Quartz worktops and sinks. Exciting! ;-)

[LadyDuplo]

We're having a new kitchen and we're in the process of deciding what we're getting etc.

Modern grey doors, with slimline handles. Range cooker and American fridge freezer.

For the worktops we're going for quartz. I really like the set in sinks or the sinks that sit underneath, with the groove tracks in the quartz for the draining board.

Dh wants an overset sink with traditional draining board as part of the sink. He's worried about the lip of the sink / worktop going mouldy with an in-set sink.

Does anyone have the same as what my dh wants? Are you happy with it?

Any views / opinions welcome

I have quartz worktop over a metal sink under it. It would get monkey if I didn't clean it, but a quick wipe every day and it's fine.

Loved the pictures and it is good to have a reference!

Re drainer grooves: another option is to have a flat section carved out of the worktop (instead of grooves) so it's just a few mm below the main worktop. This provides an area to contain drips and with a slight slope towards the sink. More effective for draining than grooves, easier to keep clean and also works fairly well as ordinary worksurface.

I’m with your husband, sorry.
I can’t stand the thought of what’s under there, that you just can’t see, and would be constantly trying to clean it.
Same with the drainer grooves, I never think they are clean. I’m hoping for this.

This

tomboytown agreed that’s gorgeous! A far cry from an inset stainless steel drainer!

sdaisy do you mind me asking where you bought your composite sink?

I have a quartz worktop and under mount sink. We had the grooves but looking at this thread and thinking it through, I regret it. I don’t use the grooves as intended as they get a bit manky so we use a plastic drainer on top. Ours is pure white quartz. Don’t regret that.

@newkitchenideas1 it’s a range master and I got it from kitchensinksandtaps.co.uk

Had fallen in love with a Blanco one but this was half the price and virtually identical. Very pleased with it so far.

I have a very large sink, no grooves as I’ve found in the past they get watermarked. The sink is big enough to put colanders etc to rinse veg.

Not the budget option by any means but this Kohler sink met our needs - limited work space, not enough room for a double bowl but needing a big bowl and not wanting any dishes or drainer out on the counter. Part of the sink is like a shallow draining area, also undermounted, and this part is sitting over our dishwasher. The undermounted ledge is exposed so nothing can get stuck and dishes are unlikely to chip the worktop edges when placed in the sink ( had this happen in past twice :( ) It comes with two chopping boards (one is pictured) so we use it for food prep and the undermounted drainage area is where we set dishes to dry and pots to sit of using the main sink area. We have previously had Corian and quartz but were convinced to go back to stainless steel after issue with them.

Also - with quartz/corian cut out drainage areas we previously had grooves but I found them impractical and didn’t like the appearance. I preferred the cut out sloping drainage area, although we still needed a drainer in top of it and it was worktop space we couldn’t use. In my paranoia about the worktop edges chipping we looked into inset stainless steel sinks and found some absolutely stunning models, however they were not a lot cheaper than the model we eventually went for. I think Blanco made them.

Thank you sdaisy26, I will take a look at that website.

Our kitchen designer has incorporated grooves into the worktop but now I’m wondering if that’s a bad idea! Ours will look very similar to yours sdaisy. We have chosen Aspen Ice quartz although struggling to find a supplier at the minute for it but our designer is working on it for us. My dp would love your work too jetteage he has been trying to convince me to change from Aspen ice to the marble effect - it’s very classy. Can I ask what colour kitchen you went for to match the work top?

How are everyone's grooves getting manky? Ours are perfect a year on...

We had grooves in our granite tops, we are in a hard water area so limescale became a problem with any water left standing.

Very hard water here too, which is was our problem with the groves - limescale build up then traps dirt and grime.

@Newkitchenideas1 our kitchen is a pale grey and dark wood. Stupidly we didn’t give much thought to the colours and then regally struggled to find a worktop that suited both colours - after months of searching cane to this Calacatta effect that matches both perfectly. Good luck with the decision making!

IMO undermount is the way to go, especially if you have quartz. I opted for two sinks, and one is specifically a sink where we can rinse dishes and put the drainer ) to keep the counter clean and neat).

Hi everyone,

I'm pleased to report that my Dh has changed his mind and we're getting an undermount sink 😀 I showed him this thread, so thanks all for the comments.

I'm going to read them all again, as there's been great advice / views given that I haven't been able to absorb properly the first time I read them.

Hi-it looks gorgeous. We are about to get a white quartz sink but I am slightly concerned about care/maintenance re. staining. We let our apartment for 6 months every year and I don't want to be worried that tenants will let it stain etc....it is quite hardy/resistant to stains etc?
TIA!

Limescale in grooves can be removed with a bit of wire wool and a scrub!

We have a white composite sink. Over Christmas some house guests left stuff soaking overnight and in the morning the sink wasn’t as white as usual! I was able to easily get it clean again with barkeepers friend but I would say staining may be a risk with tenants, for example if they left teabags in the sink or something like that.

dark grey quartz, blanco double undermount sink, no grooves

We have undermount with quartz too and it rocks! I think it looks very classy and we’ve had no issues with it. If you’re worried, you can get a specialist quartz cleaner :)