Cracked sinks have presented quite a problem as far as repairs are concerned. Repairing a cracked sink was very hit and miss. If the crack was stable then possibly repairing the crack and resurfacing the whole sink would be a solution. There was no telling if the crack would grow or not however.So this work could not be warranted. If the cracking was really extensive and also on the underside it was impossible to say the repair would last for any length of time.
With antique sinks cracks are fairly common so this presented a big problem. Also if we did resurface the sink completely the logo or makers stamp would be lost. Some makers wash hand basins or wash stands are actually quite distinctive in style and losing the logo did not have any affect. Many clients however felt this was unacceptable and were unhappy at losing the stamp on their basin. So we started to research and test techniques on how we could retain the logo as well as repair the cracks when resurfacing wash hand basins or sinks.
The Bath Business have restored old sinks for many years now. Over the last 18 months we have been piloting a new technique to sort out the basins with cracks. We can even repair basins that have had bits completely broken off. We can now restore these sinks. Whats more we can also retain the manufacturers logo or mark. As we have been doing this service successfully for 18 months we feel we have tested the techniques enough to now warranty the restoration work.
Above and below is a lovely Shanks sink we restored in our workshop. The sink is a great example of a classic large Shanks sink. It had managed to get damaged quite badly in the inside and underside. Normally this sink would not be repairable. Certainly it would not be repaired with any confidence that the repair would last.
We repaired the inside and outside of the sink. We restored this sink before we had developed a method of preserving the makers stamp or logo. As Shanks sinks are so distinctive in style and shape it was not viewed as a problem. We also restored the old antique taps and waste and supplied an unused original old plug and chain stay. As you can see the basin has come up beautifully and now has pride of place in the clients. bathroom.
Shortly after we restored the Shanks basin we had perfected our restoration techniques as far as retaining the makers logo. We were asked to restore two beautiful French basins at a private home. One had a terrible crack and the other basin was badly stained and marked. The stained basin have a great logo that was worth retaining. Both needed the taps either replaced or restored as well as the wastes and plugs either replaced or restored.
As you can see this basin has a terrible crack. The crack was right through. In addition the basin needed other restoration work such as the original taps found, restored and fitted, as well as the plug and chain stay with waste replaced/restored. Fortunately we have a supply of original old style rubber plugs never used. Restoring the taps and waste is part of our everyday restoration service. Finding the original taps however was a minor miracle. There is a special attachment with the taps. So really for this basin the taps were unique. Somehow we did strike lucky and had the original taps in stock with our large supply of antique taps. We simply had to refurbish and nickel plate the taps along with the other brassware.
Here is the wash hand basin fully restored. It is one of the prettiest basins we have restored. The crack is fully repaired and as you can see the original taps look fantastic!
The stained basin still had it’s original taps and also a lovely ornate cast iron frame which we also restored.
Despite this basins badly stained surface and general poor condition it was still clear to the client that they had a fantastic basin that should be restored. The LOGO here is quite ornate so worth retaining. As far as we are aware we are the only bath resurfacing company that does restore these basins whilst retaining the logo.
Again the basin fully restored is absolutely stunning. As well as resurfacing the basin whilst retaining the logo we have also restored the taps, plug, waste and overflow cover in silver nickel.
