Of all the choices to make in a new kitchen, none gets more attention than the countertop material – simply because there are so many options. There are dozens of new products available, ranging from stone to acrylic. You can pay as little as R250 a square metre… or 10 times that.
The key questions you need to answer when making a good decision are likely use and budget. If your entire household gets involved in cooking and kitchen activities, you’ll need something very different from the sort of kitchen that would suit empty nesters. To help sort through the possibilities, here’s what you’ll find – from the elegant to the economical.
Natural stone
Few countertop materials can compete with the striking appearance and solid feel of stone. Internationally, the three popular options are granite, soapstone and slate. Of the three, granite is the most popular, ranging in colour from vibrant blues and variegated browns to midnight black and mottled white. It’s cut into long slabs that require few seams. Although seams are often filled with clear silicone, some experts prefer to use an epoxy tinted to match the stone.
Counter fabricators typically polish granite to a high gloss, but a matte finish is also available. Then, they treat the surface with a sealer that makes it stain-resistant. For daily c leaning , use a non-abrasive product designed for use on stone.
Soapstone is usually a dark greenish-black, although lighter green-grey slabs are common. It’s porous, so treat it with mineral oil from time to time to reduce staining. Slate has a soft matte sheen and comes in five colours: green, red, grey, purple and black. It is virtually maintenance-free because it’s non-porous, requiring no sealer or surface treatment. Going the slate or soapstone option is slightly cheaper than using granite.
As an alternative to slabs, granite, slate and marble are available as tiles. This is a cheaper option.
Solid surfaces
Solid-surfacing materials, such as Corian, Gibraltar and Avonite, are little more than homogeneous slabs of plastic, but they’re arguably the perfect countertop material. These materials are stain- and scratch-resistant, and their seams are fused together for undetectable joints.
Traditional solid-surfacing materials are made of 100 per cent acrylic, 100 per cent polyester or a combination of acrylic and poly. However, there’s another type of solid surface worth considering – quartz composite. Also known as engineered stone, this material is composed of 93 per cent quartz and 7 per cent acrylic or epoxy binder. DuPont Zodiaq, Formica Stone, Cosentino’s Silestone and Caesar- Stone are a few of the quartz composites available.
Engineered stone is much harder than ordinary solid-surfacing material, and it more closely resembles natural stone. It also costs more than traditional solid surfaces, but both materials are comparable to a high-end granite job.
Concrete
Concrete represents a fast-growing – but still most unusual – countertop option. If you’ve never seen a concrete kitchen counter, rest assured it looks nothing like a sidewalk. It more closely resembles a slab of natural stone – only it’s more consistent in colour and strength. This level of beauty, durability and smoothness is achieved through a combination of sophisticated concrete mixes, a palette of rich colours, and the use of precise moulding and finishing techniques.
Originally, concrete counters were poured in place – a messy, imprecise and time-consuming job – but today, they’re prefinished and delivered to the job site. In addition to being flatter and smoother, precast. Counters can be removed and replaced if necessary. Cracking is always a concern with concrete, and fabricators often use wire mesh or metal rebar to reinforce the counter if cracks occur.
The maintenance required to keep concrete looking great depends partly on its finish. A penetrating sealer provides resistance to scratches and heat, but it won’t prevent all staining. A urethane coating is virtually stainproof, with heat resistance similar to that of plastic laminate.
Ceramic tile
Tile creates a durable, heat-resistant surface, but the grout joints between the tiles are susceptible to staining, and the tiles can chip. Nevertheless, tile is a highly decorative material that comes in a wide array of sizes, shapes, colours and patterns. It’s an excellent choice for backsplashes, or secondary work surfaces, such as islands and eat-at counters.
But beware. “Only ceramic tile rated for use on floors or countertops should be used for kitchen work surfaces,” one tile contractor recommends. “Never use wall tile on a counter. It’s too thin and will easily crack.”
It’s not possible to give exact prices for a tile countertop since so much depends on the tile chosen and the intricacy of the installation. Simple, solid-colour tiles are cheaper, of course. A pro installation will more or less treble your basic tile cost.
Plastic laminate
Plastic laminate has been the most popular countertop material for nearly 60 years because it’s affordable and durable. It’s available in hundreds of colours and dozens of patterns, including many that resemble stone, wood and leather. It comes in various textures, but only those with a matte or fine matte finish should be used for counters. High-gloss or heavily embossed surfaces quickly show signs of wear.
Plastic laminate is sold at most timber yards and home centres in large sheets typically measuring 600 x 120 cm or 1,2 x 2,4 m. Specialists also sell ready-to-install postformed laminate counters that have a seamless front edge, top surface and backsplash.
Dear Sir/Madam,
I would like some advice on your kitchen top and services offered. Would you be able to contact me? Do you also repaint or spray existing kitchen cupboards?
Liezel on 23/08/2011