Cheapie kitchen worktop

[paintedfences]

Hi all, have been reading the threads about Wickes vs Benchmarkz kitchens with great interest - we're gutting our first flat and basically have no money to do it with, so are scraping cash together for a kitchen. OH has a consultancy booked with Wickes and will check out Benchmarkz afterwards to see if he can get it cheaper than the Wickes sale.

However, we would really rather not have a laminate countertop/worktop. I've noticed it's recommended to buy this separately online, but this is a bit dependent on knowing what you want, and we're not sure, except we definitely don't want wood or laminate. Like coloured glass style we've seen in a few places, stone effect and solid surface type stuff, the granite/quartz overlay stuff, but it all seems so pricy!

What material would you all recommend for cheap, durable, interesting worktops, and what sites would you look at? It's all a bit overwhelming at the min!

Wickes have a variety of real, fake and reconsituted stone worktops, as well as several qualities of laminate.

They are difficult to cut and fix, so try to get them included in the kitchen fitting.

Thanks pigletjohn. I thought maybe we could get a cheaper price on a countertop online as opposed to Wickes, but maybe not!

You will find it very hard getting what you want with no £'s to spend.
Glass is one of the most expensive worktops.
The overlay stuff, you still need a laminate for it to be overlayed on and will cost as much as getting the real stuff from the start.
None of what you are wanting will equal the cheap, durable you want.

you could, but you would not want to lift or carry a stone worktop on your own, and it is very difficult to cut perfectly.

Laminated chipboard is easier.

Ah, I was thinking they'd cut to fit and then deliver.

Fair enough, laminate it looks like it will have to be then. Thanks guys. We do have some cash to spend, but not much.

We got some slate from a Reclaimation yard. It's not actually reclaimed and was cut into worktop sized pieces. We got a stonemason to chop it into the right size for our kitchen

It look AMAZING. I love it and it worked out much the same as wood costwise

Princess - I think want slate too! I've found some locally that may be within our reach. Any chance of a picture?

How much work surface do you need? We have a compromise - laminate on the L shaped working part of the kitchen and quartz on the island. We bought the quartz online and it was a good price, and the laminate is from Duropal. Have a look at their website. 100 times better than you think laminate is going to look.

Yes ours is Duropal and the one we have is smooth like silestone. Not like the plasticky laminate you are thinking of. It's lovely.

Ikea do a really good wood look work top which is actually a laminate but it took me ages to work out that it wasn't real wood. It's £80 a length. I was looking at it today and think it's really good value.

Here's a link www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/80273794/