Ceramic Sinks Vs. Composite Sinks

Ceramic Sinks

Long before the industrial revolution brought steel into every home, ceramic sinks were common place in both the landowner’s estate and thatched cottages. Today, their vintage appeal is still incredibly popular with people willing to spend as much as €500 on ceramic sinks. They are commonly referred to as country or farmhouse sinks.

Pros

Design & Quality: The white of ceramic sinks makes a perfect contrast to most dark wooden or granite themed kitchens. Its smooth finish is not only very aesthetically pleasing but is also easy to keep clean [with as little as a damp cloth usually enough to clean almost any blemish]

Durability: The durability of ceramic sinks and their heavy frames, make them sturdy and reliable kitchen centerpieces. Heavy duty glazing and layered clay composition makes this sink chip proof as well as resistant to many household chemicals.

Installation: Depending on the ceramic sink, some of these sinks can be relatively straightforward to fit and install. For example, a Belfast sink, one of the most popular kitchen sinks on the market, has an installation that sits out nicely on the front of a kitchen worktop making it an easier job than many other sinks on this site.

Cons

Hard surface: Ceramic sinks do carry a reputation for not being dish friendly due to their hard interior. This is certainly true of deeper ceramics and we would recommend care when washing dishes not to hit the crockery off of the base/side.

Weight: On the one hand, the sturdy, bulky material of ceramic sink affords them extra strength and durability however, without the correct base unit - a heavy ceramic sink can prove an issue when fitting/moving forward if corners are cut. Simply put, a heavy sink needs a strong unit to support it; make sure an experienced fitter is used in installation and take note of a sinks weight on its item page before buying.

Cleaning: Akin to a white car, any white sink will need cleaning a lot more often than a stainless sink as blemishes are much easier to notice. Luckily, as mentioned above - cleaning and wiping is a straightforward process with the ceramics.

Composite Sinks

If you want longevity and durability combined with a sleek modern style, look no further than a granite-made composite sink. Usually a composition of 80% granite, its quality is reflected in the price and is typically one of the most expensive material found in kitchen sinks.

Pros

Durability: The composition of 80% hard stone and 20% resin in composite sinks make them both extremely heat resistant (often as high as 500F) and non-porous.In stark contrast to a 100% stone item, the non-porous elements of a composite make it resistant to many liquids except for harsh cleaners (which we’ll get to, later).

Colour: Composite sinks are unique in that, they are predominantly made up of organic materials however, are extremely customizable in colour, enabling them to fit almost any kitchen motif; at Kitchen Fittings Direct, we offer 4 different colours of composite sinks - Cream, White, Grey and Black.

Environmentally Friendly: Unlike slabs of marble and granite, composite sinks are often manufactured without any additional quarrying necessary; in other words, composite sinks allow you to have all of the prestige without any of the footprint associated with hard rock kitchen fittings.

Matching Taps: Each sink has a paired tap which will perfectly match it in style, colour and finish.

Fully Reversible: All of our Schock composite sinks are fully reversible; each sink has two perforated under side indentations for your tap hole - your fitter can punch out the tap hole she/he needs leaving the other one intact; that's one less thing to worry about with your kitchen renovation!

Cons

Cost: Composite sinks certainly aren’t cheap - an identical style can be purchased in stainless steel for a fraction of the price. If you’re shopping ona budget, the composite sink may not be for you.

Cleaning: Almost all items have a proverbial Achilles heel, and composite sinks are no different. Harsh cleaners such as bleach and other noxious chemicals will be extremely detrimental to the colour of a sink. A full guide to cleaning a composite sink, can be found here.