The kitchen sink is often considered one of the hardest working elements in any kitchen. Whether you are remodeling your kitchen or replacing your countertop, you will need to consider what type of sink to purchase that will best suit your needs.

Let’s chat about sink mounting for a bit — kitchen sinks generally fall into one of three categories: Overmount, Undermount and Integral.

Overmount, or “drop in” sinks, are characterized by a lip that sits on top of the countertop surface. Laminate countertops require drop in sinks. Other countertop materials such as Granite, Solid Surface and Quartz accept Undermount sinks as well. Undermount sinks are characterized by a lip that is fastened to the underside of the countertop, creating an almost seamless appearance. Undermount sinks look quite high-end and also have no surface lip to clean around. As a result, they are the preferred sink choice for stone countertops. Both undermount and overmount sinks come in a variety of materials, including stainless steel, cast iron and granite composite. The third category of sink mounting is Integral, where the sink is actually fused to the countertop. Integral sinks are only available for Solid Surface countertops such as Corian. An integral sink is made out of solid surface material and then fused to the countertop. The advantage is that these sinks are truly seamless, allowing for ease of cleaning. The disadvantage is that they are prone to scratches, and in order to replace the sink, generally the entire countertop must be replaced.