We're doing up our kitchen next week (units remaining, but worktops,
tiling, walls + sink being redone) and we're having some difficulty
sorting out the sink. Our budget for a sink was originally about £50 up
to maybe about £80.

After looking at these sinks in B&Q/Homebase etc, I realised just how
flexible some of these were - even from respected brands such as Franke.
The drainer can often flex a lot when putting your hand in the middle
of it, and monobloc mixer taps with long spouts flex like crazy when you
move them. I've since realised that without plumbing in the tap, you
won't have terrific strength to the tap - hence I'll probably try to use
copper pipes rather than flexible tap connectors.

Our current sink is an old stainless steel single bowl + drainer with
mixer tap using 2 holes. This doesn't really flex in the drainer,
doesn't at all on the tap, but is quite scratched and doesn't drain
properly causing scale marks - therefore we can't re-use it.

Anyway - we've since upped our budget to more like £150, maybe a tad
more. I've seen the Blanco Median-XL sink which seems to fit our
requirements on dimensions of the bowl (an additional small bowl would
be nice, however these seem reduce the size of the main bowl too much as
they all seem to be aimed at fitting the bowls within a single 600mm
cupboard).

Getting to my point - is there any way to know what thickness steel is
used in these sinks? The Blanco one is listed as "18/10 Premium Steel"
which clears up the type of steel, but not the thickness. Blanco
themselves say:

Q1: What qualities should I look for in a stainless steel sink?

A: Check on the quality. Premium quality stainless steel is always
18/10, because this represents the addition of chrome and nickel to the
steel, which guarantees best performance, corrosion resistance and
durability.

Q2: Why is weight important?

A: You will find that more steel has been used in the manufacture of a
heavier gauge sink, with resulting increase in quality and durability. A
lightweight sink is often made from thin steel to achieve cost savings.

Q3: What is the “flex” test?

A: Quality sinks made of thicker stainless steel will resist movement of
the drainer if pressure is exerted by hand.


Has anyone got experience with Blanco sinks, and can advise what their
quality is like? Additionally can anyone recommend a good, reasonably
stiff/thick SS sink with approx 40x40cm bowl which is around £150?

Thanks

David