Some tip about granite benchtops:
Facts about granite
Granite is an igneous rock made up of silica, quartz and feldspar. It is formed from rapidly cooling volcanic magma. Since granite is exposed to extremely high pressures and temperatures during formation, makes it highly resistant to heat, can take hot items, like frying pots and pans.
Granite is unsurpassed by any other man made or natural surface in hardness, is rivaled only by diamonds, actually, diamonds are used to cut and polish granite. This makes granite an ideal fixture material for bathrooms and kitchens that is extremely scratch and wear resistant, and can keep its luster longer than most other materials. Moreover, because its hardness and density, granite allows no room for water to seep in. The dryness creates a hostile environment for bacteria and mildew, which requires a moist environment to thrive, therefore, a granite countertop is very easy to maintain and care.
The most phenomenal feature of granite is the amazing natural beauty. The raw material of granite benchtops are imported from quarries in Europe, India, Brazil and other regions of the world rich in natural stone; it comes in a large variety of textures and colors. As no two pieces of granite are created same, it brings uniqueness to every kitchen and bathroom.
Who chooses granite benchtops?Single independents
Granite benchtops are a good choice for people who spend a lot of time at work and do not have much time to spare for cleaning and maintaining their homes. Granite is highly resistant to mold and mildew build-up, so a granite countertop can stay clean for weeks with only a quick wipe occasionally. Also, granite benchtops make great accents for studios, apartments and other small lodgings. A granite countertop in one corner will draw attention to your kitchen and make your place appear more spacious.
Working parents
If you have a toddler or preschooler, you are probably familiar with the feeling of coming home from a stressful day at work only to find your kitchen a mess, thanks to your hungry, overactive kids. You can spare yourself from two hours or scrubbing by switching to a granite countertop. With a granite countertop, food and liquid do not stick to the surface, so you can wipe them away in minutes.
Some cons about granite
Granite benchtops generally look better in modern-themed homes, with sleek surfaces and straight lines. A dark granite benchtop, on the other hand, would look awkward and out of place amidst bright colors or in rustic country homes.Because it’s a natural product, color and grain variance between slabs are to be expected, try to choose from the same batch that the variance could be cohesive.
Granite has been called too shiny, too formal. Also is one of the most expensive options of benchtop, but there are cheap imported granite from China is available and is beautifully finished.
Hi Jack
I am interested to know your views on other surfaces such as caesar and essa stone?
Have you heard much or had much to do with them-also proces wise?
Cheers, mrs pmrs p wrote:Hi Jack
I am interested to know your views on other surfaces such as caesar and essa stone?
Have you heard much or had much to do with them-also proces wise?
Cheers, mrs pAs far as i know, "Ceasar and essa stone" are just manufacturers of mainly quartz stone.
Quartz stone is generally the most preffered option as it is the cheapest of stone and is supposed to last the longest. A popular quartz stone is quantum quartz, which is cheaper than other quartz and comes in an array of modern colours.
I agree that granite is a good option, but it depends on the look you are going for. Granite also requires a sealant once a year. Itis by far the best option as it is chip resistant and can withstand very high temperatures, i.e pots and pans.
Corian Stone is said to be good, but i havn't read into it very much. (heres a quick run down)
Corian
Corian is a patented blend of high performance acrylic and natural minerals solid surface material that allows for seamless joins, non-porosity, hygienic surfaces, stain resistance and thermo formability. It comes in ninety colours in matt, semi-gloss and high-gloss. There are sinks that can be chosen and incorporated with the benchtops to provide for a seamless finish. Corian comes with a ten year DuPont warranty on product and installation.Marble on the other hand although it looks great, and is very high end, it requires reapplications of sealants more often and is succeptible to stains as it is wuite porous.
You've also got other options like laminate and tile, but i personally prefer stone if you can afford it.
If your budget allows if pick either granite or quartz. but if you want a ceaper option the composite stone will definently suffice.
Hope this helps,
Naomi
Hate to disagree with the move towards stone/manufactured stone products. My kitchen extensively uses Corian (benchtops, splashbacks and bay window). Product is extremely easy to maintain, no clearly visible joints, no grout lines to get mouldy, easily cleaned, non-porous (doesn't require sealants), non-staining – commercial applications can't be wrong (you could also consider stainless steel however this is a bit of a pain to keep clean and free of marks).
