On 24 May, 17:31, Tim Watts wrote:
Hi,

We approach the time when we will be ordering our kitchen units. Found a
good online site with a showroom and the carcasses seem very solid, so
that's settled.

Now, the ultimate question... What worktop material?

OK - there will be a million different answers, but here goes

Stone (slate, granite etc) - too expensive for us - ruled out.

Stone/resin engineered laminate over MDF - still fairly pricey but not
as bad as stone. Not sure how tough this is.

Regular formica/chip - always has problems with the formica (whatever)
never being very robust. Either water gets in and lifts it or it stains
(OK, I cook curries) or it doesn't like the odd bit of heat...

Wood. I like this, in that it *could* be long lasting and can be
repaired if it gets abuse. I fancy my chances of fitting it myself too.
But some woods seem to be a sod for blackening if any water gets left
(have kids, it is going to happen, often)...

I'm veering towards wood if I can find a type and/or surface treatment
that is reasonably forgiving - SMWBO will need convincing, she likes
stone, although showing here the budget spreadsheet recently may have
cured that!

I suppose there might also be the option of glass over wood - not sure
if this is a done thing or how difficult it is to do, and whether there
are cons...

Random opinions sought - especially if it's a product recommendation :_)

--
Tim Watts

Hung parliament? Rather have a hanged parliament.

I fitted an oak worktop two years ago, with some trepidation (as there
were mixed reports on here), but it's performed very well so far.
Cost was more than laminate but much less than some of the fancier
things (though it was an online thing and they can easily vary 2 - 3
fold depending on source).
The weight kind of surprised me - they are 'king heavy, but it was
simple to cut (circular saw for the cut then router to finish) and
fit (biscuit butt joints cut with a router biscuit cutter from
Transtools, a bit of clear silicone in the joint). I've left the edge
square but keep thinking that a skim round with the router wouldn't be
a bad thing - have been waiting for it to get a chip or ten before
doing it.
Two issues I encountered: First it picked up a dent on fitting. I
steamed it out with an iron and wet kitchen towel but if it had been
laminate, that might have been a chip, which would be difficult to
fix. Second, 'worktop oil' never seemed to saturate the wood. After
a few thousand coats, I gave up and used Danish oil, which works much
better after a couple of coats.
After two years, it picked up a few superficial scratches so I ran
over it lightly with a random orbital sander and re-oiled it, so now
it looks pretty much like new.