My blockwood worktop is looking seedy and due for replacement, but
what options have I got?

The last time I did a laminate worktop it was really hard to keep
clean, though it might not have been a very high quality laminate.

I checked out Corion which looks good and performs well I'm told,
though have been quoted £3500 for the job. Granite comes out at £3000.

B&Q do something similar which may be cheaper but they won't sell me a
top unless I buy a full kitchen.

I need something that can make into an L shaped corner and not have a
big obvious crack down the join.

On 2007-06-19 16:45:16 +0100, Burlington Bertie
said:

My blockwood worktop is looking seedy and due for replacement, but
what options have I got?

The last time I did a laminate worktop it was really hard to keep
clean, though it might not have been a very high quality laminate.

I checked out Corion which looks good and performs well I'm told,
though have been quoted £3500 for the job.

McDonalds uses Corian.

It still looks like plastic.


Granite comes out at £3000.

B&Q do something similar which may be cheaper but they won't sell me a
top unless I buy a full kitchen.

I need something that can make into an L shaped corner and not have a
big obvious crack down the join.


You can have an L shaped piece cut in granite with no join as long as
the dimensions are reasonably sensible.

Andy Hall ) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were
saying :

I need something that can make into an L shaped corner and not have a
big obvious crack down the join.

You can have an L shaped piece cut in granite with no join as long as
the dimensions are reasonably sensible.

And any decent granite fitter should be able to fill a join, if one is
needed, to the point where it's Not Very Visible At All.

Burlington Bertie ) gurgled happily, sounding
much like they were saying :

I checked out Corion which looks good and performs well I'm told,
though have been quoted £3500 for the job. Granite comes out at £3000.

The price difference we were quoted last autumn was *FAR* bigger than that
- the Corian was over twice the price of Granite.

If you're anywhere near Watford, www.manimpex.co.uk did a corkin' job of
the granite worktop we decided on.

"Adrian" wrote in message
. 245.131...
Burlington Bertie ) gurgled happily, sounding
much like they were saying :

I checked out Corion which looks good and performs well I'm told,
though have been quoted £3500 for the job. Granite comes out at £3000.

The price difference we were quoted last autumn was *FAR* bigger than that
- the Corian was over twice the price of Granite.

If you're anywhere near Watford, www.manimpex.co.uk did a corkin' job of
the granite worktop we decided on.

The only problem I've found with granite is that it is porous. Spill
vegetable oil on it and its a real pig to remove the stain.

I think a good quality laminate worktop is still the most practical hygienic
solution for a well used kitchen, or stainless steel if you like the look.

Icky

On 2007-06-19 19:06:14 +0100, "Icky Thwacket" said:


"Adrian" wrote in message
. 245.131...
Burlington Bertie ) gurgled happily, sounding
much like they were saying :

I checked out Corion which looks good and performs well I'm told,
though have been quoted £3500 for the job. Granite comes out at £3000.

The price difference we were quoted last autumn was *FAR* bigger than that
- the Corian was over twice the price of Granite.

If you're anywhere near Watford, www.manimpex.co.uk did a corkin' job of
the granite worktop we decided on.

The only problem I've found with granite is that it is porous. Spill
vegetable oil on it and its a real pig to remove the stain.

This can be entirely avoided by treating it, as recommended, with a
suitable sealer.




I think a good quality laminate worktop

There is such a thing?

is still the most practical hygienic
solution for a well used kitchen, or stainless steel if you like the look.

Icky

Andy Hall wrote:
On 2007-06-19 19:06:14 +0100, "Icky Thwacket" said:


"Adrian" wrote in message
. 245.131...
Burlington Bertie ) gurgled happily,
sounding
much like they were saying :

I checked out Corion which looks good and performs well I'm told,
though have been quoted £3500 for the job. Granite comes out at £3000.

The price difference we were quoted last autumn was *FAR* bigger than
that
- the Corian was over twice the price of Granite.

If you're anywhere near Watford, www.manimpex.co.uk did a corkin' job of
the granite worktop we decided on.

The only problem I've found with granite is that it is porous. Spill
vegetable oil on it and its a real pig to remove the stain.

This can be entirely avoided by treating it, as recommended, with a
suitable sealer.


Vegetable oil works quite well. ;-)

"The Natural Philosopher" wrote in message
...
Andy Hall wrote:
On 2007-06-19 19:06:14 +0100, "Icky Thwacket" said:


"Adrian" wrote in message
. 245.131...
Burlington Bertie ) gurgled happily,
sounding
much like they were saying :

I checked out Corion which looks good and performs well I'm told,
though have been quoted £3500 for the job. Granite comes out at £3000.

The price difference we were quoted last autumn was *FAR* bigger than
that
- the Corian was over twice the price of Granite.

If you're anywhere near Watford, www.manimpex.co.uk did a corkin' job
of
the granite worktop we decided on.

