Can we please arrive at a definitive answer to the worktop question?

[IShouldBeSoLurky]

Aaargh. Am going round and round in circles over this.

Don't want laminate.
Don't want wood of any kind.
Don't like the look of most granite.

Which I think leaves:
Glass (would be my first choice I think, but won't have budget for it)
Stainless steel (quite like the look of it but it can be a PITA to keep clean)
Corian (but worried it is a special snowflake worktop that stains and needs loads of maintenance)
Quartz (don't love the look of it, also worried about it staining)

I want something in either pale grey or white that is hardwearing, low maintenance and not £££. Is there anything I haven't thought of?

We have quartz (well, Apollo engineered stone) It's only been down for about 8 months but so far it's been absolutely fab. It's a dark colour, no problem with staining. Cleaning is easy. Only problem if that it's hard - accidently catching a plate or glass on the edge of it will chip/smash the unfortunate item.

I have a white quartz. Has not stained so far in two years. Had a couple of uh oh moments with turmeric in curries and rust but it's always scrubbed off.

Get some quotes for glass if it's what you want. Shop around, we were quoted anything from £1,400 - £3,500 for our quartz so prices definitely vary.

I looked at Corian but it did seem too much like hard work. Wouldn't want stainless steel in our kitchen. Ikea do an interesting white engineered surface but I didn't like it.

I am a landlord and the experienced Magnet kitchen designer was clear. Quartz. It would withstand a lot of tenant abuse and not need much maintenance. And true enough, two years later, its looking fine. I also have a stainless steel top in a very small kitchen, put in 20 years ago. It works there as the hob is stainless steel and the sink is mouled into it, but inevitably though it looks OK it is pretty scratched.

I have Corian, looking like marble, in my own house, possibly 30 years old as it was there when we arrived, and it too is fine, but I understand that it is really expensive.

Thanks - quartz doing okay so far then... Will have to have another look at it.

Quartz is great. What about poured concrete?

I found stainless steel incredibly easy to look after. You clean it with anything. And then you keep a cloth with a few drops of baby oil to polish it to get rid of smears. A bottle of baby oil will literally last you ten years - you only need a tiny amount

Looking for lowest-maintenance surface here, probably could afford granite by shopping around - would quartz be better for the price? Or corian or milestone? I'm about to go shopping so what questions should I ask?

Stainless steel. definitively .

I've had it twice - the highly polished is less forgiving (and more expensive) - scratches I like to think of as patina - if you have brushed ss then really normal scratching isn't a problem (although to be fair to Needmore, mine have never got to 20 years old before I have moved. V easy to clean. Flash or equivalent and then a bit of ss spray cleaner or even glass cleaner works. You can put hot pans / dishes etc on it without fear and no turmeric worries. I've had wood , granite and corian before and ss is definitely the lower maintenance option (IME).

Also looks rather lovely IMHO

Had granite, it was great no problem.
Have inherited corian at new house, eughh, it is horrid, cant wait to get rid!

We've got Silestone, it's great

I have inherited granite and it's great, no trouble at all.

What's wrong with the corian, madbengal?
I've heard lighter colours stain but we'd have. mid to dark grey/black. And thought it might be better at crockery not smashing on it than actual granite.

Huge ceramic tile so no grout but bomb proof: www.thesize.es/neolith/en/

as commented in this thread: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/property/2553642-About-to-buy-a-marble-island-worktop

2nd vote here for Silestone.

Hiahia that looks really interesting but the website is... aaargh! What is it and how much did it cost?

I'm getting a new kitchen at the moment and was quoted 2,500 for quartz (7 ish meters)
We're getting Tristone, loads of nice colours. Similar to Corian just a bit cheaper. Quote is £2000, Corian would be about £2,800.

IShouldBeSoLurky it is 'sintered' porcelain. In very very large slabs.
it did cost a fair bit, but that is because we needed 2 full slabs and a lot of fabrication (a ton of mitred edges to build up a large waterfall type island that's 30mm thick throughout).

for standard use, it apparently costs the same as silestone, ceasarstone etc.

It will cost less and less as it becomes more popular, it was only released in 2014 I reckon? maybe 2013.

similar product to Dekton and a couple others.

Thank you, will investigate.

Has the Neolith chipped? Getting it installed this week. Also does it sound hollow?

Has Neolith chipped? Does it sound hollow? Getting it this week.