Butler/Belfast sinks

sorry, my posts were perhaps not ^ sensible^

They are a good size for bathing small babies.

I would like to have one in the utility room but I'm not sure about having one in the kitchen as I like my 1.5 stainless steel sink.

We have MIL's Belfast sink, rescued when her kitchen was re-fitted, in our garden with plants in. Well, it will have plants in in the summer as my idea of a sedum and succulent garden was the squirrels' idea of heaven as they dug it up to bury their nuts.

Thankyou everyone very interesting , I agree about wood I couldn't be bothered with the faffing around either. One friend said her wood surrounding her belfast sink started going black I presume because she didn't take care of it.
I'm going to stick to my guns and go for the stainless steel one as its seems I was right to be wary of the Belfast/Butler I too suffer with a bad back so it really wouldn't work for me.

You are all lovely ladies and I'm so glad I can come here and get sensible 'real' unbiased reviews of just about everything.

I am not sure of they still do them but IKEA did do a large sink similar to a Belfast which was evenly divided into two. It had a ridge around the top so fitted into the worktop as a normal stainless or stone sink does. My friend has one of these and has a rack thing she puts across one to do the draining of the odd bits she washes in them.

I love my wooden work tops - had my current ones in this house for about 15 years and they are now just at the stage where we need to give them a sanding and a new seal. When they were new I oiled them a number of times initially -(Liberon) and then did it every couple of months for the first few years. Have done nothing to them for the last ten or twelve.
If you go for granite I think that maybe you need the most expensive variety - DD bought a house with them installed and they were a real pain to keep looking nice - every mark showed up.

I had a Belfast sink in my old house and it was one of my essential requirements for my new kitchen. You can wash large pans and baking trays easily plus I can soak the oven racks in the sink in hot water with washing powder added and they come out clean and don't need scrubbing. Marvellous!

You can put a plastic bubble mat on the bottom if you're worried about breaking pots in it or just use a washing up bowl.

I had wooden work tops in my last kitchen but found it a faff to oil them so I had granite this time.

I'd never have wooden work tops again.

I've got a double Belfast sink, husband put them at the right height for me, and I find them great.
But there is the risk of dropping something heavy and breaking them.
Memories of living in a bedsit in someone's house when first married. All we had was a porcelain handbasin and I dropped something heavy into it which fell right through to the floor below.

Had one in our last house, in the utility room ( best of both worlds) as I had an ordinary double sink in the kitchen.
If choosing for the kitchen however I would go for normal stainless steel.
Had wooden worktops in the last house utility room, a nightmare, and needed oiling.
The kitchen needs an easily cleaned worktop space, avoid wood.

I had a double belfast sink fitted last we did the kitchen, I love it.

There is a Belfast sink in my kitchen, it's too low and makes my back ache, looks good though, it was there when I moved in, can't wait to afford to replace it when it will find a new home in the garden planted up with as many herbs as I can get in it, I will love it then

DD has a split Belfast sink. It is very smart, but she doesn't like it and is terrified of anyone dropping anything in it. So we all walk on eggshells round the Belfast sink and all the "heavyweight" sink work gets done in the utility room sink. We had a stainless steel sink put in our new kitchen, against my better judgement, because I wanted a reconstituted granite one like we had in the last house, but the only colour I liked didn't go with the rest of the kitchen. I was silly. They keep their good looks better than stainless steel and are virtually bomb proof.

I wouldn't be without mine. We grow a lot of vegetables so it's great for washing/preparing large amounts - also good for bathing the dogs

We have wooden worktops but I don't see a problem so long as you keep them oiled, usually twice a year.

They are a bit low if you suffer from back problems though.

I really dislike them . I don't think they're very practical , I wouldn't swap my one and half sink . It's not stainless steel, it's a slightly textured finish in dark brown that always looks good.

I always find them too deep and low (and I'm not tall), plus they are unforgiving if you drop anything in them.
I would prefer a modern split sink, much more practical.

A friend of mine in her last house had one but had to treat it with kid gloves as it scratched so easily. Admittedly this was many years ago and no doubt materials have changed but I personally will always stick with my stainless steel sink. It is easily cleaned for starters.