LeeVanCleef Posted August 12, 2020 Share Posted August 12, 2020 Hi guys. So after much chin scratching the time has come to select our preferred kitchen worktops. I’ve listed the obvious contenders below after perusal here and elsewhere. Any other thoughts or options? We are after a light colour scheme so staining/general robustness is a concern. Corian - Initially the preferred option but mixed reviews here. Doesn’t seem to be as wear/stain resistant as initially hoped. Granite - nice but we would prefer a lighter, plainer look and most granite seems to be dark and/or speckled Glass - Also a contender but very little out there in terms of real world reviews. Anyone have it here? Marble - I like the look of this but again appears to be prone to staining/wear. Quartz - not looked in detail but could be an option. Any thoughts here? Timber - Versatile but probably too dark for our preferred aesthetic Polished concrete - would likely clash with our grey floor but open to suggestions. We steered clear of a polished concrete floor as we understood the results were a little unpredictable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted August 12, 2020 Share Posted August 12, 2020 Do you have a stone supplier near you? if so go and have a look. Quite a lot of Granites are light colour and may suit your preferences. Ours is definitely impervious to just about anything including red wine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeVanCleef Posted August 12, 2020 Author Share Posted August 12, 2020 Yes @ProDave I did prefer granite because of that. I think we are in a similar neck of the woods (Aberdeenshire) and reading through previous discussions I think you visited a supplier up near Inverness? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted August 12, 2020 Share Posted August 12, 2020 Ours came from Stone Source in Inverness. they have a yard full of huge slabs of stone of all types to browse and choose from. And their service and fitting was excellent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryder72 Posted August 12, 2020 Share Posted August 12, 2020 If you want a light worktop that is robust and not cost a fortune, quartz is the best option Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpmiller Posted August 12, 2020 Share Posted August 12, 2020 why not just an ordinary laminate worktop? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Punter Posted August 12, 2020 Share Posted August 12, 2020 Light colour Corian is a real pain to clean and marks very easily. Scratches quite easily but does not break. Seamless joins. Granite is good if you find a colour you like. Can be broken on impact. Glass can scratch. Marble - a bit softer and stains and can be broken on impact. Quartz - decent stuff in light colours is expensive. Does not scratch stain or break. Timber - a good deal of work to maintain. The least sustainable species are the most durable. Polished concrete. Expensive and looks are personal taste. Specialist install. Make sure you really like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanneja Posted August 12, 2020 Share Posted August 12, 2020 We are favouring a porcelain worktop (Sapienstone), due to go see some samples early next week. Very thin relative to other worktop types, so would need bracing if to use with an overhang like a breakfast bar, but we think a secondary timber structure to support it in the reveal could look good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryder72 Posted August 13, 2020 Share Posted August 13, 2020 21 hours ago, dpmiller said: why not just an ordinary laminate worktop? Not on OP's post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryder72 Posted August 13, 2020 Share Posted August 13, 2020 18 hours ago, tanneja said: We are favouring a porcelain worktop (Sapienstone), due to go see some samples early next week. Very thin relative to other worktop types, so would need bracing if to use with an overhang like a breakfast bar, but we think a secondary timber structure to support it in the reveal could look good. Thats in the general category of brands such as Dekton/Neolith/Lapitec etc. Be aware that this is an extremely brittle material and snaps very easily on impact. Porcelain in thin sheets I dont think its a good idea for kitchen worktops Unless you are on a concrete floor with solid lids on units. The material offers no flex whatsoever. We have had problems and now refuse to sell anything less than 20mm without a signed disclaimer from the client. We have supplied loads of 12mm quartz worktops without any issues. So please be aware of these facts. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe90 Posted August 13, 2020 Share Posted August 13, 2020 37 minutes ago, ryder72 said: Not on OP's post No, but having fitted kitchen for years laminate (good quality) should be considered. It’s cost is a fraction of the alternatives and kitchens are not a life long thing (unless bespoke in Oak or something). I found people tended to replace them more often than expected so the cost of the others rarely justify the expense. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conor Posted August 13, 2020 Share Posted August 13, 2020 Just now, joe90 said: No, but having fitted kitchen for years laminate (good quality) should be considered. It’s cost is a fraction of the alternatives and kitchens are not a life long thing (unless bespoke in Oak or something). I found people tended to replace them more often than expected so the cost of the others rarely justify the expense. We had a double layer laminate - sparkly coloured layer with a hard, clear layer on top. Cost was about £500 for the whole kitchen vs £5k for quartz. It looked great. We're now in a rental with black quartz worktops.... I'm a bit put off them with the number of glasses and plates we've chipped or broken due to little knocks. Suppose that's the price you pay for hard wearing surfaces! Would actually consider laminate again of the quality and look we're what we're after. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryder72 Posted August 13, 2020 Share Posted August 13, 2020 22 minutes ago, joe90 said: No, but having fitted kitchen for years laminate (good quality) should be considered. It’s cost is a fraction of the alternatives and kitchens are not a life long thing (unless bespoke in Oak or something). I found people tended to replace them more often than expected so the cost of the others rarely justify the expense. I agree. Laminate is a very good cost/quality/performance proposition. But acceptance of laminate which is seen as cheap and cheerful over solid tops is going to happen to be honest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CC45 Posted August 13, 2020 Share Posted August 13, 2020 interesting debate here - we have looked at laminate and then Quartz / Granite. I'd put in laminate but I'm told that our house needs something posher. I don't really want to spend the extra TBH. Setting the kitchen units up now - is there a standard depth for Quartz / Granite? Just in case we end up with it..... @ryder72 - what are the makes of quality laminate? Do any look more like quartz / granite? