kitchen work surfaces

[patrick]

We've recently had four different types of worksurfaces in our last three houses. In our first house we had laminate. This was cheap, fairly hard wearing and did the job fine.

In our second house we had wood (block beech) this wasnt great because it stained in places where it got wet eg around the sink and over time this became pretty unsightly.

In our current house we inherited laminate but when we changed the kitchen we changed to a product called Minerelle. We were advised this was a poor man's corian and that it was hardwearing, stain and impact resistant.

I can't say enough how dissapointed we were with the minerelle. The major problem is that it scratches really easily. We were very careful with the surface to start with but any sort of abrasion leaves a mark. The supplier and the minerelle rep came around and "refinished" the surface. This involves getting a random orbital sander and filling your kitchen full of dust. Within days of the refinishing scratches begin to reappear. If you dont believe me about this get a sample of the material for yourself and try just gently to scratch it with keys or similar. The supplier himself admitted that he had to refinish his own every month or so.

We've now changed to granite which seems great. Its really hard wearing, scratch resistant and heat resistant.

So my advice would be the best surfaces are either laminate (but avoid the high gloss types as these scratch easily) or if your budget stretches that far, granite.

Anyone got any other thoughts?

Patrick

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I've got mosaic tiles with epoxy grout - and inset but removable chopping blocks at suitable intervals. Hardwood surround easily removed for re-varnishing when needed.

Cleaning is easy - simply run the hose from the vacuum cleaner over it to remove crumbs etc then wash down. It's survived well, and to me looks fine. Any uninterrupted surface like granite, etc, probably needs a higher standard of cleaning not to look tatty.

[John Stumbles]

Please clue me up about this epoxy grout. It surely can't be like araldite but -- couldn't possibly work with something like that. I wonder if it's more like

I don't know if you know the stuff, but you mix (with your fingers) bits of each part which are the consistency of cold plasticene. It can be smoothed over with a wet finger (or other tool) and some of the stuff actually seems to dissolve off in water (until it's set, of course).

[Jon]

I've got laminate with a pattern of kind-of brown spots on it. Seems pretty hard wearing, and cause it's got quite a random pattern you don't notice dirt (and the v odd scratch) much at all :)

Jon

[quisquiliae]

Porcelain tiles wth expoxy grout suit me. All laminate looks cheap. Solid wood is nice but not for wet areas not cutting unless you want a butchers block. Marble is nice for rolling pastry but not food acids. Granite would indeed be nice but very expensive especially when cut to fit a very small kitchen and not a DIY job either. Tiles suit me: they were cheap enough, give a solid 40mm surface set on Aquapanel over 18mm ply, and were a lot less trouble to cut to fit and awkward corner that anything else.

David Clark

$message_body_include ="PLES RING IF AN RNSR IS REQIRD"

[Andy Dingley]

Granite's easy enough as a DIY job - the stonemason does the hard stuff for you. "Professional granite fitters" aren't adding much to the deal at all. It's not even that expensive, compared to commercially laid tile or wood.

Of course, local accessiblity to a good stoneyard is an advantage.

[TonyK]

I put granite tops in our last kitchen. Biggest advantage for me was I could get the tops made in one piece without joints and polished on all exposed edges which for a corner hob and a corner sink was impractical in anything granite or corrian.

Only problem with granite is unless its really clean it looks dirty. You can DIY it, I templated the tops, got them cut and polished, then fitted them myself (with 5 others to lift each piece).

[legin]

Any ideas for suppliers and costs?

[TonyK]

Heres a website that might point you in the right direction on price.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Stainless streel sheet. Tiles and epoxy as the man indicated.

Block wood and marine two pack epoxy varnish:-) :-)

[quisquiliae]

see

suppose its a bit like aradite but with a gritty filler. The instructions are a bit daunting as they imply the need to work fast, but in a cool room, working in managable sections, with a good firm squeegee it is not really difficult.

[patrick]

I agree that you have to keep granite very clean to avoid it looking smeared and this is a slight disadvantage, but I still think its the best worksurface avaliable. I'm interested in the idea of using tiles on the worksurface. I'd alwas thought tht the grout would become dirty and discolour over time. Is this a problem?

[Andrew McKay]

Yes. Tiles looks awful after only a short time.

And regular tiles are very fragile. If you were to put a pan or something down heavily it would most likely crack the tiled surface. Then you'd have to replace/regrout the whole lot (you can never satisfactorily regrout a small area).

Andrew

[Dave Plowman (News)]

You mean the grout? I used grey grout with green tiles. Still looks fine.

You use tiles designed for the job. Most mosaics are fine - if you can use them on floors etc as well. I've not had one break. El cheapo basic tiles designed for walls only of course will break.

[DJC]

Same here. The important thing is to use expoxy grout, it will resist as well or better than stone. Tea is the worst for staining on any surface, occasional scrubbing with a nail brush and a strong solution of bicarbonate of soda works well

use porcelain tiles