Kitchen sink and shower advice

Ximian

Hi all,

I'm planning to replace the old kichen sink with a stainless steel kitchen sink and have shopped around and narrowed my choice down to the following two manufacturers: Franke and Astracast. The Franke stainless steel kitchen sinks look good and the prices are reasonable at around £75-£85 for a 1.5 bowl sink. Astracast on the other hand is a bit more expensive. I'm looking for some recommendations or opinions regarding the Franke sink and if it's decent quality. Or if there are any other suggestions on another manufacturer that I should consider I'd appreciate that too.

I'm also planning on replacing the electric shower with a thermo mixer shower that will run off the combi boiler (30kW). The plumber said he'd fit a brand that I have never heard of (mixer cost around £150), but I have had a look around and have seen some Mira showers and they look decent but are more on the expensive side. Hansgrohe are also nice but even more expensive than the Miras at around £300+
If anyone has a Mira thermo mixer shower please comment or if anyone can suggest another manufacturer I'd welcome those opinions too.

Thanks!

Canucklehead

Good afternoon: My OH has installed both Franke and Astracast...depends on the particular models in their respective ranges as they both have products for the 'price sensitive' market as well as the top end. In terms of thermostatic shower mixers he tends to install Mira , Trevi and Aqualisa products(good warranty)...well worth paying for the name brand instead of paying twice to replace a cheapy eg. 'Fleabay' specials.;)

HTH

Canucklehead

Ximian

Many thanks for the reply and suggestions Canucklehead.

I had a look at the websites you provided and compared the Franke sink that I saw advertised online for £75 and it's the "Onda" model, it's 18/10 stainless steel but I'm wondering if the lower cost is due to design or structure. I've seen some stainless steel sinks that are very thin and when you move the tap the sink warps slightly. This is the problem when puchasing online, you can't touch the item before buying it!!

The showers look good as well, I like Aqualisa range and the Trevi looks good too but they come at a price, good quality costs $$$ but like you said it pays to buy quality, I don't want to be doing the same job twice a year or two down the line.