On 04/01/2014 20:16, sm_jamieson wrote:
OK, new kitchen is nice but the only thing spoiling it is the
laminate corner joint right next to the sink, which is starting to
fail already. It is impossible not to get pools of water there and
not even a perfect joint can survive standing water for long. So we a
looking to replace the worktops already. Granite is the obvious
thing. Worktop to be replaced is an L shape 3m x 2.5m, tiled with 5mm
sealant joint. New worktops plus any underlay such as ply must total
40mm to meet up with the tiles. Cutouts for a job and a sink (I'm
don't care about an under-slung sink and drainage grooves). Now,
granite worktops seem to have a large scope of quality (re-inforced
around cutouts or not etc.) and prices, thus rip-off merchants
abound.

Anyway, about how much should I be paying for the granite worktop
described above, obviously templated and fitted by them ?

If your worktop is large enough that it needs a join, then you're likely
to need a join in granite too which will mean that it looks pants. Well,
that's my opinion. Joins might not bother you, but I was watching a
baking programme on TV the other day and it was the first thing I spotted.

We have a U-shaped kitchen with 4m/5m/5m runs or worktop and we didn't
want joins so we went for Corian (http://tinyurl.com/ukcorian). We also
have a quartz island so I've able to compare the two and as surfaces I
think they offer advantages and disadvantages.

Both stone and Corian can stain if you do things like leave spilled tea
on them. That's probably true for most surfaces, but these seem to be a
little more prone to it. You can use abrasive cleaners, but you have to
be *very* careful not to damage the finish (it's quite smooth).

Corian is warm to the touch, stone is cool. That's a personal preference
thing, though stone is obviously quite handy for pastry.

Both come in a mind-boggling range of colours, though Corian more so.

Both are feckin' expensive.

Finally, as well as having no joins anywhere, Corian also means you can
have a small upstand at the back of the worktop which makes cleaning
much easier as you don't have a crevice where the tiles meet the worktop
(assuming you have tiles).

If you're really set on granite, you can also get granite layed on top
of your existing surface rather than solid granite. It's quite a bit
cheaper. A friend has it and it looks great. I can't remember the
company, but I've seen them at garden centres.

Jon