I'm 5'3" and DH is 5' 8 1/2" and we have a 10" undermount sink. We love it! I'm not so happy about the 4" of granite in front of the sink (had thought it would be 3 1/2")--the reach forward bothers my back more than the reach down/into the sink would.

There was a big discussion on this that was still active as of this morning. The general consensus (myself included) is that the issue of ease of use with a large/deep sink has more to do with the reach of the faucet rather than the depth of the sink itself. I love my deep sink but hate the very short reach of my pull-out.

I have a S112 Ticor undermount sink, which is 10" deep. I have a grid on the sink bottom, which makes it less than 9" below the countertop. I have a 3cm soapstone countertop with a 4.5" strip in front of the sink. I also have a Kohler Vinnata faucet. The spout is 10" high, and the reach is 9.5". I'm 5'11" and all this works great for me.

Blanco silgranit super single here... its 10" deep at the deepest point without the grid. With the grid its about 7.5" deep through the whole sink. (for measurements I am not including the granite as there are differing thicknesses of countertops)

I think the people are right that say the faucet and how far the sink is from the counters edge would make a larger difference on usability than depth. If your faucet doesn't reach far enough you're gonna be in this awkward state of slightly bent over.

bump

I was lucky to have a chance to wash some dishes at my inlaws 10" deep kicthen sink...after the 2nd dish my back was killing me and I'm only 5'5".

So when it came time to pick a sink for my kitchen I knew I had to go with something less deep. We ended up with a 7 3/4" undermount soapstone sink (8 3/4" including counter thickness) and so far it's been great.
It's big enough to hide stuff in, and get the big pots under the faucet, and look like a substaintial apron fornt sink...but not so deep that it feels like your bending over to wash a dish.

So I guess the lesson here is to go wash some dishes at your friend's house and see how your back feels then decide how deep your sink should be!

I got a 10" undermounted sink and worried that I had made a mistake when I saw how deep it really was, but I love it and haven't had any problems. I'm about 5'6" tall. I used to get awful backaches washing dishes before and don't seem to have that trouble now, but I think that's more likely a result of the faucet being closer. I got a 1 & 1/2 bowl so the faucet sits a little closer to the front edge since the 1/2 bowl is shorter than the full bowl.

Mine is 10" deep and undermounted.

I think how well that works for you is a matter of how close your hands are to the bottom. I'm short and it works great for me. But I can see, having had to accommodate to things built for taller people than me my whole life, how that would not work so well for an average/taller person.

I made all my decisions standing in the spot in question, reaching up or reaching down and having someone take the measurement of where my arms were in the appropriate position for each task. Stand at the counter, pretend you're washing dishes and note where your hands and arms are.

for me, 10 inches would be way too deep. I want to keep my old stainless sink (about 7 inches deep but nice and wide) for that reason. My pots fit under the normal old faucet just fine. And I don't feel a need to have a large kettle totally submerged in water to get it clean. I'm only 5 ft 4, but have a lousy lower back and have to be careful not to strain it that way.

Something I never thought of, I opted to keep my trash can under the sink, where I have kept it for 30 years and lo and behold, IT DOES NOT FIT under the deeper sink. I took the pullout out for the trash of the mix because I didn't want to lose more cab space. I have always kept it under the sink and it worked for me. So yesterday I bought one of those rev a shelf pullouts and it just fits under the sink on one side. Whew!! No other option for the trash otherwise (without some modification of course :) )and I am happy again with the trash area. Otherwise the deeper sink is okay, if it seems too deep, I just move to the other side which is not so deep..

Swanstone Granito

Fern76

You could always upmount the sink.

I bought a 12" deep sink after using one at a friends. I'm 5' tall and can't wait for that sink to be in place :) We're welding it into SS so really it won't be any deeper than it is.

I will say it once more -- the sink depth is not as big an issue as the reach of the faucet. You spend a lot more time holding your arms to reach the water flow, and if that is too far away, that is going to hurt your arms more than lifting something off the bottom of a deep sink. You actually spend a farily small amount of time reaching to the bottom of a sink. When you do, you shorter folks have less of a reach than a tall person like me, but you have a shorter reach to go under the water stream. I have a deep sink and a faucet with a nice reach and I am very happy with both.

nskylark said, "So I guess the lesson here is to go wash some dishes at your friend's house and see how your back feels then decide how deep your sink should be!"

In response, I hereby offer my dishes and my 10" deep undermount sink to any GWer who would like to experiment. Drop by and do my dishes any time you like.

:)

LOL Holligator. Feel free to visit my kitchen as well anyone :) Heh heh

I have a huge faucet and did think of that reach issue as well so I think we'll be in good shape, even if our sink is big enough to swim in :)

Oh I have dishes to be done, too...anyone want them? And while you're at it, you can try out my new washer and dryer as well. And would you like to see how easy it is to unload my dishwasher? Oooooh, oooooh, I have a new vacuum, too...wanna try that? sigh.

LOVE LOVE LOVE my 10" deep siligranite super single. I'm 5'5" and have pretty major back trouble (not to mention I'm now standing on slate tile instead of nice bouncy hardwood) but I haven't had any trouble. I just don't wash that many dishes...that's what my new dishwasher is for!