We've recently had four different types of worksurfaces in our last
three houses. In our first house we had laminate. This was cheap,
fairly hard wearing and did the job fine.

In our second house we had wood (block beech) this wasnt great because
it stained in places where it got wet eg around the sink and over time
this became pretty unsightly.

In our current house we inherited laminate but when we changed the
kitchen we changed to a product called Minerelle. We were advised this
was a poor man's corian and that it was hardwearing, stain and impact
resistant.

I can't say enough how dissapointed we were with the minerelle. The
major problem is that it scratches really easily. We were very careful
with the surface to start with but any sort of abrasion leaves a mark.
The supplier and the minerelle rep came around and "refinished" the
surface. This involves getting a random orbital sander and filling your
kitchen full of dust. Within days of the refinishing scratches begin to
reappear. If you dont believe me about this get a sample of the
material for yourself and try just gently to scratch it with keys or
similar. The supplier himself admitted that he had to refinish his own
every month or so.

We've now changed to granite which seems great. Its really hard
wearing, scratch resistant and heat resistant.

So my advice would be the best surfaces are either laminate (but avoid
the high gloss types as these scratch easily) or if your budget
stretches that far, granite.

Anyone got any other thoughts?

Patrick