Would you have quartz clad kitchen worktop instead of solid?

[MonsteraCheeseplant]

A friend told me about it. It apparently looks and feels like solid. Complete with grooves by the sink...the bonus being it's cheaper. WWYD?

Bump

I actually looked at it, do you mean where they template and install over the top of the existing worktop? They don't do it anywhere near me so never went that option.

Yes you keep your old, laminate in my case, worktop and they fit a thin layer of quartz or granite over it and all around. I might visit a showroom that's not too far from me to see what it's like. Part of me feels like, if I want a quartz worktop, I shouldn't try to fake it...but is that being silly? If it looks and feels the same?

It depends.

How thin?

Why do you want a quartz\granite worktop? Appearance? Status? Performance?

Can you afford it? Does it need replacing? Can you justify it?

Ok, I just went to read about this because I couldn't quite see how it would work. E.g. How they could cut a really thin layer of quartz to put on top of a counter without it being susceptible to cracking, especially on the edges.

It's not technically quartz, it's engineered stone. That is, crushed stone mixed with a polymer resin. So that makes sense and they look very nice.

But if you actually want counters that have the same surface appearance (and feel?) of solid quartz, you won't have that. Although it will be similar.

So I suppose it comes back to why you want them and how much you'd care that it's engineered stone not quartz?

Personally I think it would annoy me having my counters overhanging my cupboards more at the front if I did this.

And the worktop would be really deep?

I fit these tops everyday. They add about 1cm to the height of the tops and about 1 to 1.5cm to the width so not hugely noticeable. You can have old sink and hob refitted or go for new all depending on your budget. It comes in about 15 different colours and normally takes a day to fit depending on your kitchen. Then the company I work for cover Wales and England (Yorkshire and below normally but have gone further north in the past).

Interesting comments so far.

Why do you want a quartz\granite worktop? Appearance? Status? Performance?
A bit of all of these I think. I've had wood before which while beautiful, is too soft to be durable. I like Quartz because it is a. beautiful b. hard wearing and c. feels good quality. I currently have laminate and it feels cheap.

Can you afford it? Does it need replacing? Can you justify it?
We can afford it. We are updating the kitchen so the old laminate is part of that. While I can justify spending thousands on a quartz worktop, if this option looks and feels the same, why would you spend more unnecessarily?

Thanks for the insider info Petered181. Do you think it looks and feels the same as the real thing? Would you have it in your own home?

It feels like a solid stone top with the advantage of not absorbant. And I will have it in my own kitchen when we get around to doing it. But with number 2 on the way the kitchen not a priority. However when I have it done I will replace all existing top with 18mm ply and have it as splash backs with an undermount sink aswel, as in my opinion the thinner it looks the better but that's my own opinion and I know of people who think differently to me.