Browse Forums Kitchen Corner 1 Apr 10, 2009 11:03 am We're totally new at this renovation game and were planning on Caesarstone benches but have just found out we need to do some structural work to our house before the kitchen can be installed which will really blow our budget. We're now looking at cheaper alternatives for our benches, can anyone recommend a durable but cheaper alternative with a similar look? Laminex? Any ideas how the price of Laminex DiamondGloss differs from Caesarstone? Re: Benchtops - cheaper alternative to caesarstone, help! 2Apr 10, 2009 12:03 pm From the small amount of research I have done on benchtops recently, you can actually get some types of granite benchtops cheaper. I'm off to look at polished concrete tomorrow for my own, which I have been informed is cheaper than granite but won't be able to give you a rough idea of price until I get back. Obviously laminex is the cheapest option, not sure of the difference in cost between the different version though. Possumchops Now the proud owner of 3.7acres of Serenity. Colour selection completed! Soon to go to council. Re: Benchtops - cheaper alternative to caesarstone, help! 3Apr 10, 2009 2:07 pm Friend of mine renovated her kitchen & had bisazza installed over laminex. Wouldnt know it wasnt solid stone by looking at it. She said it was a 1/3 of the price of essastone. http://www.allsurfacesolutions.com.au/features.html Re: Benchtops - cheaper alternative to caesarstone, help! 4Apr 10, 2009 3:46 pm im no guru on surfaces but our interior designer said laminex is a lot easier to look after ive picked the pure mineralstone diamond gloss laminate for our kitchen and think it looks awesome, doesnt look exactly the same but i think its a great looking product check out mrsrusty's thread for a good look at it viewtopic.php?f=16&t=14517&hilit=pure+mineralstone Blog - http://snakedr.blogspot.com/ Build Thread - viewtopic.php?f=31&t=12084&p=307406#p307406 Status - PCI 15/10. Things nearly done. Re: Benchtops - cheaper alternative to caesarstone, help! 5Apr 10, 2009 4:35 pm Thanks for the link, love that kitchen! The benchtops looks great, we were going for that exact look with the Caesarstone with either Ice Snow or Nougat. Is the diamond gloss much pricier than normal laminates? What are you using for your cupboards? We were looking at a high gloss 2 pack but am having second thoughts due to concerns about its durability, and also that its pricier than the laminates. Re: Benchtops - cheaper alternative to caesarstone, help! 6Apr 10, 2009 11:22 pm Hi mrsrusty here thank you so much for the compliments of our kitchen. We are very pleased with our diamond gloss benches no scratches or anything, I even accidently whacked a knife on the edge as I was stacking the dishwasher . It is a bit streaky when wiped with a spounge, so after the cleaning I give it a wipe with windex and it looks lovely. Love the shine. My SIL and family were visiting for interstate, so when her DH walked in and saw the new kitchen he said "wow look great, the stone looks nice" he was surprised when I told him it was Laminex! I am not sure exactly how much it cost, it was a bit more expensive than Laminex but not earth shattering, unlike stone which would have put us out of budget. So was a good compromise and looks great. Good luck with your decision and glad to see my post about my kitchen has helped, I found other peoples posts helpful so was more than happy to post some pics. Re: Benchtops - cheaper alternative to caesarstone, help! 7Apr 11, 2009 8:02 am I think the upgrade in our particular kitchen from standard laminate was $300 or something, ceaserstone was going to set us back about $1,500 to upgrade We're having dark cupboards down the bottom and off white up top. My brother also has diamondgloss in a different finish and they love it, cant hurt it and it looks really good I REALLY wanted ceaserstone but think this is a really good alternative. Youd think I sell the stuff or something I dont, just think its good value and looks good Blog - http://snakedr.blogspot.com/ Build Thread - viewtopic.php?f=31&t=12084&p=307406#p307406 Status - PCI 15/10. Things nearly done. Re: Benchtops - cheaper alternative to caesarstone, help! 8Apr 11, 2009 8:16 am I'm having pure mineralgloss benchtops installed next Monday (20th), and will post photos when its done. Like you it all came down to dollars and cents, and we would have liked caesarstone benches, but the closest look was the mineralgloss, and after seeing mrsrustys pic's thats