Tectonite 'plastic' Franke sink

Halle71

I want a white sink for our new kitchen as we live in a hard water area and I hate lime on stainless steel. We had a ceramic sink in our old house which looked lovely but I was always worried it would chip or we would smash our best glasses on it so I settled on a tectonite/composite sink from Franke:

https://www.kitchenmarket.co.uk/franke-sirius-sid-110-50-polar-white-sink

However, what I didn't realise it that its pretty much plastic and, although it does have a 50 year guarantee and is impossible to break or stain, is no heavier than a washing up bowl as I found when it was delivered.

It has great reviews but I'm wondering if it will look rubbish in my kitchen and as it is under mount I can't change it once the quartz has been cut. I guess being under mounted means you will see little of the sink and we have a beautiful tap as well as boiling water tap so the whole set up should look good.....

Has anyone got any experience of these? Anyone in the trade fitted them?

Thanks

H

mrschaucer

I wish you luck with your new sink. Can't help you on the tectonite front, but like you we live in a hard water area, and went for a white "Fragranite" Franke sink (best available at the time) as we too didn't want limescale on stainless steel. Reviews looked good, promises in the advertising were a legion. In reality the sink stained badly virtually from the off, and the limescale buildup (totally impossible to remove without limescale removers which would ruin the sink) is a charming shade of yellow. It looks discoloured and dirty all the time. The so-called smooth finish was rough to the touch in places, and the "designer" shape has been a disaster in use. It also cost a fortune.
We also bought the matching tap which failed after a few months. I shall never buy Franke again.
Do have a look at Grohe for taps, if you are still looking around. Having said all that, I know that lots of people swear by Franke products. Maybe I was just unlucky.
Good luck, and I hope you have more joy with Franke than I had.

CKdesigner

Hi

I am not completely familiar with the Franke sink you are talking about but I do have a couple of concerns that I think best sharing with you. Firstly I wouldn't recommend any material other than stainless steel for a sink if you are having a boiling tap, as I feel constant use of a boiling tap in a non steel sink will discolour it. Also be careful of the kitchenmarket website as it is a non UK company the products they sell are not covered by the manufacturers guarantees even though they say they are.

My advise would definitely be, get a decent stainless steel sink when in an under mount situation, as it is by far the most practical material.

CK

Furts

There are two Franke stainless steel sinks in my kitchen and the tap water does not get harder than that where I live. Staining of the sink has never been an issue.

The sinks are fine but the Franke tap had a sub standard diffuser. Franke were agressive and abrupt when this was reported back to them, and they refused to honour a guarantee claim for it. I had to purchase a new diffuser. I maintain that Franke are a cr-p company that deserve bad publicity. Well done mrschaucer for expressing your concerns about them.

Halle71

Hmmmm.
Thanks for all the replies and info - I'm glad I posted before installation.
I think that the best/easiest plan of action will be to swap it with one of the under mount stainless steel sinks they sell. I guess you don't have as much limescale and it is less visible with an under mount sink.

Thanks for the tips CK - very useful.

Furts

I will not name drop but my Franke items were personally ordered and processed by a significant, senior figure in the UK kitchen industry. This was arranged through the approved UK Franke supply chain.

When the problem arose the Franke response was they did not care who ordered the items, nor were they bothered about the damage to their reputation seen through the eyes of what is one of their most significant UK customers. The response was that if one expected a decent quality product then one should not place an order with Franke. Further, it was Franke mission to screw every conceivable penny out of every customer on every occasion.

Goodwill and ex-gratia were alien concepts to Franke - the customer was always to be shafted.

CKdesigner

Very interesting Furts. I've never been a lover of Franke and will only source their products if all other possibilities have been exhausted.

Probably the initial reason we choose to do Blanco rather than Franke was because we could purchase direct from Blanco but Franke could / can only be purchased from distributors. And actually this could be one of the reasons for their attitude towards you, as they are too far away from the end user in the supply chain.

CK

ryder72

mrschaucer - try this to see if it removes the discoloration. Fill up the sink with warm water. Crumble a dishwasher tablet (Finish classic type) and add it to the sink and agitate the water. Leave for about an hour, drain and rinse.

Let us know how you get on.

I have never been a fan of the composite (Fragranite, Silgranit) sinks. Go with steel and you can use bleach, limescale remover on it all day long and it stays unaffected. I dont think Franke sinks are any better or worse than Blanco but as CK said, we buy direct from Blanco and have a very good relationship with them. This doesnt happen with Franke as their distributors are just interested in shipping boxes and not building relationships.

mrschaucer

Thanks, ryder, but we have indeed tried everything we can think of including your suggestion. Currently saving up for a replacement!

ryder72

If you are committed to replacing the sink, try limescale remover or something on the lines of vinegar, citric acid etc. What you have you got to lose.

While these are non recommended products, I dont think they are aggressive enough to eat through the material. Worst case they might discolour and then you get another shade of sink to enjoy till you replace.

CKdesigner

Have you tried as Ryder has suggested but substitute dishwasher tablet with biological washing powder? The enzymes should really get to work on discolouration.

CK