Whether shifting into your new dream house or refurbishing your happy place, you’ll realize that the heart of the house lies in the kitchen. After deciding on the flooring, tiles, appliances, etc, the great debate will begin on if to choose an undermount sink or an overmount one?
The aspects you need to consider before buying a sink are style, cost, functionality, size, depth, dividers, material, and type of your countertop. Making the rightful decision early will ease the way for you. Here are some pros and cons to help you make the right call.
Pros.
- Style:
The 1970s came with an uplift in kitchen styles. The elegant seamless finish of undermount sinks brought them popularity and has been a culinary choice ever since then. It gives a sophisticated and contemporary look to the kitchen. As it is mounted underneath, it doesn’t steal away the counter’s beautiful look. This creates smooth, attractive lines as the lips of the sink aren’t visible, adding elegance to your kitchen.
- Easy to clean and maintain:
One problem generally encountered with overmount sinks is the buildup of debris in tiny fissures around the sink, making it difficult to keep a spotless, unsoiled kitchen. The lip or edge of an undermount sink is below the countertop. All you need to do is wipe all food debris and dirt down the basin and have a fresh, unblemished counter.
You might need to change the caulking every three to five years and make sure no gap lies between the sink and benchtop after installation.
- More room:
Undermount sinks bless you with some valuable inches of space of countertop that you can utilize while preparing your favourite delicacies. Having edges under the surface of the counter makes them useful space savers for placing appliances in small kitchens.
- Resale Value:
Kitchens and bathrooms add real value to a house when being sold. Undermount sinks are classy and trendy, paving the way for extra dollars on home value.
- Choices:
They allow you some flexibility to play with a variety of shapes and sizes to choose from. Picking a deep one will allow you to clean large pots and woks in it.
Cons:
- Installation:
A professional is required to install this drop-in sink with adhesives and anchor posts. Further security can be ensured by using screws, clips, or straps. Any inadequacy may cause an improper seal, hence leakage, making it a failure. If it is not glued properly it won’t be able to bear the load of heavy dishes and crash down.
- Need for a specific type of countertop:
Laminate or tile countertops aren’t the right choices due to their inability to strongly hold the top-mount sinks. You’ll need to replace them as well with marble, granite, soapstone, or granite countertops. Only solid, waterproof, non-porous surface counters adequately secure the sink.
- Chipping counter edge:
Unless you opt for a low-profile edge or be extra careful, there might be some risk of chipping of stone benchtop edges exposed by drop-in sinks. So, if you have a busy place with children, this might not be your perfect choice.
- Expenses:
Hiring a professional for installation and replacing the countertop would add to your expenses. The requirement of an accurate cutout drives up setup costs. Advancements in machine technology have reduced some costs as compared to the past. Generally, they are more costly than overmount sinks.
Purchasing your next undermount sink.
If you’ve decided that an undermount is right for you, the next step is going about purchasing one.
While there are plenty choices of undermount sinks across the web, you may take a more traditional option and decide to go to a local showroom to see them for yourself.
