In commercial buildings, whether it’s a kitchen, an office building, or anything in between, sometimes the finer details can get lost as we look externally at all of the other factors that can impact our overall design styles and preferences. With that said, it’s important that we don’t lose sight of those smaller details, as they can have a surprisingly large influence on the final “product” so-to-speak.
What are we getting at with this, though? At the end of the day, it’s the small touches that tend to bring consumers in and make them interested. The same can be said for our employees if that’s the style of commercial building that you’re planning to design.
Obviously, there are rules and regulations surrounding the construction and renovation of any buildings, especially commercial ones. You can read about that here: https://www.nist.gov/buildings-construction/understanding-building-codes. Thankfully, there are plenty of ways for us to make these spaces our own and to stamp our own identity (or the brand identity) into each little aspect of the space.
As you may have guessed, one of the pieces that we can do that with is the sinks. Today, we’ll be delving into some of the different types of sinks that are out there, so you can think about what might suit your commercial space best. Stick around if that’s something you’re interested in!
Types of Sinks in Commercial Spaces
Most of us are familiar with the sorts of sinks that we see in our homes. Obviously, though, the ones that are designed for commercialized areas are going to be different. Remember that there are also options for the commercial style kitchen faucet, and you can mix and match the styles to suit your needs.
Hand Washing Sinks
In the wake of the covid-19 pandemic, most of us are quite familiar with the concept of hand washing sinks. Heck, when you enter the bathrooms in establishments like Wal-Mart or grocery stores, you’ve probably seen the signs around about how employees need to wash their hands. These are simply a critical part of any commercial space.
After all, we know how important cleanliness is. No one wants to end up spreading a bunch of germs. What specific types of physical sinks are good options for this purpose, then? There are a few options to consider.
Undermounts are a good idea if you don’t want a visible seam. You see, they’re seamless, and provide a look that doesn’t have harsh edges. They’re quite popular in places like hotels because of the classy style they give off.
There are also drop-in sinks, which have a rim that rest on top of whatever countertop or surface they’re installed in. Either way, there are a ton of classy and stylish options available in terms of selecting your hand washing installation.
Food Prep Sinks
Anyone in the restaurant business knows just how big of a deal that food preparation sinks are. There are a lot of regulations surrounding the process, after all, as you can learn about on this page. It’s very important to select the right one for your establishment if you’re serving food.
What are they used for in this context? Typically, it will be washing and peeling fruits and vegetables, washing dishes and utensils, and otherwise washing off food. Because of this, it can be helpful to have multiple sinks, and especially ones that have double basins.
Additionally, kitchens probably aren’t the place to use a material like porcelain. Instead, consider something more heavy-duty such as stainless steel. That’s a classic for a reason, and don’t forget that you can go with stainless steel faucets as well to get a truly cohesive and functional sort of style.
Janitorial Sinks
Although these may not be the most glorious of the sinks that we have installed in our commercial spaces, there’s certainly no denying their necessity. As you may already know, they are used by cleaning staff for tasks such as mopping, filling buckets, and cleaning equipment. More often than not, they are larger and deeper than handwashing sinks and may have features like sprayers or detachable faucet heads.
While most of our employees and the general public probably won’t be using them or even seeing them, that doesn’t mean we should let them fall by the wayside. They help ensure that our buildings and spaces are sanitary and clean for use without worrying about dumping the dirty mop water in a hand washing sink, or something like that.
Surgical Sinks
Shifting gears a bit, if your commercial space happens to be a medical facility, then there’s a chance that you’ll need surgical sinks. Now, they aren’t only used for surgical procedures, but this is essentially how any specialized medical sinks are referred to. These really need to be installed and managed properly to maintain the proper levels of hygiene and safety.
You may find that you end up needing to install a lot of them in a medical facility – a lot of these sinks end up in each individual examination room even in family practices. This helps maintain the proper standards are held and reduces the chance of cross-contamination as well!
Bar Sinks
The last specific type that we’d like to make note of today are bar sinks, which are, as the name suggests, used in bars for bartenders to utilize when making cocktails and drinks for customers. Usually, they’re hidden below the top counter, which means that undermount options tend to be a good idea.
That said, they’re mostly used for smaller tasks, meaning that they don’t exactly need to be huge like the ones we see in kitchens. A small stainless-steel option that’s big enough to wash glasses or other drinkware is probably going to be sufficient.
Overall, there are a ton of ways that commercial spaces utilize these sinks. Remember that you can always find something that will fit your establishment just right, no matter what material or style you’re aiming for in specific!