what i decided to go with.We are having white drawers and doors too. My benchtops are going to be 800mm thick with waterfall ends, would hate to think what that would have cost in stone! Your kitchen sounds lovely, can't wait to see the photos,this forum is great for reseaching, everyone is so helpful and are more than happy to share their colours, photos and knowledge with you....goodluck with your decision. .M. OMG...why did we start this project....!! Re: Benchtops - cheaper alternative to caesarstone, help! 9Apr 11, 2009 11:54 am What a good thread! I was just thinking the other day, what will i do if i can't afford Caesar stone? I will be sure to check out the Laminex Diamond Gloss now. It looks good in the pictures! Re: Benchtops - cheaper alternative to caesarstone, help! 10Apr 11, 2009 12:15 pm Glad to hear the positive comments about Diamond gloss, we really wanted Caesar stone but the cost was far to prohibitive it was going to be $7000 extra ! whereas the diamond gloss was only about $300 more than "normal" laminex, the only thing is the builder has told us that they will NOT guarantee it won't be scratched during/after installation so it's "stiff" if it does, they suggested we cover it after it's installed until we are about to move in. Re: Benchtops - cheaper alternative to caesarstone, help! 11Apr 11, 2009 1:24 pm vid Glad to hear the positive comments about Diamond gloss, we really wanted Caesar stone but the cost was far to prohibitive it was going to be $7000 extra ! whereas the diamond gloss was only about $300 more than "normal" laminex, the only thing is the builder has told us that they will NOT guarantee it won't be scratched during/after installation so it's "stiff" if it does, they suggested we cover it after it's installed until we are about to move in. it doesnt scratch easily, they should be making sure everything is given to you in new condition... Blog - http://snakedr.blogspot.com/ Build Thread - viewtopic.php?f=31&t=12084&p=307406#p307406 Status - PCI 15/10. Things nearly done. Re: Benchtops - cheaper alternative to caesarstone, help! 12Apr 11, 2009 9:19 pm vid Glad to hear the positive comments about Diamond gloss, we really wanted Caesar stone but the cost was far to prohibitive it was going to be $7000 extra ! whereas the diamond gloss was only about $300 more than "normal" laminex, the only thing is the builder has told us that they will NOT guarantee it won't be scratched during/after installation so it's "stiff" if it does, they suggested we cover it after it's installed until we are about to move in. Thats a bit rough... If they damage it during install thats thier issue.. Make em replace it! -------------------------------------------------------- Building in Highlands Craigieburn Status: Building the Laundryless 25.5: Slab Complete Re: Benchtops - cheaper alternative to caesarstone, help! 13Apr 12, 2009 12:08 pm CarlousMoochous vid Glad to hear the positive comments about Diamond gloss, we really wanted Caesar stone but the cost was far to prohibitive it was going to be $7000 extra ! whereas the diamond gloss was only about $300 more than "normal" laminex, the only thing is the builder has told us that they will NOT guarantee it won't be scratched during/after installation so it's "stiff" if it does, they suggested we cover it after it's installed until we are about to move in. Thats a bit rough... If they damage it during install thats thier issue.. Make em replace it! I'm sure that if we see it as soon as it has been installed and it is scratched they will replace, at least I WILL insist that they replace it, but it is after when everything else is being put in by other tradesmen they won't this is why we must keep our eyes on it and make sure we cover it to avoid this, because we live right next door we will be checking EVERY day (if not several times a day!) Re: Benchtops - cheaper alternative to caesarstone, help! 14Apr 12, 2009 3:26 pm i still think thats crap, so once the painters have been in, if the tilers put a tile through the wall, are you expected to cover the repainting too? it doesnt matter, id just take offense to that kind of attitude unless your building the house and organising the tradies etc Blog - http://snakedr.blogspot.com/ Build Thread - viewtopic.php?f=31&t=12084&p=307406#p307406 Status - PCI 15/10. Things nearly done. Re: Benchtops - cheaper alternative to caesarstone, help! 15Apr 12, 2009 8:16 pm billdsl i still think thats crap, so once the painters have been in, if the tilers put a tile through