Kitchen Worktops Guide

Replacing your kitchen worktops can rejuvenate your kitchen. Despite what many people think it is not difficult to either fit certain worktops your self or get a tradesman to fit it.

A kitchen worktop has to withstand a lot of abuse over the years and there is probably not another surface in the home that has to withstand so much. It needs to be tolerant to water, extreme heat, scratches and other staining liquids that will be spilt on it over it’s lifetime.

The are four main groups that worktops can fall in to, these are; laminated chip board based, real wood, composites and natural stone.

Laminated kitchen worktops are the cheapest option when replacing your kitchen worktop and can be easily installed by the enthusiastic DIY’er.  Hiring a tradesman to install your worktop will result in a seamless join that is impervious to bacteria and water damage. All though the cheapest option, laminate based worktops come in a massive range of colours and surface finishes. Not only that but you can get custom laminates made up where you can have a different edge finish to the actual work top. You can also get round edged, curved edge and beveled edge finishes – there are endless choices available. Laminate worktops are also available with a range of matching accessories such as splash backs and real beauty is that once fitted it requires no maintenance and providing it has been sealed around water prone areas can last up to fifteen years or more.

Wooden worktops exude warmth and look beautiful in modern and traditional home alike. They do take a little bit more maintenance than laminate worktops and care will need to be taken to prevent scratches and stains. The stain resistance of a wooden worktop can be increased by regularly oiling the surface with what is commonly known as ‘Danish Oil’. If you are fitting your own wood worktop makes sure that you give the underside of the worktop two coats of oil prior to fitting the worktop. Oiling the underside of the worktop will help to prevent it bowing over time.

Some types of wooden kitchen worktops do cost a similar amount to laminate work tops.   The ‘butchers’ block type worktops can workout to be a similar price to laminate worktops, but in general a continuous wooden worktop will be more expensive than the laminated version.

Composite worktops are a relatively recent addition to the worktop world. Under the banner of composite would come Quartz and Corian® worktops. As the name suggests these types of worktop are a composite of materials, in the case of Corian® it is a mixture of  70% stone and 30% acrylic resin with pigments added. It is available in a range of over 80 colours. Corian® is probably best described as a mixture between solid stone and laminate worktops. The difference being that it can be molded to shape giving you endless possibilities – you can even have you sink or basin molded into it! Although it is molded like plastic its properties are more similar to stone in that it has better heat resistance than plastic but does have a small amount of porosity similar to most natural stone.

Quartz worktops are again similar to Corian® but they are made from 90% quartz and 10% acrylic resin. Quartz worktops are usually identifiable by there sparkly surface finish. In contrast to all the other natural based worktops Quartz is non porous so it will not stain. It also has excellent heat resistant properties. The downside to quartz worktops is the weight of them, this increases the cost of them considerably.

Granite kitchen worktops are by far the most expensive option, not only due to the cost of the actual material, but also the amount of work that needed to go in to cut and polish the worktop. Delivering granite worktop is also problematic due to the weight of it. That said, if you intend to stay in your home for a long time a granite worktop will last a life time, it can comfortably fit in to the most modern dwelling to the very traditional dwelling. Granite is slightly porous so it is best to apply a sealant to it before fitting and every six months thereafter.

With both Granite and Quartz worktops you will not get a completely uniform look to the work top. If this is going to concern you then you should look at Corian® or laminate worktops. Granite and Quarts are natural materials and many people buy them for their natural appearance and this means variation. If you do want natural stone worktops but don’t like the natural variation, try to choose darker colour granite, the variation won’t be so noticeable.

To summarise, there are a number of cheap kitchen worktops available and these will be made from laminate or ‘butchers’ block type wood. If you have a bit more money to spend or plan on staying in your home for a long time it is probably more economic over the lifetime of you home to buy a natural stone based worktop such as the Corian®, Granite or Quartz worktops.