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Sinks: materials, bowls and what comes with them

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Short answer

A sink is a fixed bowl with a waste outlet, set into a counter or hung on a wall. Makers such as Franke and Blanco build their ranges on three materials: stainless steel, granite composite and ceramic. Franke describes its Fragranite composite as quartz with acrylic resin, resistant to heat up to 280°C.

In stock in Zanzibar

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Sinks by room

The word sink covers two different products. In the kitchen, the sink is a deep bowl, often with a drainer, set into a worktop; in the bathroom, the smaller bowl for washing hands is usually called a wash basin. This page deals with what both share — materials, bowls and fittings. For bathroom bowls in detail, see wash basins; for kitchen models and what they cost, see the kitchen sink prices.

Sink materials

Sink materials
Material What it is, according to the maker Stated properties
Stainless steel chrome-nickel steel (Franke) resistant to rust, corrosion and staining (Franke); colour-neutral, shows scratches as part of its look (Blanco)
Granite composite natural quartz and acrylic resin, sold as Fragranite (Franke); a mixture with a high proportion of granite, sold as Silgranit (Blanco) resistant to scratches, stains, chips and heat up to 280°C (Franke); dirt stays on the surface and cannot penetrate (Blanco)
Ceramic fireclay fired at very high temperature (Franke); clay with other materials and a sealed surface (Blanco) resistant to heat, stains, impact and household chemicals; smooth, non-porous surface (Franke)

Sources: Franke kitchen sink materials; Blanco sink materials.

Blanco adds a point on finish: matt stainless steel is untreated, so limescale settles on it more easily than on a polished one. The 280°C figure is Franke’s own statement for Fragranite; neither maker gives a heat figure for its stainless steel.

Bowls, drainers and sizes

You choose by outer size, the number of bowls and whether there is a drainer. The models on our kitchen sink price list, checked on 12 November 2026, run from a 420 mm round single bowl to 1200 × 480 mm double-bowl sinks with a single drainer. A modern sink may also be designed for one mounting method only: Blanco offers its Subline 500-U line for undermount installation, below the worktop, and says each one must fit straight and tight in its place.

What comes with a new sink

A quoted price does not always cover the same parts. Listings on the same price page show some stainless steel models sold with waste and bottle trap but without a tap, and others sold with waste fittings, waste pipes and a tap. Ask for the tap, the waste, the overflow and the trap by name before you compare two quotes.

The wall and floor around a sink

Water splashes behind and below a sink. Kitovu has K11 Polymer Cement Waterproof Coating (Two-Component) in stock in Zanzibar; its data sheet lists kitchens, toilets and bathrooms among the areas it waterproofs, and it can be tiled over.

What to check when you buy a sink

  1. Material and finish — polished or matt stainless steel, composite colour, ceramic glaze.
  2. Outer size and bowl depth, against the cabinet or worktop opening.
  3. Number of bowls and the drainer side, left or right.
  4. Mounting — set on top of the worktop or under it.
  5. What is included — tap, waste, overflow, trap.

Sinks in Zanzibar

Kitovu sells from stock in Zanzibar, and sinks are not among its products.