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe90 Posted August 13, 2020 Share Posted August 13, 2020 Any stone is bespoke and cut to what’s required, Howdens kitchens fir example use 616mm worktops . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe90 Posted August 13, 2020 Share Posted August 13, 2020 Found this comparison chart, https://www.kitchen-worktops-direct.co.uk/kitchen_worktop_comparison.html 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe90 Posted August 13, 2020 Share Posted August 13, 2020 26 minutes ago, CC45 said: I'm told that our house needs something posher. who? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandAbuild Posted August 13, 2020 Share Posted August 13, 2020 Having had laminate, granite and quartz kitchens, I would go with quartz every time. Laminate is cheap, cheerful and durable, but you can't have underhung sinks (unless it's solid laminate, which might be worth looking into. The edges can also be difficilt to deal with if you have curves. Granite looks fantastic, but it does need regular cleaning to show its best and it is prone to chipping around sinks etc. Quartz is pretty bulletproof; it's impervious, hard wearing and easy to clean (no regular buffing up - depending on what colour you have...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryder72 Posted August 13, 2020 Share Posted August 13, 2020 (edited) 36 minutes ago, CC45 said: interesting debate here - we have looked at laminate and then Quartz / Granite. I'd put in laminate but I'm told that our house needs something posher. I don't really want to spend the extra TBH. Setting the kitchen units up now - is there a standard depth for Quartz / Granite? Just in case we end up with it..... @ryder72 - what are the makes of quality laminate? Do any look more like quartz / granite? Laminates come in 60/70/90/120/130 cm depths. Stone is cut to bespoke depths. Quartz slabs are typically 1350mm wide to allow two cuts and 100mm upstands to be achieved from one slab. Duropal or Westag Getalit are probably the best out there but there must be others. We do so little of it that I am not very up to date with laminate suppliers. Edited August 13, 2020 by ryder72 typo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryder72 Posted August 13, 2020 Share Posted August 13, 2020 10 minutes ago, joe90 said: who? These days quartz has entered the Howdens market, ie entry level kitchens so I would say any property in the south east selling at above the £500k mark come with an expectation of solid tops if the kitchen is not in a 'needs replacing soon' state. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeVanCleef Posted August 13, 2020 Author Share Posted August 13, 2020 Thanks for all your input everyone. As touched on above laminate isn’t on our list, but could be (although I suspect it will get vetoed by the senior partner). Glass is the tricky one as it looks great in some showrooms we have been in and was the front runner but there is precious little real world discussion about it online. decisions decisions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roys Posted August 13, 2020 Share Posted August 13, 2020 We have just fitted Krion which is similar to Corian, can’t voice an option on its upkeep but it does look good, wife wanted invisible joints hence the choice. It did double the price of the kitchen, I got and fitted Howdens base units. I do like Howdens base units and any issues the depot is just along the road and issue is usually sorted right away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanneja Posted August 27, 2020 Share Posted August 27, 2020 On 13/08/2020 at 10:02, ryder72 said: Thats in the general category of brands such as Dekton/Neolith/Lapitec etc. Be aware that this is an extremely brittle material and snaps very easily on impact. Porcelain in thin sheets I dont think its a good idea for kitchen worktops Unless you are on a concrete floor with solid lids on units. The material offers no flex whatsoever. We have had problems and now refuse to sell anything less than 20mm without a signed disclaimer from the client. We have supplied loads of 12mm quartz worktops without any issues. So please be aware of these facts. Thank you for this warning @ryder72. Can you suggest any more durable worktop materials that can get us close to the finish of these mix of Sapientstone finishes? Ideally we had planed for sections of both of these worktops. We are particularly struggling with something that comes close to Black Diamond in terms of the white and gold veins: https://www.sapienstone.com/collections/black-diamond https://www.sapienstone.com/collections/calacatta-macchia-vecchia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoldierDog Posted August 27, 2020 Share Posted August 27, 2020 Apparently the latest thing is microcement finished worktops which are touted as hardwearing, joint free & crack resistant and come in pretty much any colour and finish, looked quite good from what i saw, came in around £100-150 m2 just for the finish (usually applied to mdf or ply tops), can even DIY. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joth Posted August 28, 2020 Share Posted August 28, 2020 On 13/08/2020 at 10:02, ryder72 said: Thats in the general category of brands such as Dekton/Neolith/Lapitec etc. Be aware that this is an extremely brittle material and snaps very easily on impact. Porcelain in thin sheets I dont think its a good idea for kitchen worktops Unless you are on a concrete floor with solid lids on units. The material offers no flex whatsoever. We have had problems and now refuse to sell anything less than 20mm without a signed disclaimer from the client. We have supplied loads of 12mm quartz worktops without any issues. So please be aware of these facts. We're installing sapienstone onto birch ply units with a thick ply base running continuously under the porcelain. It'll be interesting how we get on with this! Our floor is porcelain tiles on screen on EPS on concrete, if that matters? Spoke to 3 suppliers / fabricators and none raised any concerns. (None asked about floor build up) This is on the island. On the sink area we're using 6mm stainless steel, which if we weren't open plan I'd have loved to do the whole kitchen in ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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