Kitchen worktop for curved units. Help!!

evansmummy

Hi,

We're having a kitchen installed and the end unit is a curved one.
What are the options for worktops? We're under the impression you can only get granite or solid wood. Is there are other options? We can't stretch to the cost of granite/quartz and although wood looks good I'm worried about the upkeep.
I'd ideally like speedstone type or laminate but I've been told it can't be used because of the curve. Is there another product out there??
Thanks in advance

cddc

You can use straight edge laminate as a budget option, or Earthstone (resin on chipboard), or a solid resin slab such as Apollo Slabtech or others. Both of those can be fitted be fitted to curved units without templating.

keystone

Laminate worktop can be curved using the proper tools (ie a router) and the exposed edge refinished afterwards. Who is telling you this nonsense?

Cheers

madget_2

keystone wrote: »

Laminate worktop can be curved using the proper tools (ie a router) and the exposed edge refinished afterwards. Who is telling you this nonsense?

Cheers

We had this done and were very pleased indeed with the results. Our fitter just cut the end of the piece of laminate to match the curve of the units and glued a matching edging strip to cover the cut edge. He then coloured the seam so that you can't even tell that it's there. Looks great! Of course, you do need laminate with a straight edge in order to do this.

Our worktops are Quadra profile by Duropal. The straight edge looks great and very contemporary and they make matching edging strips.

evansmummy

Thanks guys. Having enquired around theres a company called 'Bushboard' which do a curved laminate and ABS edging (whatever that is! I'm a girl ) And it's fairly well priced which is a bonus!

no1catman

As others have said - laminate worktops (look also at Axiom), can be cut - either in a straight line - for different length of units, or with a curved end.
The exposed curved end is then smartened up by fixing an edging strip to it i.e. a length with the same colouration as the top of the worktop - its about 2mm thick.

Steve_the_fitter

Have a look at Mistral. They are 25mm solid surface , no chipboard like Bushboard so once the curve is cut no messing around fitting a finishing strip. Cut with the same tools as a bushboard. Also if you are having an undermount sink you will be able to put drainer grooves into it which are deep enough to actually work

evansmummy

Thanks for your help everyone.

Having looked at all your suggestions the one we've plumped with it Bushboard.
We've now discovered that Bushboard (in their omega range) have a ready-made pre-finished curved worktop. It's limited to 6 colours but we only wanted a black one which they did.

The price for the curved 3m length breakfast bar with the factory made curved edge is around £215 which is great.

Thank you for all your help otherwise we'd be stuck with a solid wood worktop which we didn't really want.

Rockingit

Another way of doing it, if you're feeling adventurous, is to cast your own to any shape in concrete. Now, that's an idea that sounds plain stupid and ugly but I'm assured by a friend who has started to make them commercially that they're the next big thing in kitchens. Apparently, if cast properly so that they are smooth and then treated with various paints and lacquers you end up with something which is genuinely unbreakable without serious tools, will last pretty much forever and can be as shapely as your design wants to be.

No, you're right - I'm not convinced, either!