laminate worktops.

[Hecateh]

2 minutes ago, Declan52 said:

There are some very stylish looking laminate worktops available now. Doesn't have to be plain Oak or a butcher's block type effect.

Yep - I know - I love some of the finishes.  Ipanema grey is my current favourite but it's finding it 1200 wide - or something that works

with it

 

[Onoff]

29 minutes ago, Hecateh said:

Love, love love it!   Will you make me one? please?

 

Steady on! I'm going to start small with a coffee table! 

 

Been looking on eBay at getting some resin...not sure what!

[newhome]

Just now, Onoff said:

Been looking on eBay at getting some resin...not sure what!

 

I used to have a resin kit when I was a kid. I had all sorts of moulds for it but the challenge was what to embed in it. I used to be delighted when one of the tropical fish died so that it could be immortalised in a resin paperweight or similar 

 

 

[Onoff]

1 minute ago, newhome said:

 

I used to have a resin kit when I was a kid. I had all sorts of moulds for it but the challenge was what to embed in it. I used to be delighted when one of the tropical fish died so that it could be immortalised in a resin paperweight or similar 

 

 

 

I had one where you made an alginate mould of whatever you wanted to copy then poured plaster of Paris into it. 

[joe90]

I am with Jeremy, I have been fitting kitchens for years as a job and I have just used laminate for my own new build kitchen. ?

[Onoff]

Laminate here. If it were my choice it would have been reclaimed scaffold boards and/or cast concrete.

[Pete]

It comes down to individual choice. We are having Corian because we do not want joins in the worktop and really like the thin profile compared to laminate worktop. Some friends have had Corian for years including the sink which now looks awful so we are having a stainless steel bottom put in our kitchen instead.

[vivienz]

I'm having a look at the copact laminate worktop, Zenith caldeira.  It looks very nice and would be a more durable option for me than the wood I was previously looking at, but I'm not sure whether it will work for my island.  It's an oversize one with a width of 1440 (2 standard cupboard carcasses back to back) and I would need to have 2 lengths of it joined.  Not sure how achievable this is whilst getting a good finish on the join.

[Jeremy Harris]

We had one house with hardwood worktops.  They look nice, but they are a fair bit of work it you want to keep them looking good.  It was my job to regularly give them a rub down with a Scotchbrite pad and then re-oil them, which seemed to be needed at least two or three times a year to keep them looking good.

 

I wanted laminate work surfaces at the new house, but was over-ruled.  All I can say in favour of the Silestone we've got is that it looks nice when it's clean.  However, being dark grey it does tend to show the slightest mark.

[Hecateh]

On 24/08/2018 at 22:59, Onoff said:

 

Steady on! I'm going to start small with a coffee table! 

 

Been looking on eBay at getting some resin...not sure what!

My island is only the size of a large coffee table

[Hecateh]

Reclaimed scaffold boards sound possible for the island.  Done properly they can look great from what I have seen.  

 

Other than that I may just have a join across the middle.  It won't be that visible and should be fine.

[Hecateh]

58 minutes ago, vivienz said:

I'm having a look at the copact laminate worktop, Zenith caldeira.  It looks very nice and would be a more durable option for me than the wood I was previously looking at, but I'm not sure whether it will work for my island.  It's an oversize one with a width of 1440 (2 standard cupboard carcasses back to back) and I would need to have 2 lengths of it joined.  Not sure how achievable this is whilst getting a good finish on the join.

 

That looks good but much more expensive than the ordinary stuff - can't justify it.  If I'm paying a premium I have to be able to justify the expense (to myself) otherwise it's not happening.  Things I have spent a bit extra on are having bifolds instead of sliders - Being retired I'm at home a lot and, this summer at least, there have been weeks on end where I have opened the sliders in the current house when I get up and closed them when I've gone to be so they are definitely justified.  Other things have been:- my shower - Gone for the Hudson Reed triple valve, with easily maneuverable controls for future proofing.  My bedside reading lights - not expensive but could get much cheaper.  The underfloor heating - expensive now but cheaper to run and so much more comfortable.  Mainly my reason have to be - will it matter this time next year?  Only if I still think I will be noticing and appreciating next year will  I choose a slightly more expensive option.  Still have to be careful though.

[Cpd]

On 25/08/2018 at 10:01, Onoff said:

If it were my choice it would have been reclaimed scaffold boards

Haha..... well my current kitchen is made from reclaimed scaffold boards and gymnasium floorboards with a bit of reclaimed laminate.... then there’s the kitchen table made out of larch cladding ofcuts and topped with a piece of shower board ! Not for most folks but It’s functional  and cost me nothing and I don’t fret when the kids do something crazy like write on it with permanent marker...... recently I acquired 5 big marble tops about 1m x 600mm  and some pretty amazing slate slabs at about the same size but 50mm thick. When I eventually do the cottage kitchen it will be a right old mixture.... done well it should be quirky and fun but functional.  

