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Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

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Original poster

kitchen work top survey!!!

60 replies

mads1 · 11/05/2007 15:05

Hi, please can you help me decide which worktop I should go for in my new kitchen.
DH & I are in the process of renovating a house and therefore are starting the kitchen from scratch. We have always thought we would use corian but have just been told recently that this can scrath very easily. Is this true? What about stainless steel, wood, granite.....?

Can I please ask.... what work surfaces you have and how easy they are to maintain. Also which ones do you think last better.

OP posts:

jo25 · 11/05/2007 15:15

hi,
corian does scracth very easily, having taken a bread knife to a sample i had just to check and it did. Having said that also gave a piece to my ds 4 to see what would happen and he has not managed to ruin it yet We currently have beech in kitchen and it is shockingly bad, the existing kitchen has only been in 4 years and we are cureently renovating and installing new kitchen because of how bad it is. We have found Silestone one of the best so far!!! it is however quite modern but we are putting it in a traditional "battered" french kitchen and it works. good luck.

Katymac · 11/05/2007 15:18

Laminate from MFI damages very easily

B&Q was better

Granite is not very eco (might not be relevent?)

Wood is high maintenance

Tiles are a nightmare as the grout harbours dirty/food

Stainless steel OK ish but very industrial looking

snowleopard · 11/05/2007 15:26

We have a fairly new IKEA wood worktop (beech). I love it because it looks and feels so nice. There's no edge that can peel off or skin that c an get chipped away. It does scratch easily of course but the good thing is if it gets a scratch or mark you can just sand it away, re-oil it and it's fine. You have to oil it quite a few times to begin with and then it repels liquids and stains as long as you wipe them up.

A friend has the same kitchen and worktop as us 5 years on and it looks great, not knackered at all (and they have 2 kids). However, my sister has a wood worktop that she hasn't looked after, has left standing water on it etc. and it's horrible - gone all kind of marked and rotten. You do have to look after it and wipe around the sink so that the worktop isn't left sopping wet.

liath · 11/05/2007 15:30

We had a composite in our last place that is essentially like granite but can be moulded - it's called Zodiac by Dupont. Looked gorgeous and only drawback was it was as expensive as granite and I kept accidentally smashing wine glasses on it .

QueenofBleach · 11/05/2007 15:30

we have a beech work top that DH fitted and oiled to seal, lovely easy to clean hard wearing put hot pans on and nothing stains it.

LizP · 11/05/2007 16:30

We have glass, which I think looks fab but scratches, chips, is not heat resistant and looks smeary if you don't clean it properly. Despite that I love it and would have it again.

fairyjay · 11/05/2007 16:34

We have Corian and are very pleased with it. Whilst it can get damaged, it can also be repaired if necessary.

SueW · 11/05/2007 16:35

We have corian. It's prob supposed to look better than it does (I have paper to sand it with) but I would never cut onto it (and am not happy if I see anyone else doing so). Nevertheless there are small marks in one particular area which looks like someone has been slicing something.

We've had ours seven years now and I'd say I am very satisfied.

My only complaint is that I have white corian in a south facing kitchen and can't find a blind/window treatment I like so sometimes do prep with sunglasses on!

Pannacotta · 11/05/2007 16:37

We have solid wood bought from B&Q and it is nice to look at, fairly easy to maintain and am pretty pleased with it. We were on a strict budget. That said in my dream kitchen I would consider having quartz stone, which I think is composite stone. A friend has this and it is pale, sparkly and glam! (though I think it comes in a variety of colours)

Bink · 11/05/2007 16:39

Re granite - there was a thread not so long ago with lots of views pro and con - you could search.

I was on that saying that our super-high-polished granite (black but sparkly) is great - doesn't scratch, doesn't chip, doesn't water-mark, copes with any kind of temperature of thing being put straight down on it, lovely for pastry-making w/out any need for a board - but you have to develop a habit of putting things down on it very gently

KTeePee · 11/05/2007 16:42

We have oak and stailless steel - love the stainless steel and would have had it all over if we'd had enough money left - but it does look nice with the dark oak (which is from Ikea and was fairly cheap)

nickytwotimes · 11/05/2007 16:43

i was excited (yes i am sad) by the title of this, but realise that, being a laminate owner, i have no place here.

NoodleStroodle · 11/05/2007 16:45

Not what I got sold by my designer kitchen company - water marked and effectively ruined. Will never recover after only 6 months. Some sort of stone composite.

mamatres · 11/05/2007 17:05

i have solid wood. its brilliant as apparently it is very hygienic and lso if it gets stained or scratched you can sand it down. but i'm not that precious about things like that. and it looks lovely.

KTeePee · 11/05/2007 17:08

nickytwotimes, I actually saw a wood-effect laminate after I'd ordered my real wood worktop and would have had the laminate if I'd seen it first...

booge · 11/05/2007 17:09

I love wood too.

pooka · 11/05/2007 17:11

We're getting a new kitchen with a polished oak worksurface. Am no stranger to wooden surfaces - very keen on them because they soften the appearance of a kithcen in my opinion. A very warm quality to them.

Genidef · 12/05/2007 14:04

We have granite which is very dark green (looks black). It was mid-priced. We are probably the only people in the country who have managed to get a chip in their granite. Go for the lower priced black granite (I think there's one called Zimbabwe) or one of the other ones in a similar price bracket - such as the light grey. The more expensive stuff is not worth the money for everyday use, it's more porous and harder to clean and - chips!!!! It was such a waste.

noddyholder · 12/05/2007 14:07

I have had them all over the years and wood looks lovely imo never dates and is easy to look after if you oil it well at the beginning.Stops the clinical look of many kitchens

midnightexpress · 12/05/2007 14:10

Love my wooden work surface, but a bit of a nightmare near the sink where it's going a bit manky. Unfortunately ds1 is v keen on 'washing up' at the moment so I seem to be forever mopping it up to try and keep it dry.

newgirl · 13/05/2007 18:46

i think i would go for granite next time for its wow factor

but we have b and q laminate in a dark grey speckle and it is still perfect. It was 35 a metre and is still great 4 years later. We use chopping boards rather than work on it. The edges are curved so nothing to peel off.

lorca · 13/06/2007 19:29

Is this thread still going? I have the same prob - we are getting a new kitchen but I carefully chose cream and black units to go with the black chunky worktops I wanted, but have been told that the corian I wanted is not recommended for worktops cos it shows the scratches! Anyone got Black corian/Himacs?

NKF · 13/06/2007 19:30

I'm going for granite. I think it looks sensational and sounds the most hardwearin gand easy care.

lorca · 13/06/2007 19:39

can't have granite, I want chunky chunky - 60-70mm thick and my units won't take granite that thick!

NKF · 13/06/2007 21:13

How strong do the units have to be to take granite?

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