The hottest trend in bathroom design today is the
handmade glass sink – often referred to as a vessel
sink - which has become the latest must-have for
luxury homeowners. Vessel-mounted, fused, slumped,
mosaic, under-mounted and hand-blown sinks have even
influenced the faucet manufacturers’ designs because
of their unprecedented popularity. Our glass
designers can even help you incorporate lighting
from underneath and above to accentuate these
stunning, one-of-a-kind pieces of glass art, which
work equally well in traditional or contemporary
settings.
Combine the versatility in color and design offered
by glass with the vessel mount trend and it’s no
wonder that Glass Sinks Online can barely keep up
with demand. We find ourselves answering questions
and dispelling myths surrounding sinks just about
every day. This page was created to answer some of
the more common questions.
Types of Glass Sinks
To better understand the three main categories of
glass vessel sinks, it helps to understand the three
main types of glass activity:
- Cold Glass -- Working with glass at room
temperature. Examples are mosaic glass, stained
glass, glass carving and etching.
- Warm Glass - The process of fusing, slumping or
other kiln forming techniques at temperatures
between 1100 and 1700 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Hot Glass - The process of blowing glass using a
furnace that melts the glass at 2200 degrees
Fahrenheit. Once the glass is gathered on the end of
a pipe, the artist forms the hot glass using a
"Glory Hole" (an oven that maintains a temperature
of around 1200 degrees Fahrenheit). The resulting
work is then slowly cooled in an annealing oven.
With the Above in Mind, There are Three Main
Categories of Glass Sinks you will Find at Glass
Sinks OnLine
Fused & Slumped -- Glass fusing is the process of
joining together pieces of glass. When the right
kind of glass is heated and then cooled properly,
the resulting fused glass piece will be solid and
unbroken. Using fusing techniques, the artist
creates patterns and designs in color. The resulting
sheet of fused glass is then slumped into the vessel
shape. In the slumping process the glass is laid
into, or on top of a mold and heated just to the
point where it "slumps" to fit the form of the mold.
Once the glass reaches the desired form it must be
cooled quickly enough to stop the movement that will
result in cracking. Although this might sound
simple, the resulting sinks can be quite intricate
in their design and require hours of painstaking
labor.
Blown Glass -- Hand blown glass sinks are created
through a much different process. This "hot glass"
process allows an artist to create myriad different
styles, colors, shapes and sizes that are always
unique. Layers of glass are "gathered" onto the end
of a "rod" or "pipe" and formed, blown
and worked into a vessel shape. Color is applied in many
different forms at the beginning of the process.
Once finished, the piece is "annealed" for a
minimum of 48 hours for maximum durability. Due to
variations in the glass blowing process, every sink
will be unique.
Mosaic Glass -- Pieces of hand-cut colored art glass
are adhered to the inside surface of a 1/2" thick
annealed glass bowl. Annealing is a process of
bending the glass at extremely high temperatures to
assure durability of use in the most extreme
temperature conditions. The sink is then grouted
with a specially mixed blend of sand and tinted
cement, then sealed and finished with a protective
clear polymer coating to create a smooth surface
which is colorful, sturdy, easy to care for and a
breathtaking focal point for any bathroom.
