Well I see we have covered ceasarstone, and SS, why not concrete counter tops,
off form, honed and ground n polished hard as rock and I do put hot pots
and the odd splash of boiling water.
Concrete a fluid product
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| Author: | royalblue [ Apr 16, 2007 4:17 am ] |
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It is very refreshing to see people asking these kind of questions BEFORE parting with their hard earned cash! Forums like this are great value! My 10c worth.... If you love granite, go for it, but buy carefully. Sure you can buy cheaper from certain outlets, but scrutinise the products quality and the suppliers' reputation first. Do your homework! If you buy granite, have it sealed with a quality sealer, as it IS POROUS and can stain. Aquamix make the finest stonecare products available, so go to www.aquamix.com.au and find your local trained applicator. (If in Perth I can help you, so email me). Good advice from Michelle there..... don't be flippant about hot pots on ANY surface. It is worth comparing granite surfaces with some of the quality agglomerate surfaces that are available these days. I chose DuPont Corian for my benchtops at home. They are beautiful and functional. They are not porous, so won't stain and can be buffed and polished. We did have one section develop a crack on ours after a few years, and they sent a technician to repair it. It was repaired perfectly and invisibly under warranty. As Michelle said, look at Corian, Caesarstone or other similar products and compare all these with granite. One thing to be careful of... granite should not be made with a large overhang, as with much weight on it, the worst can happen. But a good supplier should be able to specify and advise for your project. Another thing, be wary of 'fake' black granite. (There are some other stone products sold as black granite that is NOT black granite, and is acid sensitive. Oh, and timber is a dumb choice for benchtops, as are tiles. Hope that helps! Ash. |
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| Author: | KS09 [ May 06, 2007 4:34 pm ] |
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Granite is great! I am also a huge fan of Ceasarstone reconstituted stone (man made stone.) They have a great colour range and its definately a more hard wearing alternative to the standard laminate. There are a few suppliers with similar Ceasarstone products - Smartstone have a great black reconstituted stone with a white vein - only otherwise seen in marble - its worth a look. Stone Italiana have a nice white reconstituted stone with pieces of shell in it. Perfect for a seaside property or bathroom. Stainless steel is nice too. There are a few types available, with the more scratch resistant types being more expensive. They suit warehouse apartments, conversions, minimal and industrial themes. I have one in my kitchen, its 7 years old and still looks great! The reconstituted stones are made up from resin and crushed stones - the resin is the additive that causes the benchtops to melt when hot pans are placed directly on to them. But it is also the product that makes them more flexible and less likely to crack with movement - in time. White reconstituted stone can yellow if chosen for a benchtop that gets a great deal of direct sun light. Granite and natural stones are beautiful - they are derived from nature after all. Can nature go out of fashion? Its timeless. |
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| Author: | Ed Perry [ May 10, 2007 12:06 am ] |
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Hmmm... I see Caesarstone and I see the MDF of granite... bland, no character. Made the same way - ground up natural material held together with resin or plastic. Give me granite! |
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| Author: | satskape [ May 23, 2007 4:38 pm ] |
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What about the thickness of ceaserstone? Is it ok to have 20mm in edges as well or adding 40mm edging is a must? |
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| Author: | onc_artisan [ Mar 18, 2009 9:32 pm ] |
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Well I see we have covered ceasarstone, and SS, why not concrete counter tops, off form, honed and ground n polished hard as rock and I do put hot pots and the odd splash of boiling water. Concrete a fluid product
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| Author: | Smiles [ Apr 04, 2009 2:24 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Granite benchtops |
Hi everyone.. Does Ceasarstone come in different colours?And is it better to have 40mm rather than 20mm? |
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| Author: | kyton [ Apr 08, 2009 8:15 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Granite benchtops |
 SmilesHi everyone.. Does Ceasarstone come in different colours?And is it better to have 40mm rather than 20mm? http://www.caesarstone.com.au/ 40mm is just two slabs of 20mm glued together. |
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| Author: | 9finances [ May 02, 2009 11:06 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Granite benchtops |
I really love granites especially in kitchen areas, unfortunately those are expensive. |
