Which worktops?

angelica_99

We're just installing our Ikea and are really pleased with it so far - after getting advice from here and getting our kitchen from Ikea its saved us a fortune. Anyhow, we're now ready to pick worktops and initally thought about having solid oak but after hearing a few horror stories on the maintenance have decided that we just don't want to spend so much time looking after them. They are also alot more expensive than we orgainlly thought - I think Howdens quoted our joiner £300 per 3m length and as we need 5 3m lengths its going to cost more than the kitchen by the time we're through.

So what are our other options??

Laminate - is it still cheap and nasty ?
Granite - I've heard its come down in price but its probably more expensive than the oak.

Any others?

andrew-b

We had "Island Sand" (mottled grey/brown/pinkish bits) coloured laminate worktops from Wickes . It doesn't look cheap or nasty at all.

Like you, the constant maintenance required for wooden worktops put us off. As for granite it has to be cut to size off-site with the right machinery plus don't forget a 3m length of granite will be very heavy compared to laminate/wood! It came down to price for us as both wooden and granite worktop were beyond our budget.

If your joining wooden or laminate worktops to give a professional finish you need to know how to use a router and worktop jig...but your joiner shouldn't have a problem with this.

Andy

Canucklehead

Good evening: I'm speaking as a big fan of wood worktops...have used several times now on our Ikea kitchens...all work tops have their maintenance issues...love the warmth of oak in particular. I had bookmarked the website for a supplier up your way...prices look good and they also do laminate http://www.jastimber.co.uk/kitchen.asp.htm Granite is lovely also, but laminate doesn't do it for me;)

HTH

Canucklehead

vansboy

Didn't you like the IKEA ones?

We'll probably get Stone Effect Grey, flat edge, for our white gloss units.

Had Stone Effect Black, rolled edge for the gloss red units, here & looks good!

VB

sweep9

If going for laminate, do not get gloss effect. The amount of complaints that these generate is unbelievable!

Yes they may look fantastic for the first few weeks, but all it takes is just forgetting and picking something up slightly wrong (like a cup) and you've got a small scratch that you'll notice and it will start to niggle you!

cuffie

Have looked into this quite a lot myself recently!!

Pros of wood
if it gets scratched you can sand down and re-oil....good as new
looks warm
cheaper than granite
(our worktop quote was £4,500k for granite and £1,300 for wood)

Cons of wood
easily dented/scratched
Will have to re-wax/oil every 6 months-1yr to keep it looking its best
not very good if you are not prepared to look after it (ie, not mopping up water spills, not putting hot pans on surface, etc)


Pros of laminate
Not heavy
cheap to install (or indeed replace if necessary)


Cons of laminate
Gloss scratches
can look cheap

Pros of granite
hardwearing
looks expensive (even if you have a cheap kitchen)

Cons of granite
Very heavy
Very expensive

Im sure others will think of other things to add! We are going to go for granite. It will look better in the kitchen we have chosen, its easier to keep clean and it looks good.

It does depend on your budget too though. Laminate will be cheapest (and tend to look the cheapest in my opinion).

vansboy

You forgot...

Cons of granite...

it's a current fad & will make the kitchen look old before its time & you'll end up having to re-do it & throw away that expensive pretty idea!

So it'll be laiminate then!!

VB

ronniesboot

What about something like Smartstone or Minerelle (One Fit Appliances sell both)? Much cheaper than granite, lighter and easier to install but look much better (IMO) than standard laminates. Just had mine fitted with an IKEA kitchen and looks great.

[Deleted User]

vansboy wrote: »

You forgot...

Cons of granite...

it's a current fad & will make the kitchen look old before its time & you'll end up having to re-do it & throw away that expensive pretty idea!

So it'll be laiminate then!!

VB

Errr, I don't think so. It has been used for decades in Southern Europe, it's a classic that will never go our of fashion!

vansboy

Van1971 wrote: »

Errr, I don't think so. It has been used for decades in Southern Europe, it's a classic that will never go our of fashion!

I know what you mean Van - but the stuff sooo many people use here, is over-priced style statemnts!

I really like the black, with silver flashes & speckles in it, but don't think it'd be a long term choice!

VB

rockjim69

Another type of work surface you might want to consider is the synthetic solid surfaces such as Corian and Zodiaq Quartz (there are loads of others too). They both come in loads of colours so plenty of choice (a quick google search will take you to the official websites where you can see the full range of colours). Places like MFI and Magnet both have samples in store if you wanted to take a look, but they wont sell you it unless you are buying a full kitchen. This isnt necessarily a bad thing tho, since specialist worktop suppliers will be much cheaper anyway!