Wooden Baths & Sinks -- Do they work?

By Jack Healy - Wood Artists Gallery

I have been working in the plumbing business for over 20 years and have seen just about every type of sink you can imagine. Intrigued by artisan-created sinks, I set out on a journey several years ago to find the highest-quality sinks available that were still functional and long lasting. I started with glass sinks (GlassArtistsGallery.com) and then expanded my search to other mediums – metal, stone, ceramics, and wood. The result of this journey is Sinks Gallery – the finest collection of artisan and designer sinks found anywhere in the world.

The most difficult part of this journey was finding a quality wood sink that would withstand the rigors of daily use while maintaining the richness of the material-it was truly a challenge! I looked at everything and just wasn’t convinced…. Finally I discovered the William Garvey Company in the UK. And I can now answer the question posed in the title of this article – do they work? Yes they do!

History
The William Garvey company made their first sink in 1978, for a local client who wanted to transform the chore of washing up into a pleasure. In the early days their sinks and baths were made from natural teak with no additional finishing. Teak is chosen because of its natural waterproofing properties – it has been used for hundreds of years in the marine industry for this reason – teak also has natural antiseptic properties, which is a bonus for its use in baths and sinks. Their first sink is still in use to this day, and the owners love it so much that they took it with them when they moved.

The Product
With 25 years experience and their virtually maintenance-free TeakSeal™ finish, Wm. Garvey baths and sinks are not only aesthetic but practical too. Their TeakSeal™ finish is incorporated into the teak itself providing a tough, easy-to-clean product that will stand the test of time and make it easy to keep your bath or sink looking great. Click here for products by William Garvey.

They have tested this new finish with boiling water, hot fat, toothpaste, dirty greasy water left overnight, and dripping taps to test for the accumulation of limescale. These tests have proven the product to be highly durable and our clients report it “easier to clean than ceramic!” – using standard non-abrasive bathroom cleaners.

Maintenance
One of the features of natural teak is that it darkens over time, which means that their early sinks are now quite dark in appearance but still as functional as the day they were handcrafted in their workshops. To address this issue, an organic teak oil finish was incorporated in the early 1990’s, which successfully reduced the darkening of the teak and made the appearance of the baths and sinks distinctively more beautiful.

Teak oil needs regular maintenance by cleaning and re-oiling up to 4 times a year. In our increasingly busy world this is not always possible or desirable. After extensive research and development they incorporated their new TeakSeal™ treatment system in early 2003. This system combines the benefits of polyurethane lacquers and teak oil in a system whereby polyurethane polymers are progressively impregnated for life into the teak itself. This results in all the outstanding natural waterproof and antiseptic properties of teak with the ease of maintenance and durability of modern materials.

The result? Because the polymers are impregnated into the wood they will not abrade away with normal use. The new treatment provides a tough, easy-to-clean finish that requires virtually no maintenance.

Guarantee
With over 25 years experience in making wooden baths and sinks with the combination of traditional and modern techniques, Wm. Garvey offers a 10-year guarantee against defects in manufacture on all of their domestic-use products.