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| Author: | ECOECO [ May 03, 2009 8:41 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Granite benchtops |
 kyton SmilesHi everyone.. Does Ceasarstone come in different colours?And is it better to have 40mm rather than 20mm? http://www.caesarstone.com.au/ 40mm is just two slabs of 20mm glued together. Only about 50mm along the edge... Ed |
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| Author: | ECOECO [ May 03, 2009 8:42 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Granite benchtops |
| 9finances I really love granites especially in kitchen areas, unfortunately those are expensive. There are plenty of granite types which are CHEAPER than Caesarstone... Ed |
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| Author: | cyberman [ May 03, 2009 10:33 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Granite benchtops |
 Belladon't want tospend a fortune if they will be ugly in 20 years time  You can be sure that ceasarstone will look very dated in 20 years, whereas a natural product like granite will still look "classy" in 20 years. |
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| Author: | D&SG [ May 06, 2009 5:06 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Granite benchtops |
| ed @ EcoClassic There are plenty of granite types which are CHEAPER than Caesarstone... Ed My kitchen will be 6m x 3.5m... I'd be interested in knowing some of those cheaper types lol |
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| Author: | ECOECO [ May 06, 2009 6:58 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Granite benchtops |
 D&SG ed @ EcoClassicThere are plenty of granite types which are CHEAPER than Caesarstone... Ed My kitchen will be 6m x 3.5m... I'd be interested in knowing some of those cheaper types lol Can't help you in NSW - but here's the place to go in Vic http://www.bosoarstone.com/ |
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| Author: | 9finances [ May 06, 2009 7:05 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Granite benchtops |
fake black granite Can you please give some idea how to identify a fake black granite? My thinking before granite is good for kitchen tops. I thought it will not crack. |
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| Author: | camelia [ Aug 11, 2009 8:16 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Granite benchtops |
I'm looking at getting the starlight white Quartz stone benchtop. Does anyone know if the Quartz stone is as good a quality as the caesarstone? 
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| Author: | gettingThere [ Aug 11, 2009 8:33 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Granite benchtops |
We are getting granite benchtops. Havent had a chance to research them too much but they seem to be the best value for money 
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| Author: | Hobbit123 [ Mar 02, 2011 9:28 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Granite benchtops |
We recently installed granite benchtops and are very happy with the result. We inherited a Tassie Oak kitchen which neither of us would have chosen. But when we replaced the worn green laminate benchtop with black granite, and the existing brown cooktop with a SMEG induction cooktop (which blends in beautifully) and the brass door furniture with stainless steel, it made a huge difference. In particular the gloss of the benchtop lifts the whole kitchen. And it wasn't expensive (~$2500 from China) here in Brisbane. Observations: I put hot pots on it all the time - no effect. It's more difficult to keep clean than laminate (or a lighter coloured stone) but the secret is a microfibre cloth. I spray with Selleys Sugar Soap (but I think any grease disolving product would do), wipe down with a sponge, then wipe down with the microfibre cloth. Perfect every time! On a completely different subject, anyone got a view on Thermomix? I've just discovered them and they look brilliant!! |
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| Author: | homehelper [ Apr 05, 2011 3:06 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Granite benchtops |
Granite benchtops are definitely the best way to go, they are the most practical and will always be in fashion. We have granite and its perfect for everything! |
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| Author: | James65 [ Jul 31, 2011 9:59 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: |
| royalblue One thing to be careful of... granite should not be made with a large overhang, as with much weight on it, the worst can happen. But a good supplier should be able to specify and advise for your project. Ash. We have a 55cm "overhang" in 30mm granite, to do it they had to hide a piece of 2 pac MDF to support it underneath so the unsupported overhang ended up being 10cm...it seems like a fairly simple solution but the kitchen designers took a while to think of it... |
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| Author: | nicenurse [ Oct 26, 2011 8:46 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Granite benchtops |
Re: granite island bench with 55cm overhang, would having waterfall ends support the overhang and make it more safe and stable? Thanks. |
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