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houseful_gw

My first big mistake

houseful
13 years ago

I accidentally ordered the wrong sink. It was late and I was tired, but I should have waited until the next morning. The sink is a 50/50, 16 gauge stainless steel and is very nice. However, the center is what they call a half-divide. It does not come up as high as the sides.

My husband says that now that we will actually have a dishwasher, we won't need to fill the sink so high to soak dishes. I will also have a 21 inch single bowl in the island for anything large that needs to soak.

Can anyone else convince me that this will not be a problem and that it is not worth the $50 to send it back?

Comments (22)

  • bmorepanic
    13 years ago

    I'm always contrary. The kinda they wrote "Does not follow instructions" about in grade school.

    Cookie sheets, two burner pancake griddles, oven racks, large cooking or baking pans.

    They are the exact things that pretty much won't fit in the 21" sink either. We intentionally went with a single that was smaller than our previous small bathtub sized sink (24") and most of the time that's fine, but the above list causes issues - like water everywhere or rewashing because I simply can't see where the stuff is adhered because of the way the item had to be turned to fit.

    I have a little bit of concern about it being stainless as you twist and turn pots to fit in one side or the other - think the sink might pick up some deep scratches. The kinda that might not read as normal stainless patina.

  • brickton
    13 years ago

    We bought (not on accident) a low divider sink for the new kitchen. The new kitchen is still 6-8 months away so I can't tell you how wonderful it is or is not, but we chose it because if we soak anything, it's usually by filling whatever that thing is with water, not the whole sink. If we soak pots/pans/crock pot/etc. whatever, nearly anything we soak we are soaking the inside which holds water.

    We saw it as a good compromise so that we have a shot at washing large items (as bmorepanic mentioned) but if we have soak something that doesn't fit in the prep sink... well we will still be able to use the prep sink.

    I think you are fine.

  • weissman
    13 years ago

    If it's not what you want, send it back and get what you want. You won't miss the $50 but you will notice the sink everyday. Are you sure you can't cancel the order before it actually ships?

  • friedajune
    13 years ago

    Ditto to what Weissman said. Also, I am against ANY 50-50 sink. Neither side is big enough. Better to get a 60-40 or 70-30 configuration. Return it - because unlike, say, appliances, sinks aren't something you can switch out later if you decide you don't like it.

  • boxerpups
    13 years ago

    My best friend has this exact sink. And I have helped
    clean in her kitchen a dozen times. It is AWESOME.
    Seriously.
    Wait, Don't get me wrong, I would not change my single
    bowl giant deep sink for anything
    ( okay okay maybe german chocolate ) but this double bowl
    lower divide is great. I find it works wonderfully.
    She cleans her kitchen but sticking 90% of the items in
    the DW. The single divide is great for washing veggies
    on one side and putting the dirty wine glass in the other
    side. She wanted this when she built her home and loves
    it.

    How you clean is a huge factor in your sink's function.
    Think about what you like to do. I personally like to
    soak the lasagna pan, bundt cake and even grill racks
    in the deep sink or at least hide them if someone comes
    to the door. Some people have little babies they like
    to bathe in the big sink, other people prefer having
    a work station to cut and chop food. Others like one
    sink for the soaping the other for the rinsing..

    Don't fret it can be returned! You might be stuck with
    the shipping but this is a small mistake in life.
    Be good to you. There could be far worse mistakes in the
    journey of life. If buying the wrong sink is your first
    and only big mistake... I want your life. You are lucky
    this mistake can be fixed and maybe just maybe this
    mistake is a blessing in disguise and then you never
    really made any mistake.

    be good to you.
    ~boxerpups

  • melle_sacto is hot and dry in CA Zone 9/
    13 years ago

    I have a large, single-bowl sink in a 36" cabinet and I LOVE it! As Boxerpups wrote, it's great for hiding all the dirty stuff. This is essential for me b/c our kitchen is totally open to the rest of the house and we don't have a separate dining room. Okay, so I don't do ANY formal entertaining but I still hate to look at dirty stuff when I don't have time to take care of it.

    If you really don't want it I think you ought to just send it back.

    I made a $200 mistake when we remodeled: ordered the Lee Valley blind corner pull-out and, when it arrived, realized I ordered the wrong door opening. We just kept it and ordered a second one...maybe one day we'll find a way to use it (maybe in a future kitchen remodel in a different house?) or someone, one day, will get a great deal.

  • rhome410
    13 years ago

    You didn't say what you'd intended to order instead, so I'm not sure where you're headed...But don't keep a sink you're not sure of. They're not that easy to change. I have a great 60/40 type of double bowl sink, but have found that since I now have a prep sink, I wish I had gotten a large single bowl...Like a Silgranite Supersingle, so I could soak the underpans from my gas rangetop that need 24".

  • sayde
    13 years ago

    Cannot comment on whether this sink would work out well for you or not BUT if you have any wish to have a different one, do not hesitate to send it back. Do not waffle, do not succumb to either hope or denial, do not procrastinate -- send it back.

