My wife is doing research of what is a better choice for a countertop in our soon to be remodeled kitchen. She can't seem to come up with unbiased facts on the internet. There is the Corian camp, the granite camp, and a quartz camp. All seem to think what they bought, sell, or install is the best. Here are some facts that should affect our decision.
#1. and probably foremost important. We are not yuppies and will not buy something just because everyone else is #2. We ACTUALLY use our kitchen and sometimes in a very haphazard way. These activities include canning, cookie cutters, vegatable chopping, cast iron cookware, and an absent minded wife occasionally setting hot pans on the counter. (she told me to say that) #3. We have 6 grandchildren that are in our house often. #4. Just suffice to say the kitchen gets hard use in our family and we are not afraid to USE it and get it dirty.
With the danger of hot pots accidentally put on the countertop, that would rule out any of the plastic based materials such as Corian, quartz (plastic binder), laminate, etc. This only leaves marble (stains easily, acid foods can etch), granite or concrete, however, these materials can be brittle and have edges chipped if banged hard enough with something solid. You have to decide which fits your needs better without damage from your use, or modify your use to avoid damage.
That one is probably the most telling altho I agree fully w/ EXT's assessment.
All surfaces have advantages/disadvantages and all need some level of care or will be damaged in some manner.
From your description, I'd probably suggest one of the man-made solids but one that is "through and through" pattern/color. Most of these when installed the sink cutout will be made into a board that can be used as a set-down surface w/o destroying the actual counter top as a freebie.
Alternatively, consider a side counter on at least one side of the stove for specifically for the hot stuff.
I've no actual experience w/ the concrete solutions -- I suspect they're good for the temperature problem, may have some of the same brittleness problems as the natural stone, though, but as noted, that's a guess--if I were to be thinking along that line I'd really want to find somebody who's had one for a spell to see how it's working out.
We used a Corian-like product that's less expensive and have been pleased but it needs similar care as Corian. Danae is the trade name--there was a thread a couple months ago where I posted a link and more details on it as one to consider.
Marble, granite and concrete will all stain, because they're porous. Good (and reapplied when necessary) sealers can help a lot. But of course, the sealer can be damaged/discolored by hot pots. Eg: epoxy sealers...
My understanding is that quartz (eg: Silestone) is much less subject to burning (than, say, Corian or laminate) because they use phenolic resins, which resist higher temperatures than other epoxy-like binders (epoxy or polyester). I believe quartz can be repaired, and it can be sanded like any other solid surface material.
I've seen corian stain. It's ugly (a result of unrepaired scratches), and requires quite a bit of work to fix. I have a hunk of 1/2" corian used as a cutting board for hobby (not food) work. From that experience, it's too damn soft for a kitchen counter - but it's nice for cutting - doesn't destroy the blade edge, easier to clean than wood and flatter than a polyethlyene cutting board. I'd rather have laminate than Corian in a kitchen - it's less subject to scratches, and I wouldn't die from sticker shock if I burnt it.
[My priorities are stain-proof, cleanability and good scratch resistance. Burn immunity is well down the list.]
There's also stainless steel, and other, er, "rocks", eg:
- soapstone
- hard tile Soapstone is fairly soft and will dent or chip and is porous. You can carve polar bears in it if you get bored waiting for dinner to cook ;-)
Hard tile often has problems with staining of grout, can sometimes be hard to clean and is very very hard. It's been known to shatter.
Stainless dents or scratches (mind you, 14ga is pretty tough, and scratches can often be buffed out).
If cost wasn't a factor, I'd go with quartz. We don't have a problem with hot pots, we have a problem with staining (we're lazy on the cleanup). I'd be tempted to use a trivet or movable temporary slab (perhaps a single granite tile with a couple of felts under it) for burn risk. If you wreck the tile, just replace it.
From what I've been able to garner, concrete (when done properly, including reinforcing mesh and/or fiber and properly supported) is _very_ hard and tough, and probably less subject to crack/chip than most (all?) other natural stone. Other than that, it's subject to much the same things that marble is (porousity, acid staining etc), requiring good sealers.
At least acid damage on unsealed concrete will be less than on unsealed marble.
It's also _heavy_ (because the slabs are usually cast much thicker than stone is sliced), so you may need quite a bit of hired muscle to get it installed.
Concrete has the potential to be much cheaper than virtually anything else - especially if you DIY. With the books and supplies that are now available, it's less of a risk to DIY than it once was.
Making "faux slate" drop-in tub surround tiles out of concrete is on my todo list as an experiment.
i've made concrete countertops. they are very hard, and have to be sealed because they are pretty porous. a sharp edge can chip off, but if you make it with rounded edges, it would be very difficult to chip.
at 4" thick, it was a chore to move around and install by myself. i made them in smaller pieces, and used glued in glass strips as slab dividers.
it was very cheap, compared to other materials, to diy.
