maybe installer just confused and installed it 180 degrees incorrect?

I have the larger side of my sink to the immediate right of my dishwasher. While it may have little affect on water hookup, I would not enjoy the added distance between rinsing a larger pan and placing it inside my dishwasher. Hopefully someone more experienced will offer a more educated opinion.

Never heard of having to have a sink size be a determining factor based on the dishwasher. I'd ask him to show you something in writing from either the dishwasher or sink manufacturer that states this. Unless he can provide this info and you opted for a 60/40, then tell him that is what you are expecting.

That said, you may glean some further thought from this thread https://www.houzz.com/discussions/2663652/large-medium-dbl-sink-which-side-next-to-dishwasher

I would absolutely want the 60 side next to the DW, with the garbage disposal as well. That way all of your rinsing of dishes with food scraps happens right next to the DW and the food scraps go directly down the disposal, keeping the 40 side clean for drip drying, etc. I don't know if there is an industry "norm" but the majority of lopsided doubles I have seen are installed this way.

With a 60-40 sink, it does not matter which side the 60 is on and which side the 40 is on. If it were a 70-30 sink, it might make more of a difference. I’d shrug and move on.

I have a question - since the dishwasher seems important to you, so that you must use it frequently, why didn’t you get a single-bowl sink? Usually people want a 60-40 sink because they hand wash.

No rinsing anymore. The loose stuff gets flicked into the disposal area and either stacked w other dishes to load a bit later or load then . If you have maneuverability I think it matters not. If you had some range of motion or limited mobility that might be issue. If I can’t load immediately as dishes appear ( stuff piles up all day long) then they are stacked to side of sink anyway and I load when able. I Do Not rinse but liquids get poured down and loose debris removed only. I think you will figure out this is not critical but just a bit different . Split sinks are okay but losing favor to single bowl. Maybe you wash kids cups or knives or whatever in small side but dishwasher use shouldn’t irritate you w this I don’t think.

My parents’ home has a 60/40 sink with the large side farther from the dishwasher. I’ve never thought about it until this moment, so I clearly haven’t perceived it as a problem. (I mean, I don’t like their sink, but none of it hinges on the orientation of the large and small sides.)

I don't think it'll make a bit of difference. You'll adjust after 2 rounds of dishwashing, promise.

Just be sure the disposal is where you want it. THAT can make a difference.

Nearly every sink I replace in my sink replacement business is a divided sink. No one who is picking a sink alone picks a double bowl anymore. Maybe an occasional low divide.

IMO a sngle deep sink is the way to go and honestly the difference with what you wanted and what you got is IMO not worth fighting over. BTW think disposals should be outlawed there is enough crap going into our water sytems without adding perfectly good compost down the drain.

I like a 60/40 and absolutely hate a low divide. Have one at our second home. Our 60/40 has the smaller bowl next to the dishwasher with the garbage disposal.

Thanks you all for suggestions.

Po-tA-to, po-tah-to

My sink is positioned so the larger bowl (60) is next to the dishwasher. My faucet had to be off-set (commercial) and it is on the other side (40). When I have a larger gathering, I put the dirty dishes in the 60 bowl and the silver ware/utensils in the 40 bowl. It makes for easy rinsing and loading the dishwasher.

Where I made my mistake is putting my faucet over the 40 bowl. But, then I would have had a 40/60 sink, and I like the larger closer to the dishwasher.

@Joseph Corlett, LLC I wouldn't say no one is picks a double sink. It is the only sink I will have. I hate single bowl sinks. Even with a dishwasher, I sill have lots of stuff I wash by hand.

ditto. I've had both and much prefer two bowls and just had one installed at the lake.

I can't lie about the choices my customers make. I install 150 sinks a year or so. 3 are double bowls and two of those are low divides. Maybe new construction is different.

I agree, they are in fashion.

Having lived in quite a few houses I've experienced different configurations of sinks. What has worked the best for me is the 70/30. 70 gives plenty of room for large pots and pans and the 30 is great for keeping soapy water while working in the kitchen. Regarding the faucet, my current kitchen (70/30 bowl) the previous owner put a "regular" sized one whose line goes to the
soft water conditioned water and also a small faucet on the 30 side for non-conditioned water. I thought it was crazy at first but it's nice to have the option. I'm sure the single bowl works for many as do all the other configurations based on ones needs but I have to think that many of the singles have been put in because function may not have been thought out as much as "that's what the Jones have."

Hi tedbixby-

Wait, I'm not sure I understand what you just wrote.

You had a 70/30 sink and each side had it's own faucet?

Why would someone do that?

And one side had soft water conditioned water and the other didn't?

Why would someone do that?

If they didn't want hard water on their dishes and food, then wouldn't that be true for both sides of the sink?

And another think I didn't know, (Joseph Corlett, this question is for you too) if one lives in a hard water area, can one put a water softener under the sink so that the water going into the dishwasher and up into the sink faucet is softened?

