Choosing a sink made of artificial stone

After devoting an article to the selection of stainless steel sinks, our tips site decided to give you useful tips on choosing an artificial stone sink for your kitchen. Today, it is a fairly popular choice; such sinks have many advantages. But you need to choose the right one, taking into account various criteria..

The first question that needs to be resolved before choosing a sink made of artificial stone is whether it will be integrated, that is, a single whole with the countertop, or separate. The portal has already written about the features and varieties of integrated sinks for the kitchen. Most often, owners still choose separate sinks made of artificial stone for the following reasons:

1. Price. On the countertop, you can save money by choosing the most budgetary option – chipboard. And choose a more status sink, made of artificial stone. The integrated version turns out to be significantly more expensive.
2. Replacement possible. A separate washbasin is much easier to replace when needed than a fully integrated washbasin.

The second question is the composition of the sink. Artificial stone can be different. The most durable models are made in a ratio of at least 80% granite chips and 20% binder, polymer resins. These sinks are very difficult to scratch. If there are more polymers in the composition, then the quality of the sink is already in question. In addition, artificial stone made of marble or quartzite chips is also inferior in strength to those made on the basis of granite. Therefore, this moment must be clarified before buying.

Important! The most inexpensive sinks are made of acrylic stone with various additives. But they are also the most fragile, they are afraid of hot pans, they are easily scratched..

The third question is shape, size, color. This is very individual. It all depends on the needs of the owners. Someone needs a voluminous thicket to fill pots and a variety of dishes, someone chooses models with two bowls, round, oval, square, rectangular sinks, corner … The choice is very large.

As for the color, shades of natural stone are in trend. This is understandable, because I want the sink to look natural, to be as similar as possible to granite or marble..

Important! If the choice fell on a sink made of artificial stone, the mixer must match it. Do not choose chrome-plated, steel taps, you need to give preference to ceramic faucets that will match the color of the chosen sink.

The fourth question is the surface. It should be as dense and smooth as possible. In this case, limescale and dirt will not linger in the bowl, it will be much easier to care for it. At the same time, the smoothness of the surface should not be ensured by increasing the content of polymer resins in the artificial stone, as already mentioned above. Modern technologies make it possible to make artificial stone with microscopic ceramic balls no more than 90 microns in size. This is an option that will be optimal in terms of performance..

The fifth question is the manufacturer. According to experts, there are many fakes and low-quality composite sinks on the market today, which will not last long. You need to choose proven brands. Among them is the German manufacturer Schock, in whose shells the content of granite chips reaches 85%. In addition, the German manufacturers Franke, Teka and Blanco, the international Longran brand, domestic sinks from GranFest and Poligran-M have a good reputation..

As for the price of a sink made of artificial stone, it depends on the composition of the material, manufacturer, size. On average, the price range is from 5 to 9 thousand rubles.