Quality sinks last about 15 years, according to This Old House: Buyer’s Guide To Kitchen Sinks. Before you buy this plumbing appliance for your kitchen or bathroom, learn the plumbing anatomy.
What To Know Before Buying
Before you install bathroom sink plumbing, understand the best materials and common designs for your home.
Material
Stainless steel sinks are for durability, value, and easy installation.
Acrylic sinks come in a variety of colors and patterns to complement other features of the bathroom.
Natural stone, marble, travertine, granite, and porcelain create farmhouse sinks. Farmhouse sinks are often carved with designs. If you want a metal farmhouse sink, use copper, brass, or aluminum.
Design
Bathroom and kitchen sinks aren't too different in design. It’s common to find kitchen sinks with three compartments. One is for washing food, while the others are for rinsing and washing dishes, utensils, and cookware. These compartments are usually different sizes, with one small compartment acting as a drain board.
Many farmhouse sinks have one compartment to remain authentic to their original era.
Another factor is the number of holes (or knockouts) for faucets, sprayers, soap dispensers, instant hot water heaters, and water purifier taps. Most sinks come with three holes, but four- and five-hole sinks are becoming more available.
Most homeowners prefer top-mounted sinks, because they’re easier to install. Undermount sinks are becoming more prevalent. This sink mounts below the counter surface, eliminating the lip that’s present on a top-mounted sink.
Faucets
A basic faucet offers hot and cold faucet handles. A better faucet has wrist-blade hot and cold handles or a single-handle, mix-valve faucet. The best faucet is hands-free or electronic-eye, because they’re the most sanitary and energy efficient.
Each operates on AC power, battery, or both. For more information, find a diagram here.
Drains
“Each...sink compartment has its own drain hole where the fitting attaches," according to eHow. The sink connects to a drain pipe.
"Kitchen sink compartment drains might be in line with each other, or they might be offset." (We suggest a stainless steel drain strainer.)
The National Kitchen & Bath Association suggests a standard 22-by-24-inch single-bowl model for bathrooms less than 150 square feet.
For larger homes, consider a deeper, double- or triple-compartment sink for more space. Account for the best material for your home, and you have great bathroom plumbing.