the wall, are you expected to cover the repainting too? it doesnt matter, id just take offense to that kind of attitude unless your building the house and organising the tradies etc No we are building with Fairmont and they use Supreme Kitchens and it was them that told us they won't cover scratching to the Diamond Gloss and suggested we cover it as soon as it is installed,as mentioned previously we are living next door so I will be photographing EVERY step but particularly the benchtops! Re: Benchtops - cheaper alternative to caesarstone, help! 16Apr 13, 2009 7:20 pm Quote: Glad to hear the positive comments about Diamond gloss, we really wanted Caesar stone but the cost was far to prohibitive it was going to be $7000 extra ! whereas the diamond gloss was only about $300 more than "normal" laminex, the only thing is the builder has told us that they will NOT guarantee it won't be scratched during/after installation so it's "stiff" if it does, they suggested we cover it after it's installed until we are about to move in. Hi, when my kitchen arrived in pieces, the benchtop had a protective plastic coating on it (kind of like contact) could they possible leave that on till after all the work is done? Hope thing work out, but as I've said we've had ours for a month and no scratches. Re: Benchtops - cheaper alternative to caesarstone, help! 17Apr 13, 2009 7:29 pm burstybear We're totally new at this renovation game and were planning on Caesarstone benches but have just found out we need to do some structural work to our house before the kitchen can be installed which will really blow our budget. We're now looking at cheaper alternatives for our benches, can anyone recommend a durable but cheaper alternative with a similar look? Laminex? Any ideas how the price of Laminex DiamondGloss differs from Caesarstone? Hi Burstybear, There is a company called 'Granite Transformations' http://www.granitetransformations.com.au/ and they place a 3-5mm layer of caeserstone over a standard surface for a fraction of the cost of the normal 20mm caeserstone and it looks FANBLOODYTASTIC. Their website shows a Brisbane branch, so give them a yell. Hope this helps, John John, Tarin and the Kids Built and moving in to the Regent Grande with Masterton homes http://thebrownsaremovingtothecountry.blogspot.com Re: Benchtops - cheaper alternative to caesarstone, help! 18Apr 13, 2009 11:49 pm http://www.graysonline.com.au/catalogue ... TYPE=THUMB 2200MM X 900MM BREAKFAST BAR , INDIAN BLACK GALAXY GRANITE BENCH TOPS CLEARANCE , SIZE :``` LENGTH 2200MM ``` WIDTH : 900MM ``` 20MM THICK , GALAXY COPPER FLAKES ARE MEDIUM SIZE , BEVELLED EDGES ON 4 SIDES , SO YOU CAN CUT ANY SIDE YOU WANT TO SUIT YOUR DESIGN , PERFECT FOR KITCHEN , SPLASH BACK , VANITIES , BAR , LAUNDRY E.T.C..... , POLISHED LIKE A MIRROR , NOTE : AN AVERAGE KITCHEN WITH GRANITE BENCH TOPS COST AROUND $5,000 TO $6,000 Re: Benchtops - cheaper alternative to caesarstone, help! 19Apr 14, 2009 12:55 pm Thanks John for that link, that looks like a really good alternative. Problem is we are entirely remodelling our kitchen so will need totally new benches. From looking at the website they install over your old benchtops? Re: Benchtops - cheaper alternative to caesarstone, help! 20Apr 14, 2009 3:07 pm Possumchops From the small amount of research I have done on benchtops recently, you can actually get some types of granite benchtops cheaper. I'm off to look at polished concrete tomorrow for my own, which I have been informed is cheaper than granite but won't be able to give you a rough idea of price until I get back. Obviously laminex is the cheapest option, not sure of the difference in cost between the different version though. We are having polished concrete benchtops. It is costing us approx $1900 for the upgrade. This includes upgrading the cabinets to accept the extra weight. Not sure of the actual square metres but we are having a U shaped kitchen so the amount of benchtop is substantial. I'm hoping it will look a bit like this. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Might cheaper to changer your idea of what makes a home, have you considered building a porch? 2 51805 Hi there, long-time lurker but first time posting. I've bought a house 2 and a bit years ago and last year we had some major water damage on a converted pergola area… 0 7932 Yes, unless you are in a low intensity rainfall area or the area is protected from rain. Do you have access to NCC Part 2 or can you download it? I can email you a copy… 10 12516 |