[Hecateh]

1 minute ago, Cpd said:

Haha..... well my current kitchen is made from reclaimed scaffold boards and gymnasium floorboards with a bit of reclaimed laminate.... then there’s the kitchen table made out of larch cladding ofcuts and topped with a piece of shower board ! Not for most folks but It’s functional  and cost me nothing and I don’t fret when the kids do something crazy like write on it with permanent marker...... recently I acquired 5 big marble tops about 1m x 600mm  and some pretty amazing slate slabs at about the same size but 50mm thick. When I eventually do the cottage kitchen it will be a right old mixture.... done well it should be quirky and fun but functional.  

Sounds great

I'm more than happy with things like that - the new one sounds amazing

[newhome]

1 hour ago, JSHarris said:

All I can say in favour of the Silestone we've got is that it looks nice when it's clean.  However, being dark grey it does tend to show the slightest mark.

 

I've got black quartz and it shows all the marks. As you say it looks great when it's clean. I have also got some marks on it now where cups or similar have stood. Not sure if there is a way of trying to get them off but I've tried a few things and I'm not comfortable about trying something too abrasive in case it wrecks the whole worktop. 

[PeterW]

I’ve just fitted a load of oak stain acacia from Homebase. £30 a length, 28mm and oddly 2.2m long rather than 2.4m. 

 

I have had to do a number of cut outs and joins in it and decided to sand it all back and it’s changed colour completely. I’ve used Osmo Top in clear matt and it’s had 3 coats so far. It will get another following an 800 grit wet and dry rub over and that will be enough I think. 

 

In terms of quality I think it’s a decent product and an outstanding price - will see what it looks like when it’s finished ..!

[Hecateh]

That might work for the island. I don't have to have the same finish on the long length as the island

[Onoff]

2 hours ago, Hecateh said:

Reclaimed scaffold boards sound possible for the island.  Done properly they can look great from what I have seen.  

 

 

Someone's been on Pinterest!

[jack]

On 25/08/2018 at 10:45, Pete said:

It comes down to individual choice. We are having Corian because we do not want joins in the worktop and really like the thin profile compared to laminate worktop. Some friends have had Corian for years including the sink which now looks awful so we are having a stainless steel bottom put in our kitchen instead.

One of our mistakes was being talked in white Corian along one wall of our kitchen. We have marble on our island and wanted something clean and functional for around the sink, which would brighten the area (no nearby windows) and not distract from the marble. This "easy care" product takes stains like no other surface I've ever encountered! Put a cup of tea beside the sink? Stains with minutes. Until we found that baking powder sorts it out just about all stains, I was seriously thinking about tearing it out and getting laminate.  I'm very pleased we went for an undermounted stainless steel sink.

[Onoff]

Barkeepers Friend is superb for removing stains:

 

https://www.therange.co.uk/household/cleaning/cleaning-products/multi-purpose-cleaners/bar-keepers-friend-original-powder?

[newhome]

16 minutes ago, Onoff said:

Barkeepers Friend is superb for removing stains:

 

https://www.therange.co.uk/household/cleaning/cleaning-products/multi-purpose-cleaners/bar-keepers-friend-original-powder?

 

 

Will it remove rings from quartz do you think? 

 

23 minutes ago, jack said:

One of our mistakes was being talked in white Corian along one wall of our kitchen.

 

We nearly went for Corian. Mind you I have rings on my quartz so not sure I'm any better off 

[newhome]

It’s not quite as bad as this as I stuck the flash on to pick it up and it’s also the reason the colour looks weird. This is the worst one and I have a couple more. 

 

 

[Onoff]

23 minutes ago, newhome said:

It’s not quite as bad as this as I stuck the flash on to pick it up and it’s also the reason the colour looks weird. This is the worst one and I have a couple more. 

 

 

 

I've read more advocating using BKF on quartz than not but possibly the liquid one. Get Googling!

 

Baking soda & water paste with a soft cloth as a first thing to try maybe,

[newhome]

1 minute ago, Onoff said:

 

I've read more advocating using BKF on quartz than not but possibly the liquid one. Get Googling!

 

Baking soda & water paste with a soft cloth as a first thing to try maybe,

 

I have googled! Some of the things I'm scared to try in case they make things worse, so abrasive powder, acetone to name 2. There are just too many people saying use this, use that, but it would be easy to make things worse I imagine. 

 

 

[Jeremy Harris]

The guys that fitted our stone worktops used either acetone or MEK to clean them after fitting, so I'm pretty sure they are OK on stone surfaces, just watch for spillage as both will attack a wide range of plastics, paints, varnishes and even silicone based sealants.