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jemiledragovic

Kohler Whitehaven Sink -- alternatives?

8 years ago

We are in the final throes of a long renovation and the Kohler apron front cast iron sink we have had our heart set on is on backorder until October. Does anyone know of any apron front alternatives that might work? I have heard of Fireclay but don't know much about it. Or has anyone been able to track down the Kohler Whitehaven?


Another thought I had was to put in a placeholder stainless steel cheap sink until this is available? Or is that going to make templating our countertops impossible?


Help and thank you!

Comments (19)

  • PRO
    8 years ago

    The reason it is on back order is because Kohler had a factory burn down. They lost a lot of inventory, so no one will have it unless they ordered ahead of time and it is just sitting around.

  • 8 years ago

    I noticed yesterday that some places seemed to be getting some in:

    https://www.build.com/kohler-k-6489-kitchen-sink/s562806?uid=1740930

  • 8 years ago

    I'm aware of the fire since we encountered the same thing with our cast iron bathtub for our kids' bathroom. But those tubs started to come in much faster so I was hoping the foundry was up and running by now. Apparently only 2 of 6 kilns are up and running according to Kohler.

    Thanks, jhmarie. This is actually where I ordered it from and then they turned around and said it would ship in October (!) So I had to cancel that order. The same thing happened at Home Depot.

  • PRO
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Your sink cabinet should have been designed specifically for the apron sink you specified. You may not be able to change sinks without changing the cabinet as well.

    You cannot use a temporary sink because of the template issue.

  • 8 years ago

    Jemile - call them (Build.com) if it was a few weeks since you originally ordered. It says they have 20 in stock - yesterday it said 12, and a few weeks ago it said out of stock. I think they may be starting to come in.

  • 8 years ago

    Thanks, jhmarie, I'll try again but it was just Tuesday! I bought it through Build.com and then they changed their dates. I can't imagine they suddenly have 20. Ferguson Kitchen & Bath supposedly has a ship date of August so for now I'm going with them.

  • 8 years ago

    Let us know if you find anyone with some.

  • PRO
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    My Whitehaven, ordered after the fire, took about double the promised 45 days to arrive. I think my customers thought it worth the wait, but since you asked for alternatives, I'd suggest the new Quartz Luxe from Elkay. It has the short apron, so no special cabinets are necessary:

    This sink was retrofitted; no need to pull the top.

  • 8 years ago

    I'd put in a thorough search as these are now intermittently coming back into stock. We had the same exact problem but it was early enough for us to switch to fireclay. Since then I've gotten email alerts from Home Depot a couple of times that they have it back in stock (and then sells out quickly). Definitely call around and actually talk to customer service folks too rather than just checking stock online.

  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Get fire clay.

  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    I disagree with Zalco's rec of fireclay. There are really a lot of posts on this forum about crazing of fireclay, particularly around the drain. Also a lot of reports that fireclay is a more complex and expensive installation due to the irregularities of its edges and no two being the same.

  • 8 years ago
  • 8 years ago
    Jemile, we are in the same boat. Are you still waiting or did you switch? I am thinking about switching to the stainless steel version.
  • 8 years ago
    Are you sure you still can’t find one? I have seen them come back into stock on numerous websites (I had signed up for email alerts when we were first looking).
  • 8 years ago

    I got one at Home Depot online 2 days ago. It was delivered today. Still don't have a delivery date on the the one I ordered through Ferguson's in mid-May....I was told 6-8 weeks then. My cabinets go in next week so I decided to bite the bullet and buy elsewhere. The only catch was I had to buy the sink as a package with a faucet - I bought the cheapest faucet available and I will get rid of it on eBay. Worth it to me to get the sink now!

  • 7 years ago
    Phew, I finally received my whitehaven sink. I had it on order at 3 places including a local supplier, Home Depot and wayfair, all back ordered. Someone here said to check build.com and they had stock in biscuit color. It arrived safe and sound today!
  • 7 years ago

    Kohler is still having issues with the whitehaven. Has anyone found a cast iron alternative. My big hang up is the flange. We are cabinet dealers/installers so the whitehaven flange that covers the cut out is extremely important for us. The Elkay Luxe also has a flange but that is a composite so it doesn't have the same allure of the cast iron or fireclay (which is a cabinet makers nightmare).