Andy G
Hospitality Officer
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2010
- Messages
- 1,899
- Location
- Australia
- Vessel Name
- Sarawana
- Vessel Make
- IG 36 Quad Cabin
A couple of points I have come across when dealing with different materials for Kitchen bench tops for clients.
1/ As said Granite is very heavy and the choice of finishes is not as great as some other options. Also Granite being a natural stone and quite porous & can have internal stress points, which if you are very unlucky, can fracture if you drop a heavy item onto the weak spot.Also Granite feels very cold to touch and is unforgiving if you drop anything onto it.On the positive side the premium granite tops have a depth to them that can not be matched elsewhere,but you are talking 'big bickies'.If you damage Granite it is not easy to repair.
2/ 'Manufactured stone' such as Quartzstone, Caesar Stone etc, is very versatile, slightly cheaper than Granite, is non porous and can be repaired if damaged. The colour range is very good and the product is non porous. This product has been around for approx 20 years and seems to stand up to wear & tear well.You can get it in differing profiles ie 6mm, 9mm, if you like the chunky look you can glue a 12mm edge profile to give the impression of a large solid bench top.
3/ Corian is not a stone product and hence has a softer feel than the above and it is kinder to glasses and plates that may be dropped onto it.Also it is lighter, but quite expensive. The great thing about Corian is that you can fix major damage quite easily(well if you know what you are doing)The only downside I have noticed is that on older tops they tend to look a bit dull, but having said that the Corian people say you can polish them up, however to my eye they still don't look 100%
4/ Under benchtop sinks look great but be aware of the area where they are screwed/glued to the bench top, they collect dirt and grime and soon turn black if you are not diligent, waterproof silicon has to be scraped out and replaced on a regular interval.
Sorry if I have repeated what others have already posted.For the record here is our set up in our IG 36. We have kept the kitchen quite minimal as our climate in Sydney is mild and almost all of our cooking in summer & winter is done on our BBQ on the aft deck
1/ As said Granite is very heavy and the choice of finishes is not as great as some other options. Also Granite being a natural stone and quite porous & can have internal stress points, which if you are very unlucky, can fracture if you drop a heavy item onto the weak spot.Also Granite feels very cold to touch and is unforgiving if you drop anything onto it.On the positive side the premium granite tops have a depth to them that can not be matched elsewhere,but you are talking 'big bickies'.If you damage Granite it is not easy to repair.
2/ 'Manufactured stone' such as Quartzstone, Caesar Stone etc, is very versatile, slightly cheaper than Granite, is non porous and can be repaired if damaged. The colour range is very good and the product is non porous. This product has been around for approx 20 years and seems to stand up to wear & tear well.You can get it in differing profiles ie 6mm, 9mm, if you like the chunky look you can glue a 12mm edge profile to give the impression of a large solid bench top.
3/ Corian is not a stone product and hence has a softer feel than the above and it is kinder to glasses and plates that may be dropped onto it.Also it is lighter, but quite expensive. The great thing about Corian is that you can fix major damage quite easily(well if you know what you are doing)The only downside I have noticed is that on older tops they tend to look a bit dull, but having said that the Corian people say you can polish them up, however to my eye they still don't look 100%
4/ Under benchtop sinks look great but be aware of the area where they are screwed/glued to the bench top, they collect dirt and grime and soon turn black if you are not diligent, waterproof silicon has to be scraped out and replaced on a regular interval.
Sorry if I have repeated what others have already posted.For the record here is our set up in our IG 36. We have kept the kitchen quite minimal as our climate in Sydney is mild and almost all of our cooking in summer & winter is done on our BBQ on the aft deck