Under mount or top mount sink for kitchen

[museumguy]

Glued to the laminate, which is on the 'bottom' of the countertop?
I've never placed, nor seen laminate on the bottom side of a countertop.

You misunderstood. I never said the laminate was on the underside of the countertop. This is not the way we did it but this video shows the same result.

Installation of a Karran undermount sink in a laminate countertop (youtube.com)

[museumguy]

I’m amazed the traction this thread got. Thanks for all the responses.

I’m leaning towards the undermount, double bowl sink. LOML wants double bowl.
I’d like to get rid of the disposal too since we got along fine without one for eight years in Hawaii.

We had this style installed with our granite top. We really love the 2 different size bowls. 

Karran USA U-6040R-PK1 U Series 31-1/2" Undermount Double | Build.com

[Stwood_]

You misunderstood. I never said the laminate was on the underside of the countertop. This is not the way we did it but this video shows the same result.

Installation of a Karran undermount sink in a laminate countertop (youtube.com)

Ok. Well, yes I took it that way as you said the sink was glued directly to the laminate.
Top sink, I can see that as I've done hundreds. Under mounts, no.

[Cabinet Monkey]

We were just the opposite with the single bowl. The townhouse we rented while building the new house had a large undermount SS single bowl...and we HATED it. Where do you put clean dishes when as you wash them? Where is your rinse water? We mad darn sure to go with a double bowl in the new kitchen.

You put your washing up the same place most do - on the counter / in a basket on the counter. 

Rinse water comes outa the faucet - and it stays clean


I know where you’re coming from , but most people don’t wash up like that anymore.  Besides , a dishwasher is waaaaaaay more efficient at doing the task than any hand wash method.

[DogwoodTales]

Idk if this was mentioned yet, but one issue I had with my under-mounted sink to a granite countertop was that a little careless handling of heavy pots (by loml or others, not me) caused nicks in the granite edge to the sink. Just a few. I smoothed them down a little with a dremel.
We’re in a new house now and will eventually get granite countertops again once I get the kitchen remodeled. Under-mount is nice for reasons mentioned, but a shallow edge top mount (kinda like 3/16” thick and flat) wouldn’t be so difficult to keep clean and protect the granite edge from being nicked.
I’ve been trying to convince loml on this but so far I’m 0-1000.

[Snipe Hunter]

Idk if this was mentioned yet, but one issue I had with my under-mounted sink to a granite countertop was that a little careless handling of heavy pots (by loml or others, not me) caused nicks in the granite edge to the sink. Just a few. I smoothed them down a little with a dremel.
We’re in a new house now and will eventually get granite countertops again once I get the kitchen remodeled. Under-mount is nice for reasons mentioned, but a shallow edge top mount (kinda like 3/16” thick and flat)  wouldn’t be so difficult to keep clean and protect the granite edge from being nicked.
I’ve been trying to convince loml on this but so far I’m 0-1000.

Consider quartz... It's actually harder than granite and not as brittle and it isn't porous so it doesn't need to be maintained (sealed) so it doesn't have the little holes for bacteria to fester.. Cost is about the same now as quartz has gotten more popular.

[DogwoodTales]

Idk where you are but in the Cincinnati area quartz was considerably more $ back in 2018, but yeah it does have some advantages.
I think the concerns with granite are overblown and wiping on some sealer once a year is hardly inconvenient, but that’s just imho

[Woodenfish]

vernonator: I leave my drain open, wash the dishes and rinse under the running water. There is no need to fill a bowl with soapy water and then another small bowl for rinsing.

I purchased a microfiber drying mat and rack from Umbra.com to set the washed dishes upon on my countertop next to the sink. The mat absorbs and water, protects the countertop and dishes and washes easily when needed in my laundry machine. This is the best way I have ever used and makes cleaning large items easily.

I like this setup as the mat dries out quickly and folds up out of the way for storage when not needed. Check them out, they come in multiple colors, the rack holds a lot plus the mat is oversized generously to handle large items like pots or pans.

Bonus tip; Get a soap dispensing dish washing brush by Oxo Good Grips. It is very good and sanitary. Replacement heads are available as well. I bought mine on Amazon.

[Snipe Hunter]

Idk where you are but in the Cincinnati area quartz was considerably more $ back in 2018, but yeah it does have some advantages.
I think the concerns with granite are overblown and wiping on some sealer once a year is hardly inconvenient, but that’s just imho

I would do either one. Quartz is just a nice alternative and gives you more color/pattern options.

[ajkoontz]

Just jumping on the single bowl thing again. I think other posters explained pretty well how you deal with only having one bowl. In my case I had otherwise wasted space to the right of the sink, so I had a drainboard routed in to countertops and keep a wire rack for drying. it works great --- for me---. I do 90% of the dishes, and 90% of those go in the dishwasher, so I don't really miss the double bowl. That said, it really is a personal preference and if you think you'll hate single bowl, you will. My wife hates it, but tolerates it since I do the majority of the dishes. My comments are for people on the fence, like I was, and I don't regret the single bowl at all.