  • Circus Peanut
    13 years ago

    ** the drawbacks of reading too quickly -- I thought "What? Rhome's gas stove needs underpants? **

  • amysrq
    13 years ago

    People say to get a good bed because you spend 30% of your life in it. When you think of how much time you spend using the various things in your kitchen, I think the sink/faucet combo comes out at number one, at least among things that have a wide range of configurations to choose from.

    I belong to the large-deep-single-bowl camp, (I am lazy and love to soak things overnight, IN the sink) but I urge you to get what you really wanted. If you hate the wrong sink, a year from now you'd probably be willing to pay five times that much to change it out. Fifty bucks is bubkes.

  • rhome410
    13 years ago

    Circuspeanut, LOL...you almost made me spit my warm-beverage-of-choice all over my computer screen! Good thing I didn't say I have stained underpans...

    Good points, Amysrq.

  • sabjimata
    13 years ago

    Honestly, I think this is going to work great for you. It sounds to me that you meant to get a sink with a full height center divider. The beauty of the lower height divider is you can rest your pans, trays, pots on the divider while scrubbing. It is really helpful for one's back.

    I use the bowl divider in my deep sink this way all the time and am happy I have it!

  • Frankie_in_zone_7
    13 years ago

    I'm interpreting same as sabjimata--if you meant to get full height divide and got low divide I doubt that is a problem; more of a problem if you wanted a single-bowl sink. That also influences my answer because I think I want a sink with no divider at all, so am more likely to see it as an advantage to not have a full-height divide. If you planned to soak large, shallow pans frequently, any divider would be a limiting factor.

    It could be a problem if you frequently wash veggies like a whole mess of greens or something for which you might actually need a lot of soaking/swishing water--deep as well as large, just to handle the volume. But if what you want is more to have a side that you can designate as the "clean" side while you are prepping, the half divide should work.

  • claudialina10
    13 years ago

    My parents have a low divide and LOVE IT so much more than the regular divide (personally, I like NO divide, but if I had to choose, I'd get the low divide to more easily wash cookie sheets, etc).

    Keep it.

  • houseful
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Thank you for the great input! Sorry to take so long responding, but we have had installers here all week. I have decided to keep the sink after talking with DH and my mother (who lives with me) about many of the comments here. I'll try to address all your comments.

    First of all, I meant to order the 50/50, but with the regular height divide. I have worked in sinks other than 50/50 and for some reason I just prefer the 50/50. It's just a comfort factor.

    I have always had SS and no dishwasher, therefore my sinks get lots of abuse. I don't have any large scratches or dings in my 18-gauge, so I think it will be fine with this 16-gauge.

    When I wash large items, I do tend to put them across the divide. Many of your comments made me realize the wrong order is a blessing in disguise. I think it will be very functional.

    Anything that needs to soak will not be larger than 21 inches, so they can soak in the island sink. I will also wash all veges in the island.

    Melle, OUCH! That's a huge mistake! At least for me, I have useable sink.

    Brickton, mine will be installed first, so I'll let you know how I like it. :)

    Bmore, I appreciate your inability to follow instructions because it always gives me food for thought. :)

    And one last thing. I don't feel so bad not being able to afford a gas range, because at least I don't have to buy underpants for it!! ;>D

  • houseful
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    bump! Just wanted to let you know I did respond.

  • Circus Peanut
    13 years ago

    ... much less clean those underpants when they're stained! ;-)

    So glad it worked out for you, Houseful. I have a friend with the low divide and she just loves it.

  • houseful
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Hahaha! While I was cleaning Saturday, the same thought went through my head. I was actually laughing out loud. I felt silly, because I was home all by myself. Of course, then it made me laugh even more!

  • aliris19
    13 years ago

    Hey houseful -- is it installed; are you liking it? I've waffled endlessly about the choice and I'm thinking having it decided for you like this is providence-in-disguise. Or is it? Inquiring minds want to know.... Did ya make the right choice (it would have been my counsel).

  • houseful
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    I haven't actually washed anything in it yet, but sort of did a dry run. I think it will be just fine. My mom lives with me and she thinks it will be wonderful. Plumbing will be finished this weekend, so I'll post back after we wash a load.

  • regina_phalange
    13 years ago

    I think you are right about this being a blessing in disguise. It has actually made me think and now I'm going to talk to dh about ordering this type of sink instead. I had planned to get a 50/50 with a full divide. I don't care for anything that's not 50/50....anything else wouldn't work well for my needs. I definitely want a divide but had never considered a shorter one. Now I'm thinking of all of the possibilities and a 'best of both worlds' type of angle. So thanks for the post!

  • houseful
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Been using the sink for about a week and I really liked it until today. Today I decided that I LOVE it! We baked Christmas cookies and balancing the large pans on the divide was easy; water didn't splash everywhere. I was concerned too about not being able to fill one side with enough soapy water, but it held plenty!