From a womans point of view who had several new kitchens …
I hate Corian … it stains and cracks …
Give me stone (marble) or granite any day … it looks expensive and very s.xy and thats why the TOP architects and designers use it … every thing else is second.
Do you drive a Holden or a Mercedes.
D
I havn't used corian before, so i wouldn't know what its like.. looks good at first, but i dont know what the wear and tear is like. what is it cost wise? i think the heat resistant quality and the fact that it can be seamless is a plus.
I'd imagine you'd get the same quality splash backs from glass.
While i agree that stainless steel is hard to keep clean, it does look good. but it has to be used in the right place/ house, as it can come across to be quite sterile.
wealth4life.com wrote:From a womans point of view who had several new kitchens …I hate Corian … it stains and cracks …
Our kitchen is about 10 years old, the corian is as good as the day it went in. There are plenty of cheaper products available and I would agree, I wouldn't use them either.
Granite in my view is very old fashioned and date-able and some what austentacious (sorry about spelling). To suggest that caesar stone or even corian is a poor persons alternative is some what niave, a material doesnt need to be the most expensive to be the most appropriate, take FC sheet for example (fibro) is a very contemporary and relivent material in contemporary archtiecture. As a designer myself currently having worked on home valued up to 16million I wouldnt use granite on a bench top, my first choice on a budget would be ceaser stone then perhaps corian for durability and choice of un fussy simple and timless finishes.
I have just installed a new kitchen that I bought at auction, the benchtop is a manufactured composite stone acrylic, similar to corian and it STAINS!! Most marks come out with a creme cleanser like jif but there are a few cup rings that will not come out!
Have contacted the distributors and they just keep telling me it shouldn't stain etc etc, and that I need to polish it with CAR POLISH to keep it looking good and stain resistant! Anyone else ever hear of this or have any ideas what I can do with it. Obviously I have no recourse from the company as I bought it cheap "as is" as an ex display.
Solo, Corian looks like stone however it is 'plastic'. Several other companies had a go at copying it, mostly unsuccessful having failures in appearance, porosity, heat resistance, durability etc. Correct me if I am wrong but composite stone products are a manufactured stone/epoxy mix not pvc hence they will be porous and will require car polish/wax or marble sealer to be applied to prevent staining.
stone will suck the heat out of anything you put on it. including your arms or but.
I have built and lived in several new homes, 2 with granite and one with ceaser stone. Both looked great and functioned well, however, the ceaser stone (pale colour) did stain. I realise it is not supposed to, however, I can vouch that red marker texta does leave a pink shadow (thanks to a tiny tot!!!). My family loves doing craft at the bench, and both surfaces were easy to clean up, playdoh comes off like a dream, but if I had to choose between the two I would choose granite every time. No matter what was spilled or drawn with, there was NEVER any staining or shadowing. Having working in a lab, I would never choose stainless steel, too much polishing to keep it looking good and too sterile looking.
Just my 2c worth
Dupont Corian is a brand of benchtop commonly referred to as “solid tops”. Where i was from (Singapore), there are 2 major players in this, LG Hi-Macs and Dupont. Pricing wise, it is not significantly cheaper than granite although you can get some China made (junk) installed for significantly cheaper. Done correctly, it should not crack as the material is quite heat resistant, or so i was told. One of the pros of using a solid top is that it can be cut to specifications and this results in less or no joint lines.
Anyway, after evaluating all the options, i went for granite and a stainless steel splashback. Just love the colour contrast and the effect downlights have on the splashback.
mrs p wrote:Hi Jack
I am interested to know your views on other surfaces such as caesar and essa stone?
Have you heard much or had much to do with them-also proces wise?
Cheers, mrs pHere is a industry expert's tips on some of the popular benchtops material :
Reconstituted and Engineered Stone (solid surfaces) –
This is very much the "new kid on the block", its fashionable colours, aggressive marketing and sometimes aggressive sales people have made it rise in popularity fairly quickly. It is generally a combination of stone chips and resins or plastics to hold it all together. Sometimes dyes and other materials such as glass, mirror, shell, plastics, etc are also incorporated. There are a number of different products available in this product category, but they are largely all manufactured using a similar method.Quartz Component – The people selling these products will tell you that they are generally 97% quartz. The Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) provided by the manufacturers of one of the more popular engineered stone products shows that the actual quartz composition can be as low as 60%.
