Solid Worktop Options
Discussion
Nearly finished fitting our new kitchen units so the time has come to stop avoiding the problem of which worktop to buy.
We seem to have committed two major faux pas in designing the kitchen - curved corner posts and a belfast sink - so that wipes out all options for laminate and the engineered quartz type stuff.
Granite is coming in at circa £4k which is nearly as much as the units and I can't bring myself to spend that on a house I don't plan to be living in 3-4 years down the line.
Wood will probably last all of 5 minutes as SWMBO has a habit of leaving spills all day having 'not noticed' them, so that's not an option.
I had a look at Bushboard m-stone which is quite nice but still quite pricey, what other products are out there I may have missed?
We seem to have committed two major faux pas in designing the kitchen - curved corner posts and a belfast sink - so that wipes out all options for laminate and the engineered quartz type stuff.
Granite is coming in at circa £4k which is nearly as much as the units and I can't bring myself to spend that on a house I don't plan to be living in 3-4 years down the line.
Wood will probably last all of 5 minutes as SWMBO has a habit of leaving spills all day having 'not noticed' them, so that's not an option.
I had a look at Bushboard m-stone which is quite nice but still quite pricey, what other products are out there I may have missed?
rustyuk said:
We have fitted Walnut in our last two kitchens. Protected them both with Sadolin PV67 and neither required any maintenance in the first 7 years (with a belfast sink too)
Interesting, I had wondered if Walnut may fair better than oak. Out of curiosity how much proactive maintenance do you have to do though, eg wiping up spills immediately?Watching this with interest...if any phers are interested...
Really want a solid white worktop, thin one, not thick... I've got two L shaped runs to concern myself with and wood is a no-go for the same reasons.
Undermount sink and a tap hole? Red is where we would possibly want an upstand.
Really want a solid white worktop, thin one, not thick... I've got two L shaped runs to concern myself with and wood is a no-go for the same reasons.
Undermount sink and a tap hole? Red is where we would possibly want an upstand.
Wozy68 said:
Go Iroko, 30 or 40MM thick. We make our own but on a budget, buy them in.... Google WEX Trade . Iroko is naturally oily so far better than Oak or Walnut for kitchen worktops, even before you seal it.
HTH
Cheers, I like the look of that, will see if it gets approved or not!HTH
Presumably as it's naturally oily you'd have to oil rather than varnish with SV67?
Is it worth the effort trying to get an account with Wex compared to the various online sellers?
grumbas said:
rustyuk said:
We have fitted Walnut in our last two kitchens. Protected them both with Sadolin PV67 and neither required any maintenance in the first 7 years (with a belfast sink too)
Interesting, I had wondered if Walnut may fair better than oak. Out of curiosity how much proactive maintenance do you have to do though, eg wiping up spills immediately?grumbas said:
Cheers, I like the look of that, will see if it gets approved or not!
Presumably as it's naturally oily you'd have to oil rather than varnish with SV67?
Is it worth the effort trying to get an account with Wex compared to the various online sellers?
Iroko can be sealed with SV67. Personally i prefer oiled finish. People complain it takes a lot of looking after, but I've never found that the case. Ive oild mine at home in the utility three times in four years, thats initially when installed, once again 6 months later and lastly after three years. In my temp kitchen I've got at the mo, I have beech, using a kind of SV67, and its in a far poorer state. Presumably as it's naturally oily you'd have to oil rather than varnish with SV67?
Is it worth the effort trying to get an account with Wex compared to the various online sellers?
The positives of oiling is that if you scratch the tops you can sand back and re-oil. Oiling a worktop is very very simple and brings up the tops like new again.
Horses for courses I guess
No idea ref account at WEX. I've used them and went for the wide full length staves option. Seemed very good for the price
Thumbs up for Iroko. We had ours fitted about 3 years ago, the colour is a lovely contrast to light coloured units. We just oil it with Danish oil a couple of times a year.
The guys who fitted it just advised us to be careful around the sink and not let water sit it any areas, they did say Belfast sinks can be a problem with the wood tops so we opted for an inset one instead.
The guys who fitted it just advised us to be careful around the sink and not let water sit it any areas, they did say Belfast sinks can be a problem with the wood tops so we opted for an inset one instead.
Wozy68 said:
grumbas said:
Cheers, I like the look of that, will see if it gets approved or not!
Presumably as it's naturally oily you'd have to oil rather than varnish with SV67?
Is it worth the effort trying to get an account with Wex compared to the various online sellers?
Iroko can be sealed with SV67. Personally i prefer oiled finish. People complain it takes a lot of looking after, but I've never found that the case. Ive oild mine at home in the utility three times in four years, thats initially when installed, once again 6 months later and lastly after three years. In my temp kitchen I've got at the mo, I have beech, using a kind of SV67, and its in a far poorer state. Presumably as it's naturally oily you'd have to oil rather than varnish with SV67?
Is it worth the effort trying to get an account with Wex compared to the various online sellers?
The positives of oiling is that if you scratch the tops you can sand back and re-oil. Oiling a worktop is very very simple and brings up the tops like new again.
Horses for courses I guess
No idea ref account at WEX. I've used them and went for the wide full length staves option. Seemed very good for the price
I'll give wex a try, they can only say no!
Andehh said:
Why is quartz ruled out, yet granite is in?
We have white Quartz in ours, £2k for a fair sized kitchen, and we utterly love it. Easy to keep clean, doesn't stain, is robust, durable and no worries about water.
Quality worktops are massively important!
I've only come across quartz as an 'engineered' product on a particleboard base (which I had at previous house and really liked), but you can't put a ~80mm radius on the corner because it's not solid.We have white Quartz in ours, £2k for a fair sized kitchen, and we utterly love it. Easy to keep clean, doesn't stain, is robust, durable and no worries about water.
Quality worktops are massively important!
I'm all ears if there are solid products out there?
grumbas said:
Andehh said:
Why is quartz ruled out, yet granite is in?
We have white Quartz in ours, £2k for a fair sized kitchen, and we utterly love it. Easy to keep clean, doesn't stain, is robust, durable and no worries about water.
Quality worktops are massively important!
I've only come across quartz as an 'engineered' product on a particleboard base (which I had at previous house and really liked), but you can't put a ~80mm radius on the corner because it's not solid.We have white Quartz in ours, £2k for a fair sized kitchen, and we utterly love it. Easy to keep clean, doesn't stain, is robust, durable and no worries about water.
Quality worktops are massively important!
I'm all ears if there are solid products out there?
I went to a customer a few years ago who had made his own worktops! Using female moulds of conti-board or similar he'd got vinylester resin from a local supplier and coloured the gelcoat with different shades to give a marble effect. Then laid up the grp matting and resin, bonding it to an MDF board on the way. Top-class DIY project, and it clearly look professional.
Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff