cabinets have a beige/gray undertone so maybe truffle would look really nice??? I don't think I could go wrong w/ biscuit.

This is the slab we've picked for the island where the sink is located. The cabinets are a painted maple ivory color. Cabinets have a beige/gray undertone so maybe truffle would look really nice??? I don't think I could go wrong w/ biscuit.

We got ours entirely based on GW raves. We had SS before. I didn't mind the water marks as much as others seem to - my feeling was that it WAS a sink, after all.

It was hard to get an actual look at the Silgranit sink in person but I ordered it (in Anthracite) anyway. I was a bit apprehensive seeing it coming out of the box. It seemed like it was going to be flimsy. It's NOT, when installed. And I'm pretty sure that I read somewhere on this board that the Silgranit sink upon which Consumer Reports dropped their weight on wasn't even installed in a real counter top.

The only thing is that I wish it were shallower. That's just me, though - a lot of people like being able to stack lots of things in it and have them be hidden. I find it a tad harder to wash dishes, and my taller husband seems to even more.

You might want to check (maybe even this is noted above) about lighter colors. When I was looking into this a couple years ago there were complaints that the lighter colors can stain? That may have been a silgranite I as opposed to silgranite II issue -- I think it was. That is, I think they remade the material for all about 4 years ago so it might be a complete non-issue if ever it was. But that's what I recall about the lighter colors - some people don't like the look quite as well and possible staining issues. I have anthracite (black-grey-ish) and it has been a zero problem. If this does turn out to be a problem, better solicit info about local water hardness too and compare it with yours! Zero problems in LA with impossible-to-know-because-it-varies-locally-and-seasonally hard water (I'm no help, sorry!)

p.s: I think truffle would be pretty (that's the grey, right, as opposed to the beige -- I'd go darker because the sink is sort of a cavern and the darkness helps de-emphasize this).

Metallic grey double sink...going on 8 years. LOVE it still.

-Babka

I've got a cinder Silgranit Performa Undermount sink for sale at Amazon at a great price ($399 + $14.99 shipping) if anyone is interested. Click on "5 used and new from $399" under "More Buying Choices".

Here is a link that might be useful: Blanco 441476 Silgranit II Performa Cascade Sink, Cinder

I wouldn't get another undermount sink with a 10" depth, if the counters are the standard 36" height. Even with the stainless grid on the bottom, it is just too low for back comfort.

I wouldn't get another undermount sink with a 10" depth, if the counters are the standard 36" height. Even with the stainless grid on the bottom, it is just too low for back comfort.

My Blanco silgranite sink chipped in ONE DAY! My range wasn't even installed, so no pots or pans were used or washed in the sink. I just paid $8,000 for the installers to put in the Caesarstone and the sink. The check hadn't even cleared yet, and the sink chipped. Blanco will NOT pay for a re-install, I have to pay for that. I can not in all good conscience EVER recommend buying one.

kmkane - What happened to cause the chip? You must be so disappointed. This thread is very old so maybe start a new one?

That looks more like an air pocket than a chip to me. No sink mftr reinstalls, they only provide a replacement sink....

I've had no chips in three years. Whatever fell in that sink would have dented most stainless sinks and chipped porcelain. Sinks don't spontaneously chip, so I couldn't blame Blanco if it happened to me.

Kmkane - that's terrible! Can you please provide more information? You had the sink installed 1 day, and so, did the sink spontaneously chip? Could it be that it was chipped during installation (one of the installers dropped a hammer or something), and you didn't noticed it till the next day? Or perhaps, if you gave the sink to your countertop fabricator for templating, it got damaged during that process? There have also been stories of sinks being damaged in shipping by sellers who do not pack the sink well. I am not trying to challenge you, but I just am throwing out possibilities, because you said you didn't use the sink, and after 1 day it chipped.

No manufacturer will pay for re-installation, whether it's an appliance, a counter, a faucet, or a sink. Let us know if Blanco is providing you a new sink.

I had two Silgranit sinks in two kitchens, totaling about 7 years of use. Never had a chip, and I washed my Lodge cast iron and my Le Creuset in there, and banged them now and then. When I left those kitchens, the Silgranit sinks looked the same as the day they were installed.

Oh no! I'm curious to know what happened as well. We've been using our Silgranit for 3+ years with no issues at all. I agree with the others that while Blanco won't pay to have it reinstalled, there has to be a chance they'll provide you with a replacement sink.

Thanks all, good suggestions in starting a new thread, and very good thought on it possibly being an air bubble. Seriously, the only things in that sink were two plates, a Pyrex dish, a few glasses, and flatware - forks, spoons, knives,etc. nothing heavy at all! And yes, I checked it when the installers left. It breaks my heart that I have to pay for a new install. That's money that would have gone to the backsplash and other items. Will keep you informed.