Timeless strength with cast iron kitchen and bathroom sinks
This past week, we began looking at a particular cast iron kitchen sink. Kitchen sinks can be built with a variety of different materials and one of the most common types is a relatively thin stainless steel. Other more modern alternatives include composite sinks which are similar to cast iron in some of the key or fundamental characteristics, but still different in the method of manufacturing.
Just by rapping on the side of the sink wall, you can tell there’s a big difference. By comparison, with most other types of kitchen sink materials, cast iron sinks are thick and heavy. As we mentioned above, the sounds of plates and water and things moving around inside the sink are muted because the thick material deadens vibration and sound transfer.
The same principles of the sound deadening apply with cast iron drain piping. Cast iron drain pipes used to be very common, but by and large, throughout much of the modern stick home and track building construction common here in the United states, cast iron pipes have been replaced with relatively lightweight cellular PVC pipes. Cellular PVC pipes have a very lightweight core in the middle of the pipe walls that makes the lighter to carry, cheaper to transport, and easier to work with in general.
The downside to those types of drain pipes though is that they’re noisy. You can simply hear water running down through them every time a plumbing device is used. For example, in multi-story homes or buildings, when there is a bathroom on an upper level, when you’re sitting in a lower level, even just relaxing, if somebody flushes a toilet above you, you can hear that water go down the pipe like a waterfall. This is an annoyance of the quick and cheap construction that we’re accustomed to nowadays. By comparison, the cast iron pipe is nearly silent, even when an entire toilet bowl of water runs down after a big flush.
At the rim, where the sink mounts in the drop in position into a countertop or cabinet, the thickness is over 3/8 of an inch. By comparison, stainless steel sinks are less than the 3/32 of an inch, generally roughly 1/16 of an inch in thickness.
There are four perforations or holes in the upper portion of the sink that sits on top of the countertop. This sink is so wide that it’s not a typical drop in type sink, but it is still made with a rim that sits above the edge of an adjacent countertop, at least on the sides.
This particular sinks, unlike most can either be set to have a rim on top of an adjacent countertop as described above, or in a different configuration where it actually sits alone. That’s not common for most countertops, but as we mentioned this one’s particularly large and also self-supporting. Typical alternative stainless steel sinks are made with sheet metal which needs a substrate or underlying type of support because the sheet metal is relatively flexible. By comparison, cast iron sinks like this do not bend or waffle in any way. It’s independently rigid in all of its geometry.
In one of the pictures above, we show the multiple different holes at the top of the sink, but in the next picture below, you can also see, within the same frame, the drain holes. This sink has three compartments in its assembly, of the three drain holes, one drain hole in each compartment. With the four holes at the top upper horizontal surface of the sink for the spout and controls, there are a total of seven holes in summation. The holes for the sink drains are 4.5 inches in diameter.
There are a few disadvantages of cast iron, overall it’s a much superior material, but it’s extremely heavy to work with and therefore cost more, just in terms of transportation cost and fuel consumption used in transport of heavy materials. Also, compared to PVC or stainless steel, cast iron is susceptible to rusting.
It doesn’t rust quickly or easily, but in time when exposed to moisture in the minimally protected areas like most other ferrous metals, cast iron can actually rust. As an additional side note, it’s probably a good idea for us to mention that even though stainless steel sounds completely impervious to the effects of hydration and oxidation, some types of stainless steel can actually rust as well.
For the most part, stainless steel is invincible to the effects of exposure to water, but over time in certain conditions stainless steel can also rust. One of the key principles or reasons that stainless steel is resistant to the exposure to moisture is that it typically, passively forms a layer of chromium on the surface, when exposed to oxygen. That layer of chromium is resistant to moisture infiltration and oxidation. The chromium reaction is, as we mentioned passive, meaning that it happens automatically, residually. However, exposure to salts, acids, particles of ferrous metals or chlorides that come in heavy amounts can lead to break down of the formation of this protective layer.
The picture below shows a rust formation at one of the perforations in the sink top. The porcelain enamel that is fired on to the surface of the cast iron is relatively thin at this location, particularly at the corner of the planar transition from the horizontal top to the vertical sidewall of the perforation through the cast iron body.
Here in the next picture, we also show a picture of an undermount type of castbiron bathroom sink.
Dupont Kitchen & Bath Can Help
As dedicated and local DC metropolitan kitchen and bath builders and installers, we pride ourselves on turning your visions into reality. Your kitchen and bathrooms can reflect your unique style and be designed with personalized aesthetics. It can be a process from creative designs to the realization of your dream space. Specializing in kitchen and bath construction, we bring expertise and skills to every project. If you’re contemplating a renovation, upgrade, or modernization in the local market, we’re happy to be your team. Consult with us, and we can start together on a path to redefine and elevate your DC living experience.
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