Well the granite clearly has problems with hot pots and losing it seal, and bacteria. Etc. I can only assume (i know, i know) that concrete has similar problems with the hot pots breaking the seal.
That would take a tremendous amount of drawer space out of a kitchen if the counter top were that thick -- essentially, no top drawer at all where that counter is it would seem???
At 4", I'd agree they'd be hard to chip, but better have a serious counter to support 'em... :)
I see the advantage of cheaper materials and some of the pictures in things like FHB look pretty good at least in the pitchurs...
We would not consider anything but ceramic tile. Our counters are 25 years old, made of 4" rustic tiles with 1/4" grout. Looks superb, speaks of quality, impervious to acids or heat, looks like new. No routine maintenance or sealing. If a tile should ever break (due to high impact), it can be replaced easily (unlike a granite slab). Just save a few tiles from your installation. DIY job. If grout should ever get dirty, brush with brass brush and reseal. Can even replace the surface of the grout. Would not even dream of having granite or plastic counter tops.
huh? why? so my counters are thicker than normal. a normal substrate for tile is a couple inches anyway, so it's only about 1"-1.5" thicker.
normal particle board cabinets can hold them (at least until they get wet :). i have a 120g fish tank with 1/2" plywood vertical members for the stand. it weighs upwards of 1200lbs on a much smaller footprint than a kitchen countertop.
I always thought that something that doesn't show dirt is ideal, until we got our new kitchen. We have laminate that is a pebbly brown-beige-cream-rust design, and it is impossible to tell if there are crumbs or spaghetti sauce on it :o)
My ideal kitchen would have an island with butcher block for chopping stuff and with a hole to drop scraps into the trash - I might even want a small sink and faucet there for cleaning and chopping veggies. A marble slab for rolling out cookies and pastry. Formica on the rest. I drop too much stuff to want to worry about chipping granite. Corian too soft for me. Get a cooktop large enough to park hot pots without having to shift them to a counter or find a pad. What kind of cooktop are you planning?
Granite is durable, takes hot pots, knives, and looks great especialy with ceiling can lights shining down. I have a dark brown granite and it shows no stains even with coffee sitting on it all week. Corian is plastic and looks like plastic compared to the natural beauty of granite.
I have done two house remodels and one new residence in the last five years. In one, we put granite, and you can only damage it with a hammer. In the others, we put a laminate, but can't tell you the name of it. Looks like granite, and looks good.
Point is, whatever you use has negatives. It depends on what you want to spend, and how you use it. I like granite, but that's because I got a very good piece of rock for the one kitchen we did in granite, and had I gotten something that stained easily, I might not think this way. I got a guy that knew what he was doing, and we had a 10' long section without a seam where three others said it couldn't be done. As for the laminates and others burning a hole in them from hot pots, please go sign up for a cooking school if you are having this problem. Do not use the kitchen again until you have completed the course. ;-)
I cook a lot. I love to cook. A good cook can use any equipment. A gas stove, an electric. Good pots, bad pots. Whatever you have to work with defines what you will cook that day. Men cooked on open fires for thousands of years, so it must have worked. We're here as proof. Point is, that you have your style, so design around that. If you have a bunch of doofuses in your kitchen, you obviously need something nuclear proof. If people are willing to use hot pads, or set aside an area and put a moveable heatproof pad such as butcher block, or whatever fits your motif. Think ahead and plan for your own uses. What I like and use might not fit your style.
If I had to pick a kitchen that had to last in hard use for twenty years, I'd go granite, and hope that I got a good slab. Go with "busy" patterns so that if it's dirty or stained, you can't find it. Ours is mixed greys, rust, reddish hues, etc. It matches with just about anything.
And I am just the opposite. I have and love granite. I ripped out a tiled kitchen and put laminate. Whatever floats your boat, and suits your uses. One size does not fit all, and there is no BEST of anything. Each person is the one who will have to look at it every day for the next twenty years.
I've had three homes with ceramic tile counter tops. My residence was never a problem. It looked as good after 10 years as the day we bought the house. Always cleaned and cared for.
Not the same story for two rental properties. They both had tile counter tops.
I worked once on another tile counter top. The real problem was that the bull nose tile for the edge could not be matched in one case by the side profile. All over town, couldn't find the few tiles I needed. Out of this mess, a person in the same building was replacing his tile counter top in the bath. We paid him a dollar a piece for the bull nose when needed. :))
Often tile types are discontinued and sold at auction to smaller tile companies.
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