I am worried that 11 inches is too deep, but I think 8-9 inches is fine. For the Orca, I wonder if you light the shape or would prefer the plain rectangular. I am thinking about the Oceania. I'm wonderin how useful the bottom grid is and the various accessories, shelf, colander, utility bowl etc.

I'm glad I happened upon this thread. I too am looking for a single bowl for a 33" cabinet and am concerned about depth. I'm considering( among many others !!!) the Franke Orca or the Oceana. I think the ledge sounds like a great concept, but does it take much room or would it be in the way when putting large items into the sink- would things bang against it. Several kitchen places have told me that the Elkay lustertone is the easiest to keep clean and will get less scratches. Does anyone have experience with this? What about Blanco or Kohler?

I'm looking at sinks right now too, but my Mom's Elkay Lustertone sink is over 50 years old. She was the ultimate domestic diva and kool aid mom. Ours was the primary house for extended family gatherings, including 4 wedding receptions and too many dinner parties to even try to count. And yes, it still looks great!

I wonder about the Franke Orca accessories being so high, and will I really use them.... But that Orca sink looks so nice with the offset drain and the dishpan you can get that fits right onto that ledge. It looks to cost around $200 more to get the ledge. I don't think the ledge would actually get in the way though. Looks like it doesn't stick out too much.

I've had my Linea Aqua ss single bowl sink for a year and I love it! I cook a lot and I like having the room for my largest casserole dishes. I can rinse off my large pastry board with ease. Lots of pots & dishes can hide out in there when I can't get to cleaning them right away. It was a great price for a 16 guage sink and it still looks new. I do wish the grid I bought for the bottom (a Kohler grid) was able to fit inside my dishwasher. I have a 30" cabinet and this sink's outside dimensions are 30" x 18". Inside dimensions are 28" x 16" x 9". I measured the depth and it's actually a little closer to 10" than 9".

SouthernStitcher....your mom sounds a lot like mine! All the kids wanted to come to our house b/c it was the "fun" house and my mom was always feeding everyone! I have fond memories of the various KoolAid flavors...we each got to choose the "flavor of the day" on a rotating basis...even some of our friends got to pick!

My mom also has a SS sink...not quite 50 years old (maybe 30 years...)...but she was just commenting yesterday that when she remodels her kitchen she thinks she'll keep the sink b/c it's in such great shape. I don't know what "brand" it is, but I'm not sure it matters much if you get a sink from a reputable manufacturer.

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If you do a search, you'll find a lot of threads about sinks...depth, grids, single vs double, SS vs fireclay vs cast iron vs granite composite, etc.

Here are some things...

If you will be under mounting your sink, the depth will be the depth of the sink + the thickness of your countertop. So, my sink is 9" deep with 3cm (~1-1/4") granite. That means that my sink is approx 10-1/4" deep.

The taller you are, the harder a deep sink is on your back b/c you have to lean over farther to get to the bottom of the sink.

The larger the ledge in front of the sink, the more you have to lean in to get to the sink.

Sink grids will raise the bottom of the sink up an inch or so. They also keep things off the bottom so that it's easier to rinse the sink (items aren't sitting on the bottom blocking access to the drain), they're flat so things don't tilt, you can drain dishes on them w/o re-immersing them in dirty/soapy water, they protect the bottom from scratches, etc.

You'll find this information and a lot more if you do a search.

Search one of two ways:

(1) Directly in GardenWeb. Use the search button on the bottom of the thread list page, not the the top of the page.

(2) Using Google or other search engine. If you do it this way, be sure to specify "site=ths.gardenweb.com" as part of the search (at least for Google).

Great Google tip buehl. I've found several old posts on Google that don't come in the Gardebweb search but I didn't know you specify the site in Google.

Thanks buehl.
cook4fun, I would get the ledge in a heartbeat if I can swing affording it. Just to have the option of getting the accessories later would be great. You won't bang into the sides or the ledge anymore than you would the sides of any sink.
I was at a sink display, and I did notice that reaching down into that vast, deep sink caused me to have to bend over. And, I am only 5'3", and most of my height is legs, not torso, and my arms are not short. I thought wow, this could get hard.
Also, I don't see the functionality benefit of the Orca over plain rectangular. It is a much more eye catching and nice design, but I'm thinking do I really want to pay that much more to have a sink that has this cool design. I've seen some knock offs too.

I've been looking for a reasonably priced large rectangular one bowl with offset drain for under $500. I hate it when the large pot I'm cleaning blocks the drain. buehl pointed out that if you get the bottom grid, that's not a worry. But, is it still easy to use the GD in a sink with the grid always in there? I can see my family just scraping their plates on top of the grid - yuck!

That is why I'm still looking at the large bowl small bowl combo but I have a 36" cabinet. If I had the 33" I am sure I would be sticking to a single large bowl.
Large/small may actually work better for me if I can train them to scrape into the small side. Right now I have a double equal and use the right side for draining only. I hate it!

Have you looked at the Ticor sinks? They're definitely under $500 & most come w/a grid & strainer for each bowl (included in the price). I have the Ticor S405D w/a large bowl on the left, small on the right. The S405DR is reversed. It fits a 36" cabinet (that's what mine is in.)

Yes, my family scrapes into the bowl...supposedly aiming for the GD...but somehow they always miss (how can they make baskets from foul line territory but not make it into the GD???!!) Anyway, most food either drops to the bottom or is easily rinsed off & down the drain into the GD. Occasionally, something will need to be manually moved, but it's not often (and I usually use a spoon or something to dislodge it).

Ticor S405D (large bowl on left)

Ticor S405DR (large bowl on right)

S405D Installed:

Thanks for the pics! That is the very one I'll get if I decide on the double bowl.
I'm thinking as long as I can get something where one bowl is large enough to fit my largest pans in that is all I need. I like the fact that the one on the right is deep too.

I recently purchased the Ticor 16 gauge single bowl sink and absolutely love it. I bought it on Ebay and did a Best offer of $175.

It will be installed in my granite in a few weeks. The plumber came today to look at it and says it's a very good quality sink. The only thing is that the sink strainer basket that the sink came with is not one of the best. So, can someone recommend a good one for me to purchase?

I have American Standard and have had it a year. I like it and haven't had problems with anything not fitting and I do have some large pans and cutting boards. I googled it and didn't look for the lowest price - just picked a vendor http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&productId=100051157&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=100051157&cm_mmc=shopping-_-google-_-D29X-_-100051157 I also have a bar sink of the same brand and style.

Here's a photo of mine
{{!gwi}}