granite tops down lighters up lighters floor level lighting under cupboard lighting (OK I conceed that's useful!) plinths cornicing integrated white goods integrated microwaves integrated coffee machines (FFS) etc etc etc
(I won't go so far as to say we wouldn't have "built in" units, I can see that that's a sensible improvement)
Kitchen equipment sale is all about "design" and people spend lots of money meeting some TV programs "style" ideals and then put a tacky looking SS sink in. I just don't get it!
Apart from the granite we only have "under cupboard lighting" from this list and don't use it.
Well I tell a lie we have an integrated d/w and the result is it can give you no information while it is running. It's a shitty unit compared with the Hotpoint at our old house that I bought in 1994.
I like stuff to look nice but it has to be practical and it has to work, too. So islands are out, those rotating things in the cupboards at the corner of the kitchen are out (poor use of space), as are the floor-to-ceiling slim pull-out units for your spices (again poor use of space), same thing for the "tall" drawers they seem to favour.
piss-poor design for the most part
this is sadly true
put in a nice one then and remember function beats style.
So we have a cooker hood with a stonking fan that and nice looking chimney that ... goes nowhere. Didn't occur to them to vent it to the outside.
If your worktop is large enough that it needs a join, then you're likely to need a join in granite too which will mean that it looks pants. Well, that's my opinion. Joins might not bother you, but I was watching a baking programme on TV the other day and it was the first thing I spotted.
We have a U-shaped kitchen with 4m/5m/5m runs or worktop and we didn't want joins so we went for Corian
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We also have a quartz island so I've able to compare the two and as surfaces I think they offer advantages and disadvantages.
Both stone and Corian can stain if you do things like leave spilled tea on them. That's probably true for most surfaces, but these seem to be a little more prone to it. You can use abrasive cleaners, but you have to be *very* careful not to damage the finish (it's quite smooth).
Corian is warm to the touch, stone is cool. That's a personal preference thing, though stone is obviously quite handy for pastry.
Both come in a mind-boggling range of colours, though Corian more so.
Both are feckin' expensive.
Finally, as well as having no joins anywhere, Corian also means you can have a small upstand at the back of the worktop which makes cleaning much easier as you don't have a crevice where the tiles meet the worktop (assuming you have tiles).
If you're really set on granite, you can also get granite layed on top of your existing surface rather than solid granite. It's quite a bit cheaper. A friend has it and it looks great. I can't remember the company, but I've seen them at garden centres.
On Monday 06 January 2014 08:45 Jon Connell wrote in uk.d-i-y:
There ar ea fair few such companies - marketed as a "rejuvination" technique for old worktops.
However, when I talked to one in person at Tunbridge Wells, he said that there was no reason you couldn't lay a worktop of heavy MDF or plywood, have them dress it with the corian style material as a new project.
The downside is that you cannot have curves as there's no way they can dress the edges (because corian doesn't bend!) - whereas with solid material, it can simply be milled to any shape you want.
I suppose you could get creative and dress the edge with a stainless steel wide thin flat bar - might look quite good. Waterproofing it would be a consideration through.
Not really. On their website, Dupont say it can cope with 100'C, but anything else is likely to damage it. Supposedly it can cope with brief screw ups, but I've never had a worktop that could properly cope with high temperatures so I'm in the habit of placing pans on trivets.
They look nice when new but scuff easily, even with light use. And the downside of black or dark coloured worktops is that they have to be kept perfectly clean 'all the time' - even a single crumb shows up.
I still find the one my parents had installed in 1964 works better than any others I've used. The mixer tap has been replaced several times but everything else just goes on and on... That was installed long enough ago that the waste pipes are lead...
On Monday 06 January 2014 18:28 snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote in uk.d-i-y:
I have just seen a house fixed up in the later 60s-early 70's where all the "new" drainage is done in copper pipe and rediculously heavy brass fittings! Oh those were the days...
Corian or other resin type solid surfaces make the place look like Macdonalds ! It is expensive but somehow looks cheap.
If the granite joint is done well it can be faily unobtrusive. We have tiles down onto the worktop and so we don't want a slashback. Given all the options I still think black granite looks the best !
Anyway, about how much should I be paying for the granite worktop described above, obviously templated and fitted by them ?
Simon.
I bought granite worktops last year. 1795 + VAT for a 3 sheet deal. Paid a bit more for upstands. I asked that if they had any off cuts in the same granite at the time of ordering, no cost. They did and the 2 polish guys cut and fitted me 3 window sills and bevelled and polished the edges. I gave them 20 as I'm all heart.
Sink is a Franke Ascona 1.5 bowl. Good sink for 140, prices vary a lot.
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