Kitchen worktop - Thickness and Quality

cool_techie

Hi,

We are looking to change our kitchen worktop and have settled on a 'Black Myriade' pattern from Duropal. The said pattern was available in Matt finish and at 40mm thickness. Our fitter recommended us to check the same out at Wickes.

At Wickes, this pattern is know as Matt Laminate Black Stone and is available at very cheap prices. The only issue is about thickness of 28mm.

Now, the questions are:
1. Is a 40mm thick worktop necessarily better than 28mm? What is the criteria for settling on worktop thickness in case of laminates?

2. Are Wickes worktops better / equal to Duropal in quality?

Thanks & Regards,
CT

Steve_the_fitter

1. its up to you on the thickness really. Id stick to 40mm for the kitchen personally. If you do decide to go for 28mm make sure it is well supported in void corners etc.
2. Durapol are better worktops than Wickes.

CKdesigner

Hi

I think you will find there is a vast difference in quality between Wickes worktops and Duropal. The Duropal chipboard core material will be much denser.

The only reason I think a fitter who would know the difference, would recommend Wickes instead of Duropal would be because its not as thick and not as dense means that its lighter for him to carry! ;-)

cyclonebri1

Avoid 28mm worktops, they look and are perceived to be poor 2nds, regardless of their capabilities.
Go 38mm.

Wickes:rotfl: sorry, it's the same argument, are they good enough for you? Keep them dry, expect 5 to 8 years and then yes, they are value.

Personally, I'd only use them as a super tight budget option, or if I was moving out of a property shortly.

phill99

Duropal is a very high quality worktop. I fit kitchens regularly and encourage customers to pay the extra for duropal. The real difference is in the thickness of the laminate covering which is significantly thicker than Wickes.

Don't go for 28mm. It just looks awful and will be extremely poor quality

In fairness, if your fitter isn't advising you of all of this, then I would question his ability.

DirectDebacle

The Duropal chipboard core material will be much denser.

Have you any evidence of this or is just something you [STRIKE]made up [/STRIKE]think?

I doubt there is much difference between the core material density. Duropal, as phill99 states, will have thicker laminate. Probably explains why Duropal are 40mm and Wickes 38mm.

Durability will to a large extent depend on usage. My (B&Q 40mm) laminate worktops have served me well for 16 years and no sign of deterioration as yet.

Furts

In addition to good quality, Duropal worktops are available with a drip groove. This means, especially if the wider worktops are ordered, a proper over hang can be fitted. This will protect the base units below from spills and degradation

On thickness I would not entertain 28mm, but it is cheaper.

Historically, 28mm was used for council house kitchens where choice, quality and durability did not matter. Private houses such as four bedroom detached by the likes of Wimpey had 40mm worktops because they were a better product.

Today there are kitchen designers pushing 28mm laminate because it looks sleek, and mimics the thickness of good quartz. However, this does not mean it is a good product.

ryder72

Production techniques have moved on and now our supplier can offer laminate tops in 10, 17 and 30mm tops in additional to the usual 38mm tops.

10mm tops are manufactured from solid laminate and is very very strong.

You are well advised to buy Duropal. Its got a thicker laminate layer, double postformed profile, drip groove and denser chipboard core.

cool_techie

Thanks everyone for your advice. Any of you near Milton Keynes and available for Worktop replacement? Please PM me.

CKdesigner

DirectDebacle wrote: »

Have you any evidence of this or is just something you [STRIKE]made up [/STRIKE]think?

I doubt there is much difference between the core material density. Duropal, as phill99 states, will have thicker laminate. Probably explains why Duropal are 40mm and Wickes 38mm.

Durability will to a large extent depend on usage. My (B&Q 40mm) laminate worktops have served me well for 16 years and no sign of deterioration as yet.

Have you tried putting worktop samples in a bucket of water over night? Probably not but I have!

The Duropal sample expanded 4 or 5 mm where as the typical DIY store laminate worktop turned into shredded wheat!

DirectDebacle

CKdesigner wrote: »

Have you tried putting worktop samples in a bucket of water over night? Probably not but I have!

The Duropal sample expanded 4 or 5 mm where as the typical DIY store laminate worktop turned into shredded wheat!

I think you'll find that isn't the correct way to determine density.

Density=Mass/Volume. Go figure.