Heat Resistant – Their salesmen will tell you they are heat proof, but check the warranties they offer, you will see that they are not. If you check the MSDS for the same product mentioned above, you will see that the product will actually SELF-IGNITE at 490 degrees and that fire fighters in the USA should wear fully self contained breathing apparatus in positive pressure mode due to the toxins given off by the product. The MSDS also states that thermal decomposition (from exposure to heat) may lead to the release of oxides of Carbon and Titanium.
Scratch and Chip Resistant – Again, the salesmen of these products will often tell you that they are scratch proof, but their warranties say otherwise. Considering the hardest individual component in these products is quartz (granite chips), the product will not generally be any harder than granite, then when you consider some of the other components such as resins, glass, shells, and stones other than quartz that are used, you can see how the products cannot be scratch-proof.
Fade Resistance – These products are not covered under warranty if they are used outdoors. In fact they are recommended NOT for outdoor use. This is because they will fade in sunlight (which poses questions about their longevity in kitchens windows with direct sunshine ) and the resins used to hold them together will break down over time under UV light.
Some McDonalds restaurants have installed engineered stone tops as tables in both indoor and outdoor situations. Some of those used outdoors have faded from extremely in less than a year, with clearly visible breakdown of the resin binding. Some have also experienced warping of the products used outside (just from the heat of being outdoors) and are beginning to see fading on tables placed indoors but near windows. Scratches are clearly visible in a lot of cases as well.Colour Variations and Uniformity – These products can provide some colours which nature cannot, and can also provide a uniformity of colour that is appealing to interior designers and the like as they can do an entire block of units and every kitchen will be exactly the same. Some natural granites also offer high rates of colour uniformity, but for many people the colour variations and patterns only available in Natural Granite are what makes it so appealing. Horses for courses!!!
Fashionable – Due to the enormous amounts of money being spent on marketing and the fact that these products are the "latest thing", they are quite fashionable, as are some of the colours they offer. The problem with fashion though, is it will date, and just like stonewash jeans and hypercolour t-shirts, some of these colours will date and become unfashionable.
Unknown Longevity – Many of the products have been on the market for less than 10 years. Given that they utilize components that are known to break down over time such as resins and "special polymers" (plastics), how long they will last before beginning to break down is unknown. We recently saw an advertisement from one manufacturer claiming that their product would last longer than granite!!! Considering their product has not even been in manufacture for 15 years and the stone we are putting in peoples kitchens is already millions of years old, we find it amusing that they can make statements such as this!
Expensive – These products will often be the most expensive choice for your kitchen project, prices will be under pressure as the cost of oil byproducts increases.
Laminates
– Generally the cheapest choice for benchtops, and usually quite serviceable when looked after correctly. Tends to be quite fashionable colour wise and therefore goes out of fashion relatively quickly. Quality can vary greatly depending on manufacturer.
Not Scratch Resistant – Most laminates will scratch easily.
Not Heat Resistant – Most laminates can burn if not cared for correctly.
Not Stain resistant – Most laminates will stain if not cared for correctly..
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Can Harbour Bacteria – if not cleaned thoroughly.Not Fade Resistant – Most laminates will fade if exposed to UV rays. This area of laminate manufacture has improved over the years.
Colour Uniformity – Laminates can provide constant colours over your whole benchtop, which can be a benefit in some cases.
Colour Options – Laminate can be made in any colour, making it highly fashionable. Unfortunately this can also be a downside for the product, as within a few years of installation the colours you have chosen can be quite unfashionable.
Remeber the bright green and orange laminates of the 70's? By the mid 80's most of them had been replaced!!!
Timber –
Timber has been around for a very long time, and in the right kitchen can look excellent. Non – Scratch Resistant – Obviously Timber can scratch.
Non Heat Resistant – Obviously affected by heat.
Must Be Sealed – to prevent liquids soaking into and staining and expanding the timber
Maintenance – Must be kept laquered to prevent moisture absorbtion. Looks Beautiful – in the right setting and when done well.
Wears Relatively Quickly – you must look after a timber bench carefully to maintain its beauty (unless you're looking for the "used" look.)
Stainless Steel –
Stainless Steel is great for commercial kitchens or if you're after that commercial look for your home.Non- Scratch resistant – scratches easily
Highly Heat Resistant
Non Bacteria Harbouring – Probably the best product available on this count.
Stainless steel is very expensive and has a distinctive look. It is easy to clean and can take bumps and scrapes. Scratches are a given with this product and tend not to detract too much from its appearance, as they are to be expected. If you like the industrial/commercial look, this could be for you.
Cheers!
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