The Washington Post - 01.08.2019

the washington post

.

thursday, august

1

,

2019

MD

2

Columnists:

Adrian Higgins, Meghan Leahy

Email: [email protected]

Telephone: 202-334-4409

Mail:

Local Living section,

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NW, Washington, D.C. 20071

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ON THE COVER

Illustration by Isabelle Cardinal for

The Washington Post

Editor:

Kendra Nichols

Deputy Editors:

Elizabeth Chang, Amy Joyce,

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Art Director:

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Designer:

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Photo Editor:

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Staff Writers:

Helen Carefoot, Jura Koncius

LOCAL LIVING

Home

BY JEANNE HUBER

Q: We’re looking to replace a

double-bowl kitchen sink with a

single-bowl sink. Ideally, we

would swap out the old one for

the new one, but as we look for

new sinks, it seems that the sizes

don’t exactly match. And now

I’m hearing (from a granite

dealer) that the entire

countertop might need to be

replaced. The opening in the

counter for the current sink is 8

28 1 / 8 inches by 14^7 / 8 inches. Must

we replace the countertop, or is

it possible to find a single bowl

sink that can be used in this

situation?

Ellicott City

A: You’re correct: Mass-market

manufacturers don’t offer a

single-bowl sink in the size you

need, at least judging from

what’s available online from

numerous stores. But that

doesn’t mean the sink you want

isn’t available. It’s possible to

have a custom sink made to fit

the dimensions you need.

Whether that will save money

compared with buying a new

countertop and sink depends on

the size of your countertop and

which material you choose to

replace it. Calling a countertop

company with your

specifications would clear that

up.

Metal fabrication companies

skilled in bending, welding and

polishing sheet metal make

custom sinks from stainless

steel, copper, zinc, pewter, brass

or bronze. The full range of style

options is available: under-

mount, drop-in, flush mount and

farmhouse-style, including with

elaborately decorated aprons.

You also decide the position of

the drain and any faucet cutouts

and the bowl depth. And you

have options for the finish of the

metal — polished, hammered,

rustic, etc., although with

stainless steel sinks, you

probably get just a few options.

(In your case, you need gently

rounded corners on the sink to

match the cutout in your

countertop. But if you were

starting from scratch, you would

also have the option of tighter-

radius corners for a more

rectangular sink. If you were

starting from scratch and

wanted a farmhouse sink, you

could choose an elaborately

decorated apron with embossing

or a woven design. You could

have a matching backsplash or a

backsplash that joins seamlessly

to the sink, or an integral drain

board.)

David Bentz, whose

Handcrafted Metal company in

Austin (800-755-0310;

handcraftedmetal.com) has been

making custom sinks for 25

years, said most people who

order custom replacement sinks

are looking to switch out badly

worn or damaged sinks, or, like

you, they’re hoping to switch

from a double sink to a single.

“Then they find that the

company does not make an exact

single-bowl sink the same size. I

get that over and over. ‘I had this

divider. I want one big sink so I

can put my turkey in it.’ ”

If a customer has a model

number for an existing sink,

Bentz can usually track down

spec sheets and drawings as a

starting point for a new sink. If a

customer doesn’t have that, he

suggests they make a template.

“The best way is to tape craft

paper over the opening and then

carefully run a razor blade

around the opening, using the

stone as a guide,” he said. He

then makes a template from the

paper and sends it back so the

customer can check the fit and

make any notes, such as “add

one-sixteenth inch here.”

Once the design is set, his

crew cuts the pieces from flat

sheets of metal, bends them,

welds all the joints, then grinds

the welds smooth and polishes

the surface. With stainless steel

sinks, he offers two options:

straight-line grain, which

mimics the finish often used on

refrigerators and dishwashers,

or matte, which has fine grain

lines that aren’t in a specific

direction. Bentz said many

customers say the matte finish is

less prone to showing

fingerprints. “It’s kind of what an

old stainless finish winds up

being anyway,” he said.

Bentz’s typical cost for a

custom, single-bowl sink is about

$2,800 including delivery, he

said. Complex custom sinks with

multiple compartments can run

up to $4,500. The company uses

14-gauge stainless steel, which is

25 percent thicker than the 16-

gauge stainless touted by

manufacturers of some high-end

mass-manufactured sinks and

about twice as thick as the 20-

gauge stainless steel sinks that

command the lowest prices at

home centers.

 Have a problem in your home?

Send questions to

[email protected]. Put “How

To” in the subject line, tell us where

you live and try to include a photo.

HOW TO

The trouble with switching out a double sink for a single? Price.

READER PHOTO

Even though mass-market manufacturers don’t offer single-bowl sinks in the right size for this project,

it’s possible to have a custom sink made to fit the dimensions.

S0129-3x2.75

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