Kitchen worktop recommendations please

[Damsonjam1]

I'm considering Dekton (as I like the designs) but heard it is easy to chip and can crack straight through if something heavy drops on it. It will include an island breakfast bar so will be heavy use and I want family and friends to feel relaxed, so won't want to be telling them to be super careful.

I would be interested in people's experience of Dekton and other work surfaces that they can recommend. Many thanks in advance.

We have just has quartz and I chip the edge of it by dropping a slice from a wall cupboard onto it and this after just one week!!

We just replaced very chipped quartz (it had been there about 20 years but really was looking worse for wear) with dekton. I really like it (far better than the quartz). It’s easy to clean, looks nice, feels solid. I’ve not heard the thing about dropping heavy things on it. But eq

Sorry, equally haven’t done so and can’t comment on strength.

We've got dekton and love it - though we might choose a different colour when we do the kitchen in the next house, as we went for quite a white colour/pattern and we do get concerned about stains. So far all stains have come out with a good scrubbing, but red wine and tea rings do end up needing scrubbing fairly hard with cream cleaner.

PILs went with compressed laminate which seems to be working really well for them, so I think we would also consider that next time - we are more careful with cast iron pans than when we had a laminate top before, but haven't had any chips yet. (We got samples initially and one of those got chipped fairly badly - though I think it was slimmer profile than the real thing).

That's my anxiety with Dekton that it'll be just a matter of time, whether the day after installation or sometime in the future.

That's helpful to know about Quartz chipping. I'm fairly careful but there are the odd occasions when doing something in a hurry and an item drops out of a cupboard. Hopefully your new Dekton will hold up well.

Thanks for your feedback on the Dekton. Good to know chipping not an issue so far. A compressed laminate sounds very practical and probably what I should be going for. I'll have a look at some before deciding. Just love the look of the Dekton.

I don’t understand expensive worktops that are harder to look after than cheap ones. My laminate is immaculate, but I’m changing the sink and hob.
Replacement needs a minimum thickness to accommodate the hob.
My current preferred option is a 25mm laminate.

What’s the appeal of the various stone finishes that stain and chip? I’d be terrified.

And with the very compact laminate- the solid composite ones- be careful of the edge. It’s effectively a photo on top of a plastic sheet. There was a beautiful dark one at Howdens, but the edge showed a white line which was the print, iyswim. It showed much less on the light ones.

They weren’t suitable for me because I was keeping the cabinets and there wasn’t room for the hob to sit in and still clear the drawer.

I've got Minerva which is a synthetic make up. Joints are seamless. I've had it a couple of years. Initially until I got to know it I wasn't too sure. But after living with it and learning it - it's soooo tame. If there is a tea stain or something - spray it with Domestos bleach spray and it lifts it right off. you can sand out any scratches - which I haven't done as yet.

But I'm really pleased with it - after a while of having it develops a really lovely mattish sheen to it which catches the light etc. That isn't instant on installation it takes a month or two but makes it look even better.

I think quartz really varies in quality though and some brands of it are much tougher than others. Premium quartz will have higher quartz content and should be much more hard wearing... but it comes at a cost.

There’s the whole health issue for the fitters, too. That worries me a lot.

We’ve had dekton for a few years and I regularly comment that I’m glad we stretched the budget for it. It doesn’t mark, you can put hot pans on it, chop on it… ours is immaculate still.

We considered Dekton but went for polished granite instead, precisely because it's so hard-wearing, completely heat resistant etc. It's really beautiful, we get a lot of compliments. Brand name is Sensa.

Absolutely, that is a question I've been asking. Dekton apparently hasn't any silica content so no risk of silicosis particularly for the people who cut it. Silica is in the Quartz tops I've looked at but been told it is cut in sealed factories under strict conditions so workers aren't endangered. I would hope all manufacturers are now doing this but no doubt some will put profit first.

Many thanks for all your replies. They have been helpful and given me some other options to consider and been reassuring regarding the Dekton.

We’ve just fitted a compressed laminate worktop in our bathroom, and since seeing in fitted I’m seriously considering it for the kitchen too. It’s looks great, and seems incredibly low maintenance.

We have Dekton and love it. Our installer told me we are more likely to break things that knock against it rather than chip the Dekton.