wood or laminate worktops?

fidnhilly

I have brain freeze from thinking about kitchens!!! :eek:

We have chosen a high gloss cream kitchen from Howdens (glendevon cream) but their worktops are only 3m long & I need just over that on one length so I need to buy 2 x 4m lengths and a breakfast bar (2m x 900)

I have been looking at real wood & found some decently priced from woodworktops.com. I'm also looking at laminate for just over half the price. What are the pros & cons from those who have real wood, and is the standard width 620 or 650 - how will that work when I have an upstand to go on aswell, its going to overhang quite a lot from the units.
(some of our kitchen carcass are being left as is & just changing doors & worktop, and adding a few more units.

Any opinions would be welcomed!

Many Thanks in advance.

Joe_Sp

We had solid wood worktops in our last kitched, they were good quality and a good thickness.

They looked great for a couple of years but then started to look quite tired, especially around the taps.

You do need to be prepared to maintain them properly, we rubbed down and re oiled them every 6 months - a bit of a hassle really.

Personally I would not have them again.

cally1_2

I love my wood worktops. Got mine from barncrest.co.uk They do lots of different lengths/widths so economical due to less wastage.

jennifernil

We have beechblock tops, now 22 years old. We haven't found them particularly hard to maintain.

I would have them again.

redlady_1

I have just had beech worktops fitted in my kitchen. Don't expect them to look nice and shiney like laminate. I already have a black mark on one and its only been in two weeks! What they don't tell you is you need to oil them regularly at first and a tin of oil is £23. That said, they do look the part.

SmlSave

I love my solid wood worktops I oil them with plain veg oil every so often and when they get a mark or I drop something then they get a good sand - which means the whole kitchen has to be spring cleaned too!

You do need to keep them very well oiled round the sink and well used areas.

I think when we first got ours we were advised they needed to be oiled every day for a week then once a week for six weeks then every six months!

fidnhilly

thanks for your input, I think I might just go for laminate. 2 kids at the breakfast bar everyday might mean too many marks to sand & oil!!

Anything for an easy life!

figgyroo

I've got solid oak worktops and whilst they look lovely they are a pain to maintain. You have to remember never to put anything wet on them, or wipe up even minor spills immediately so as to prevent water stains and never put wet metal down on them as this will leave a big black mark. On the plus side any marks can be sanded out easily. They also need regular oiling. I certainly wouldn't have them if I had kids.

dander

I do love the look of wood worktops, but I'm a huge fan of laminate because I think for practicality, it's just about as good as it gets. Yeah, it's not the "hi-spec" finish that Sarah Beeny is desperate for everyone to have, but for me wipe-and-go functionality beats fashion any day! Although, I think a wood-effect laminate still looks really nice anyway.

pimento

We're also about to buy a kitchen and saw this stuff

http://www.wickes.co.uk/Earthstone-Worktop/invt/212170

I don't know how expensive solid wood worktops are, but I didn't want laminate and can't afford quartz or granite and this looks just the job.

I'm having a black gloss kitchen (hopefully).

cally1_2

Funny how different people's perceptions are; I have 3 kids, am very slack at maintenance issues, have a breakfast bar that we use for eating at 3 times per day and not very careful at wiping up spills. Yet I still love my wooden worktops and would get them again.