We are about to embark on a kitchen extension. What are the pro’s & cons of the different worktop materials?

We have black Granite in our kitchen and I don’t think I would choose it again. It shows up every mark. is hard to clean and you have to be careful how you put things down on it. put a glass or mug down on it slightly too hard or at the wrong angle and it will smash. You also need to be careful putting hot pans etc down on it as it will mark but that’s pretty much common sense. Looks nice though.
I’m not sure what I would choose if doing it again.

Quartz going in on Thursday next week… Interested in the responses although its too late…!

These folks make great stuff http://www.glasseco.co.uk/. It’s a mix of different stuff embedded in resin. I don’t know if it still works this way but when we got it you could specify the mix of stuff e.g. sea shells, broken CDs, recycled glass etc so you can match the other colours in your kitchen. Folks nice to deal with and the surface seems scratch resistant, wine resistant and good for making pizza dough on. Winner

Phew.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/gds/which-is-better-for-kitchen-worktops-Granite-or-Quartz-/10000000016752797/g.html

We have grey speckled granite in our kitchen. It was installed 16 years ago and still looks as fresh as the day it was installed. It doesn’t show up marks like black granite as mentioned above. The best decision we made with the kitchen build.

Like this:

http://www.kitchen-design-ideas.org/crystal-grey-granite.html

We went with chain whipped black granite six years ago. It still looks as good as when it was fitted.

Yeah, we had black granite too at the last house, given a little care and maintenance with a good sealer and stone soap, we found it bomb proof.

The main problem is that it will long outlast any standard chipboard based kitchen units you put it on!

We (well, Mrs PP….) did a lot of research when we (well, me….)* fitted our kitchen and quartz outperforms granite. Less porous, see? It’s about the same price. A few years later it’s unmarked and immaculate.

*just a joke if you’re reading this my love. 🙂

Which is why mine will go on a solid wood kitchen from. Handmadekitchensdirect

Leffeboy – is that stuff from Glass Eco expensive?

If I have a proper kitchen the worktop will be stainless steel.

black Granite

Keep thinking I’ll try and have a laugh with “black granite”….

Order some and then demand a discount based on trade misdescription. Petrologically granites contain free silica (as quartz), which typically imparts a lighter colouring. What is described as “black granite” is not granite

If I were to choose stone base work top it will be Soapstone.

Soapstone is better than these lot => granite/marble/quartz.

Love the look of granite but it breaks/chips everything I put on it.

We went for Corian – warm to the touch, seamless with integrated upstands so very easy to clean down. We went for a very slightly off white and even such a light colour doesn’t show marks – any marks (such as tomato sauce or red wine) very quickly rub out with a bit of Cif.

I’m sold,

^ also can get sink of the same material, so seamlessly joined. Options on edging (e.g. waterstop) and upstands. Repairable, too. Superb fit on a very odd-shaped and complicated layout in my last house.

We opted against the sink just in case of over-eager washing damaging it so went for under counter stainless steel and I think they look great (and significantly less money).

We’ve just put white quartz in our new kitchen.
Before we did, we took the large sample they’d given us and left red wine, curry and something else disgustingly bright rubbed into it and left overnight to see how it would stain?
In the morning it just wiped off with water.
It looks ace.

Johndoh – any issues with scratching on the inside of the sink with your corian?

We were told that it scratches easily which we thought would be an issue on the sink more than anywhere else

Corian, Earthstone and Quartz are all essentially the same thing: Acrylic/powdered stone with a cyanate based solvent (lovely smell of almonds when you machine it! 🙁 ). Corian is a 12mm sheet that you build over a ply subframe, it is very expensive because customers like to shine bright lights at acute angles to find the joins and then get the fitters to do the job again from scratch (only half jolking…..). Earthstone is 6mm onto a chipboard core; works really well, fairly easy to fit and copes with moisture far better than formica tops. Quartz is the mongrel IMO as it is 25mm solid, a total **** to machine, destroying tools and producing huge amounts of the toxic dust.
Light colours mark less easily than dark.

Leffeboy – is that stuff from Glass Eco expensive?

My memory is that it was of the same order of cost as granite. It was a good while ago I got it but I’m happy to look up the price if you like.

We have grey granite. About 14 years. Don’t really look after it other than to wipe it down. Still looks as good as the day it went in. Not sure I understand the stuff about granite not being hard wearing. I’ve seen the stuff in our kitchen on the outside of buildings so I assume it can take some real stick. Are there different grades or types?

Leffeboy – no, just interested if it’s in the same ballpark. I quite like it.

just checked with mrsleffe and she thinks the same. The other nice thing is that there are no joins for most of it as they make a mould for the shape you need. So we have a single big L shape piece with a hole for the sink in it and draining ridges cut in. It might depend on exactly how long a piece you need though

Johndoh – any issues with scratching on the inside of the sink with your corian?

We went for an under-counter stainless steel sink (because we were slightly concerned about the potential for scratching). So sorry can’t help!

Just fitted quartz. Silestone range. Very pleased with it but it has to be well fitted, obviously. Easy wipe clean, man made so better moisture resistance and choice of colours. It’s new so I can’t comment on the durability. You do see the joins though unlike Corian, this was in a different league budget wise though.

Joins can be minimized with some thought.

We’ve got black granite (or whatever it really is!). The guy that fitted it was good, he managed to do the longest section in just 2 pieces and jointed it at the sink so it’s not hugely visible. It’s a bit of a bugger to keep looking clean, and all the flecks and bits in the material itself look like crumbs so I find myself wiping it down only to realise they’re not 🙂

I think it looks nice though, here’s our on a rare occasion the kids haven’t utterly trashed it!