The only problem I've found with granite is that it is porous. Spill
vegetable oil on it and its a real pig to remove the stain.

This can be entirely avoided by treating it, as recommended, with a
suitable sealer.


Vegetable oil works quite well. ;-)

Rotting vegetable oil is hardly hygienic

Andy Hall wrote:
On 2007-06-19 19:06:14 +0100, "Icky Thwacket" said:


"Adrian" wrote in message
. 245.131...
Burlington Bertie ) gurgled happily,
sounding
much like they were saying :

I checked out Corion which looks good and performs well I'm told,
though have been quoted £3500 for the job. Granite comes out at £3000.

The price difference we were quoted last autumn was *FAR* bigger than
that
- the Corian was over twice the price of Granite.

If you're anywhere near Watford, www.manimpex.co.uk did a corkin' job of
the granite worktop we decided on.

The only problem I've found with granite is that it is porous. Spill
vegetable oil on it and its a real pig to remove the stain.

This can be entirely avoided by treating it, as recommended, with a
suitable sealer.

If you achieve a total seal it will look like plastic anyway. I was
looking at some trendy terracotta floor tiles at the weekend. They had
been treated with umpteen coats of sealer but water still soaks in.




I think a good quality laminate worktop

There is such a thing?

is still the most practical hygienic
solution for a well used kitchen, or stainless steel if you like the
look.

Icky

On 2007-06-19 21:02:44 +0100, Stuart Noble
said:
r.

If you achieve a total seal it will look like plastic anyway.

If you use the correct material for the job it seals properly and does
not look like plastic.


I was looking at some trendy terracotta floor tiles at the weekend.
They had been treated with umpteen coats of sealer but water still
soaks in.

Then the wrong material was used.

I have a small area of terracotta tiles, treated them as recommended
with Lithofin. They don't look shiny and neither does water soak in.

I wouldn't describe the tiles as trendy though. They were bought from
a very ordinary tile shop in Normandy, and no I don't mean the one near
Guildford

"Andy Hall" wrote in message
...
On 2007-06-19 19:06:14 +0100, "Icky Thwacket" said:


The only problem I've found with granite is that it is porous. Spill
vegetable oil on it and its a real pig to remove the stain.

This can be entirely avoided by treating it, as recommended, with a
suitable sealer.

In a busy family kitchen after paying an absolute shed load of cash for an
unsuitable work surface, I have to then treat it to make it useable?





I think a good quality laminate worktop

There is such a thing?

What exactly is your problem with laminate. As a cost effective work surface
it ticks all the required boxes.

Perhaps it is not expensive enough?

If it was £3000 per square metre I expect you would then recommend it as
the dogs ********?

On 2007-06-19 21:10:10 +0100, "Icky Thwacket" said:


"Andy Hall" wrote in message
...
On 2007-06-19 19:06:14 +0100, "Icky Thwacket" said:


The only problem I've found with granite is that it is porous. Spill
vegetable oil on it and its a real pig to remove the stain.

This can be entirely avoided by treating it, as recommended, with a
suitable sealer.

In a busy family kitchen after paying an absolute shed load of cash for an
unsuitable work surface, I have to then treat it to make it useable?

Granite is highly suitable as a kitchen worksurface. It certainly
doesn't cost a shed load of cash considering the durability, longevity
and maintainability. In the context of that, giving it a very
occasional coat of sealer (once every few years at most) is a trivial
exercise in terms of effort and cost.







I think a good quality laminate worktop

There is such a thing?

What exactly is your problem with laminate.

Because it looks nasty.


As a cost effective work surface
it ticks all the required boxes.

It stains and dents and is not that attractive. Those are pretty
serious shortcomings.




Perhaps it is not expensive enough?

In general, I would say that laminate is way too expensive for what it is.


If it was £3000 per square metre I expect you would then recommend it as
the dogs ********?

Not really. Then one gets into Corian territory and plastic worktops
all over again. Yuk.

On Tue, 19 Jun 2007 19:35:53 +0100, Andy Hall wrote:

On 2007-06-19 19:06:14 +0100, "Icky Thwacket" said:


"Adrian" wrote in message
. 245.131...
Burlington Bertie ) gurgled happily, sounding
much like they were saying :

I checked out Corion which looks good and performs well I'm told,
though have been quoted £3500 for the job. Granite comes out at £3000.

The price difference we were quoted last autumn was *FAR* bigger than that
- the Corian was over twice the price of Granite.

If you're anywhere near Watford, www.manimpex.co.uk did a corkin' job of
the granite worktop we decided on.

The only problem I've found with granite is that it is porous. Spill
vegetable oil on it and its a real pig to remove the stain.

This can be entirely avoided by treating it, as recommended, with a
suitable sealer.




I think a good quality laminate worktop

There is such a thing?

