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How to choose a kitchen worktop: manmade or natural stone?

stoneCIRCLE
6 år sedan

How to choose a kitchen worktop: manmade or natural stone?

You’ve heard people talking about granite and quartz for use as kitchen worktops, but what are the differences and how do you pick what to use in your kitchen?

Granite

Granite is a natural stone with good strength and low porosity which makes it perfect for kitchen worktops. There are hundreds of different sorts of granite in different colours. The markings also vary from small to large and depend on the mineral and rock content of the area where the granite formed. Granite is fairly easy to care for, as long as spills are wiped up promptly and should last for years.

Zimbabwe Black granite

Fairwinds Development · Mer info


Marble

Marble is a softer stone and can be used for kitchen counters but is much more likely to stain. If you are prepared to seal it regularly, wipe any spills as soon as they occur and like the idea of it developing character with age, then it is definitely for you. If the idea of a worktop that will develop an antique patina as it ages is not to your liking then avoid marble.

Arabescato marble

Kitchens · Mer info

Quartzite

Quartzite allows you to get the look of marble with the strength of granite, but it comes at a cost as it is much rarer and hence much more expensive.

All natural stones will have variations in tone and markings depending on where they’ve come from in the rock seam. These are part of the beauty of the stone, but if you want something more uniform, then you should consider quartz or sintered stone instead.

Bianco Lasa quartzite

Covent Garden Project · Mer info

Quartz

Composite stones such as Silestone and Caesarstone are made by mixing particles of quartz or marble with resin and colouring. They started out as an alternative to granite for kitchen worktops for those who did not want as much variation. They demand about the same level of care as granite. The designs have evolved to include some which look similar to a uniform marble.

Compac quartz Carrara & Zimbabwe Black granite

Fairwinds Development · Mer info

Caestarstone Oyster quartz

Monks Lantern Weybridge · Mer info

Sintered Stone

Sintered stone is made by fusing mineral ingredients which are found in stone and porcelain using very high heat and pressure. The resulting slab is very hard wearing, scratch and heat resistant. Again the finish is very uniform and it does not resemble a true natural stone. The main brands are Dekton, Neolith and Lapitec.


Sintered stone

If you have any questions or need advice on your kitchen or bathroom project, please don't hesitate to contact us!


Best wishes,

StoneCIRCLE

Utvalt svar
  • Jessica Magri
    6 år sedan

    Beautiful work!

    Kommentarer (16)

    • Anna
      6 år sedan

      I love the Bianco Lasa quartzite!

      stoneCIRCLE thanked Anna
    • Rose Williams
      6 år sedan

      Natural stone all the way for me

    • Jonathan
      6 år sedan
      I have marble and wish I had chosen Quartz
    • Daisy England
      6 år sedan
      I hate granite. It'll be on my headstone so I don't want to see it in my kitchen.
    • Rose Williams
      6 år sedan

      I wish I could say I love granite or not, sat waiting for installation on the 3rd "pencilled in" date, a month after they should have been IN, over a year without a complete kitchen. I'm not talking about the stone circle co here, I would hope they keep customers better informed and are better organised :)
      I went off the idea of Quartz after neighbours in florida had to remove/replace thiers with granite as they didnt hold up well... so went for granite... perhaps I should have just put in wooden ones from B&Q lol

    • PRO
      stoneCIRCLE
      Författare
      6 år sedan

      Oh dear, I hope they turn up soon, and look as nice as they should do. It should only take a couple of weeks at most from templating to installation for standard granite worktops and we normally work to a lead time of 5 working days.

    • Rosalyn Chadburn
      6 år sedan

      I would choose Quartz and my favourite kitchen look was the Compac quartz Carrara & Zimbabwe Black granite mix!

    • Maddy Ciccone
      6 år sedan

      Bianco Lasa quartzite is stunning!

      stoneCIRCLE thanked Maddy Ciccone
    • Rose Williams
      6 år sedan

      Blues in the night granite, SO gorgeous, installed yesterday, already wanting to raise /adjust a surface to fit in a tumble dryer and still keep my sink, aren't customers a pain haha. I wish it was cheaper, I want it EVERYWHERE now!

    • PRO
      The Granite House
      5 år sedan

      What lovely pictures, i have to say i love the black granite against the wood in the first picture

    • Gillian Spark
      5 år sedan
      Ta care to check out your water supply. We live in a hard water area which damaged the black granit work surface around the sink in my friends new kitchen. Gilly
    • N G
      8 månader sedan

      We’ve decided to go with sintered stone for our kitchen as it seems to be more durable and easier to maintain than granite, marble or engineered quartz and I want to be able to roll pastry on the counter. However, I also want to put grooves in the countertop next to the undermounted sink, to easily drain water but my kitchen designer tells me that might be a problem as the pattern is only on the surface. Any advice?

    • Daisy England
      8 månader sedan

      Depends on the core colour. If it’s the equivalent of quartz then the pattern is all through. Drainer grooves on solid worktops are not as effective as a draining board on a traditional sink. Most people don’t have them.

    • Jonathan
      8 månader sedan

      @NG sintered stone is like a porcelain and so the edge and the sink cut out will be plain and polished. In the same way any drainer grooves will be plain plus most sintered stone is so thin that the drainer grooves probably aren’t very deep or very effective.

      Speak to your kitchen designer to find the best option:
      Over mounted sink with drainer
      Flush fit sink with drainer
      Under mounted sink with drainer.
      Multi level sink with accessories that act as a drainer.
      Sink and drainer manufactured in the worktop material

    • N G
      8 månader sedan

      Thank you

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