“I agree, they are in fashion.”

I don’t think that is the correct way to regard single-bowl sinks - like a “fashion”. It’s more about how North American households and their kitchens exist and function now vs 40+ years ago when dishwashers were not in nearly every kitchen. A double bowl sink was useful when there was no dishwasher. With modern dishwashers, there isn’t a need for a sink to have a “dirty bowl” and a “rinsing bowl”. Also with modern dishwashers, rinsing of dishes is not needed, just scraping, so again, a 2-bowl sink is not needed. That is part of why Joseph Corlett‘s business is so predominantly about switching older double-bowl sinks for single-bowl sinks. In addition, people have become tired of having to bang into a divider and/or not be able to set a large pan down to soak in a double-bowl sink, especially when they have seen so many single bowl sinks in magazines, in stores, and in their friends‘ and relatives’ homes.

Of course there are people who want a double-bowl sink. Like anything in a kitchen, people have different preferences.

My childhood home had well water so we had a whole house water softener. There was one faucet at the kitchen bar sink which was hard water as it tasted better for drinking. That sink had a regular mixer faucet for normal use and then the hard water faucet.

I have hard water and it tastes terrible. There must be something else in my water. I buy bottled water. I even use the bottled water to make soup.

It’s more about how North American households and their kitchens exist and function now vs 40+ years ago when dishwashers were not in nearly every kitchen. A double bowl sink was useful when there was no dishwasher.

That makes sense. When we've had this discussion in the past (at least once every 6 months :-), we always end up agreeing that everyone uses their kitchen differently. I love having a small 2nd bowl for filing with soapy water to wipe counters, etc. My perfect kitchen would have the large 70/30 like tedbixby suggests- best of both worlds.

What do people with single bowl sinks do when they wash pots and pans? Do they put everything in the dish washer? Some pottery is not dishwasher safe. I rinse items like colanders and would not put them in the dishwasher. I would never want a single bowl sink, and would not clutter my countertop with a drying rack when I could use the second bowl for that purpose. Oh, and I don’t think it makes a huge difference which side is nearest the dishwasher.

Too me it's more important what side the dishwasher is on for comfort and loading than what size bowl on what side of the dishwasher.

I had a 60/40 with the 60 next to DW. I miss that sink.

" if one lives in a hard water area, can one put a water softener under the sink so that the water going into the dishwasher and up into the sink faucet is softened?"

I think it's time for a whole house water softener.

We have 2 lines in our house. One that is for softened and the other non softened. Basically the whole house is softened except the 2nd faucet at the kitchen sink and ice maker. The non-softened line is for watering the landscaping and grass. Our well water taste great and much better than the softened water.

I hate double bowl. Frankly, I have never understood the difficulty of meal prep clean up, nor post meal. It isn't rocket science. From what I see and hear, more time seems to be spent TALKING about it than actually doing the tasks.

I like single for ease and large stuff, but mostly for great looks. After that, You could give a bucket and the front lawn. I'd be done in ten minutes. Germ free.

I have a large single bowl sink, and a (gasp!) drying rack on the counter top. I hand-wash pots and other items I don't put in the DW. If I replaced the drying rack with a sink so as to have a double bowl, it would have to be very large. And then I wouldn't be able to have the DW on one side of the sink and the trash receptacle on the other. It's all a matter of personal preference--no right or wrong. :)

I will always have a great big...deep ..single sink....everything fits in there out of sight ...right next to the dishwasher....and like diane...(no rack) ...but a cloth on the counter for anything i hand wash...

My husband and I cook almost every meal at home, counting the leftovers that we take for lunches. Before COVID, we ate out less than once a week, now it’s about once a month.

Still, we don’t use the DW all that much, unless I make a point of running it so that it doesn’t stink, and that takes two days to fill.

We just hand-wash all of our pots and pans, and most of our meal prep things (think immersion blender, colanders, salad spinner, spice grinder, wooden cutting boards, wooden utensils, cast iron, all of the melamine stuff that we use outside). So our 36” 40/60 works great. Our sheet pans lay flat in the 60 side, and most of our big pans fit at least most of the way in (the 14 and 16 inch sauté handles just don’t quite).

We‘ll be getting a similar apron-front for our new home, too. Could never live with just a single.

Our granite installers always put the smaller sink next to the dishwasher.

(I love double bowl sinks but need at least one of the bowls to be really big and the other to not be small. This ends up being more counterspace dedicated to sink than I'm willing to give. So I'm stuck with a large single which is really fine. And I don't have to soak the trombone in the bathtub.)

I suppose divided sinks vs a single large sink are not such an issue these days with sink faucets with high necks and with sprayers.

Years ago when those were not available, or not available to the average home owner, a single large sink was more important so large items could be laid on their sides.

I remember when I first got a kitchen sink faucet with a sprayer, I was so delighted, it made cleanup so much easier!