Yep, They weigh in at around 400 GBP for a length. They have a several mm
of solid resin on the front and about 1mm solid on the top. The plastic is
less brittle that the laminate.



--
Ed Sirett - Property maintainer and registered gas fitter.
The FAQ for uk.diy is at http://www.diyfaq.org.uk
Gas fitting FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/GasFitting.html
Sealed CH FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/SealedCH.html
Choosing a Boiler FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/BoilerChoice.html
Gas Fitting Standards Docs he http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/GasFittingStandards

Icky Thwacket ) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were
saying :

I checked out Corion which looks good and performs well I'm told,
though have been quoted £3500 for the job. Granite comes out at
£3000.

The price difference we were quoted last autumn was *FAR* bigger than
that - the Corian was over twice the price of Granite.

If you're anywhere near Watford, www.manimpex.co.uk did a corkin' job
of the granite worktop we decided on.

The only problem I've found with granite is that it is porous. Spill
vegetable oil on it and its a real pig to remove the stain.

Just a quick wipe with a damp washing up cloth seems to work fine on
ours...

We found that the area under the draining board and around the taps was
building up some limescale - a quick wipe down with some malt vinegar's
returned it to new.

OTOH... Solid wood, now *there's* a worktop with high maintenance
requirements...

On 19 Jun, 16:45, Burlington Bertie
wrote:
My blockwood worktop is looking seedy and due for replacement, but
what options have I got?

The last time I did a laminate worktop it was really hard to keep
clean, though it might not have been a very high quality laminate.

I checked out Corion which looks good and performs well I'm told,
though have been quoted £3500 for the job. Granite comes out at £3000.

B&Q do something similar which may be cheaper but they won't sell me a
top unless I buy a full kitchen.

I need something that can make into an L shaped corner and not have a
big obvious crack down the join.

I have a contact that works in Corion - it would be interesting to get
an approximate cost from him - what size are you looking for?

Rob

Burlington Bertie wrote:

My blockwood worktop is looking seedy and due for replacement, but
what options have I got?

The last time I did a laminate worktop it was really hard to keep
clean, though it might not have been a very high quality laminate.

I checked out Corion which looks good and performs well I'm told,
though have been quoted £3500 for the job. Granite comes out at £3000.

B&Q do something similar which may be cheaper but they won't sell me a
top unless I buy a full kitchen.

I need something that can make into an L shaped corner and not have a
big obvious crack down the join.

Hi,

One option might be possible to sand down the blockwood worktop with a
random orbital sander and refinish it, or do you just want a trendy
black worktop?

cheers,
Pete.

Burlington Bertie wrote:
My blockwood worktop is looking seedy and due for replacement, but
what options have I got?

The last time I did a laminate worktop it was really hard to keep
clean, though it might not have been a very high quality laminate.

I checked out Corion which looks good and performs well I'm told,
though have been quoted £3500 for the job. Granite comes out at £3000.


Wow. Must be really big then..have you checked your local 'monumental
masons'..ours is about half the price quoted in the ditz shops.


B&Q do something similar which may be cheaper but they won't sell me a
top unless I buy a full kitchen.

I need something that can make into an L shaped corner and not have a
big obvious crack down the join.


Go granite..you may well have to accept a join tho.

"Burlington Bertie" wrote in message
oups.com...
My blockwood worktop is looking seedy and due for replacement, but
what options have I got?

The last time I did a laminate worktop it was really hard to keep
clean, though it might not have been a very high quality laminate.

I checked out Corion which looks good and performs well I'm told,
though have been quoted £3500 for the job. Granite comes out at £3000.

B&Q do something similar which may be cheaper but they won't sell me a
top unless I buy a full kitchen.

I need something that can make into an L shaped corner and not have a
big obvious crack down the join.

have a look at maia worktops.Similar look and feel as corian but normal
laminate construction inside so cheaper to buy.joints if done properly will
be invisible.priced around £500 per 3m length where i have seen it

have a look at maia worktops.Similar look and feel as corian but normal
laminate construction inside so cheaper to buy.joints if done properly will
be invisible.priced around £500 per 3m length where i have seen it


Maia certainly looks more encouraging. Do you know what the outer skin
is made of?

I'm after a 1800 x 600 length and an L shaped section about 1700 x
1200.

The L shape has a 45º join in it at present. It's near the sink and
has swollen, so a better solution is needed.

Burlington Bertie ) gurgled happily,
sounding much like they were saying :

I'm after a 1800 x 600 length and an L shaped section about 1700 x
1200.

Ours is three pieces - 900 long, 900x2000 L-shape (one piece) and 1300 with
butler sink cutout, two tap holes and draining grooves. All 600 deep, but
the 900 long has a 45deg rebate to 400. £1500ish, fitted. The L is joined
to the sink piece - the joint is very subtle.

Your L-shape should be do-able in one piece.