Small Kitchen Designing and Buying Guide
A Professional Interior Designers Guide
Kitchen Worktop Guide
Worktops get the most intense use, after sinks, in a kitchen, and vary dramatically in price, so require a thorough examination to work out what your budget will allow. I have always recieved a steady flow of worktop replacement enquiries. The main requirement is to upgrade to Corian type worktop material or granite. Laminate worktops have a life span that can be a day up to 30 years. If you damage laminate with a sharp object then it is unsightly and spoilt for ever. Composite stone and acrylic worktops are repairable and can be refinished.Granite worktops can be repolished by a granite expert with the right equipment. I would recommend not skimping on your worktops and try to stretch to a budget composite worktop at least if you are looking for active, and heavy usage, long term.
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Laminate worktops
High pressure laminate worktops with chipboard base in 30mm and 40mm are still very popular and available in hundreds of colours and textures. The quality is again governed by price and is more relevant to the base board and the edge finishing. Water runs under the front edge, so drip grooves and underlapping of the laminate edging prevents the water damaging the worktop. Thickness of laminate on the worktop can effect its durability, so check this when buying.
Axiom laminate worktops .Duropal laminate worktops
Gloss laminate worktops
Looks good for not very long ! Not a worktop I would recommend for heavy use. It seems to scratch more and show up badly in bright light but is being updated with more durable options.
Bushboard gloss laminate worktops . Formica Axiom gloss worktops
Heavy textured laminate
Deeper textured laminate worktops have been added to the mix recently and are better practically for heavy use, and also look better than standard laminate.
Bushboard heavy textured laminate
Square edged laminate worktops with thick vinyl edge
A worktop used in transitional or modern kitchen layouts. Edge finishes are getting more varied. Popular finishes are ply-look, stainless steel and matching colour to the top.
Axiom square vinyl edged laminate tops
Wood edged laminate worktops
A more traditional worktop look but still available, and more expensive looking than pencil edged laminate with wood kitchens. If the worktop is manufactured in factory machined conditions, then it is more durable than fabricated on site, and requires good clamping and the right type of glue. Quite often these precautions are ignored and the top fails.
Wood edged laminate tops
Fabricated laminate worktops
This method is rarely used and one of the more interesting options for individual design because the laminate is thicker and has more choice of colours and textures. The worktop requires laminate in sheet form and preferably a ply base board. Fabrication is best undertaken by expert fabricators.
Formica fabricated worktops laminate
Wood staved worktops
Hardwood tops are available in many woods and varying stripwood thicknesses (staves). Wider staves are more costly but look better ie 50mm upwards. Thicknesses are generally 40mm and 30mm but other thicknesses can be fabricated by fixing a thicker hardwood edge to the Worktop front edge.
Mountain hardwoods wood staved worktops
Wood planked worktops
Available from some specialist worktop suppliers but expect to pay much more than standard worktops. I have usually fabricated hardwood planked tops to match the kitchen doors and have found them difficult to predict for warping, and consequently required lots of fixings underneath to a carcase top to stabalise the planks.
Wood planked worktops
Composite type worktops in polyester or acrylic
Composite stone dust and acrylic or polyester worktops are available from many manufacturers in lots of colours and textures. Corian is the most well known and respected and my first option when budget allows. It is a similar or slightly higher price to competitors who offer a similar choice of colours but much more respected. I have looked at many other suppliers and found the noticably cheaper to have a more limited choice of colours and fabrication options, so if you are on a more limited budget then expect less choice. I have fitted a number of kitchens with cheaper composite worktops and found this to be a more satisfactory option, even with limited colours, than using laminate worktops, and the initual extra cost worthwhile for long term projects, so look carefully before commiting to laminate.
Corian worktops . Sheridan Composite type worktops . Avonite composite worktops
Composite acrylic or polyester onto chipboard base worktops
5mm Composite type material on to 35mm chipboard is a satisfactory price step from laminate worktops, and can be joined with matching glue and edging to give a seamless look. It is a cheaper price compared to fully fabricated composite worktop options, but with the limited colour choices, so can be frustrating for designers on more design based schemes.
Staron Composite thin layer worktops . Avonite Composite thin layer worktops
Man-made stone worktops
Silestone provide a very good choice of man-made stone worktops and are one to look at for choice of colour and texture. Again there are many other manufacturers and the choice is good, but price again effects choice of colours when cheaper. The stain resistance and resistance to fracture are better than granite, and the solid colours look stunning with more modern designs. Quartz is added to add the mix to increase resistance to wear on some ranges.
Silestone worktops . Apollo Quartz worktops . Caesarstone worktops. Kirkstone worktops
Granite worktops
The most popular choice for traditional kitchens and modern alike, if the budget allows ! Granite has become accessible to more customers because of cheaper imports and internet retailers. Edge options are limited on solid 30mm thick tops, and can be pricy if you want something more individual. 40mm and thicker are edged 20mm, and can look unconvincing in certain worktop styles. Worktop colour options are much more varied if you source through importers such as Pisanis at Matlock, Derbyshire, and then get a finisher to buy the slab from them. An eye-opener if you are bored by your local kitchen companies granite samples, or choices, I assure you!
Pisani granite worktop distributors
Marble worktops
This is an option to be careful with. Marble is softer, more porous and easier to fracture than granite or man-made stone worktops. The choice of colours are very good, but granite is more practical and recommended.
Quality marble worktops
Special granite finish worktops
This catergory covers un-polished granite, and bush hammered, aswell as other special effects which are stunning, but generally these worktops are harder to maintain in normal use and are for the more adventurous.
Ashlarmason special granite worktops
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