Support bench for ceasar stone

The black strip of substrate has most likely been used to create, as Phoenix has, a shadow line.
This has been a (popular?) look for a few years now and is the easiest way of achieving it - if it was intended to create a shadow line then black is the obvious colour for it.
It also works better if set back from the doors, as this heightens the effect.

There are ways that the Caesarstone could have been fixed directly to the top of the carcasses, but a substrate is often preferred.
As has already been remarked, if a substrate is used and not intended to be visible, another strip of Caesarstone is used around the edges to give it that fat 40mm look.
When doors and drawers are specified we leve between 3 and 4 millimeters between the top door/drawer and the top of the carcase.
This is how we stop the boards interfereing with benchtops - whether the top is laminate, Caesarstone, timber or granite doesn't make a difference.
You can see in the first photo in this thread that this has already been done, but since there is also the substrate this was not neccesary - poor work; or more likely simply a lack of attention to detail.

There are two ways of fixing an end panel, one finishing at the top of the kicks, as has been done in the dishwasher cavity, the other where the end panel goes all the way to the floor, as per the end of the cabinets in the image.
Normally one chooses one method or the other to be used consistantly throughout a design.

One thing I find suprising about this example is how the boards of the cavity (is it for an undebench oven?) stand proud of the doors...normally an oven cavity sits flush with the rest of the carcases to allow for the oven fascia to be flush with the neighbouring doors.

The whole thing with the substrate being unfinished (raw board) on the bottom side and a second piece of board badly joined in would appear to me to be another example of poor work/cost cutting.
I don't know how long the top is, but it should have been possible to get a sheet of substrate long enough, or at least invisibly join it if two pieces were required.

I would have used a sheet of colour board that was black on the exposed side and edged it to match, rather that doing what these guys have done and simply edged a sheet of MDF with .4mm edge tape...but that would have been more expensive, and this is one of the reasons that builders do their own kitchens (or organise them themselves) rather than bring in a kitchen designer.

Cheers,

Earl

I think I'm slowly getting a better picture of what's going on (I'm a bit blonde at times). As vpande has mentioned the cupboards and stone come from different suppliers - it just seems that they haven't worked with each other. Eg, there is nothing wrong with the cupboards assuming the top would be fixed straight onto the cupboards (with the doors and drawers slightly lower than the carcass). The problem has resulted from the board under the caesar stone - meaning the doors and drawers should have been full height, and the board should have been finished better.
Looks like it's either get rid of the board and fix it directly on the cupboards, replace the board and cupboard doors and top drawer or insist they add the extra thickness of CS around the bench so that the board isn't visible. Right?

(P.S The main reason I'm trying to find out what's going on with the board is that we are building with the same company and are also having 20mm CS benchtops - so will likely come across the same issue when we get to this stage)

Ray.

Yeah, I don't want the extra height, but I also don't want what Catty's got either! I just meant to add the extra height if the board can't be gotten rid of - to hide it.
I just had a quick look at the M website pics of some houses that appear to have 20mm CS and it does look like they have that board in a couple of them (although some don't) but it's not noticable (similar colour to the benchtop from what I can see - although they don't have "underbench" camera angles damn it!).
I just find it strange that we didn't do a 'selection' for it, so I will be asking where they got the instructions/colour info from if they put a board in ours!

Ray.

Ray,
The stone supplier has called us when we are at frame stage to select the granite slab. yours will also be processed soon. as a precautionary measure its a good idea to clarify with them so that there are no misunderstandings.

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And tehre oyu have it. the best M can do didn't get one of the inside of the lkitchen. actually thinking about it this photo doesn't help at all! either way the laminate has been changed and they have ripped our sink out. plumber is due to be in on Monday/Tuesday so hopefully he will PUT IT BACK!!

Hi cuttingedgecabs,
can u clarify about 40 mm tops?. is it not the full thickness but simply added strips on the edge? what about 30 mm tops? are they full thickness 30 mm?
I visited the granite and caesarstone dealer and noticed that they simply import the blocks and then slice them.

I just looked at my granite bench - I didn't realise it had support wood underneath. The reason you can't see unless you get on your hands and knees directly beneath is the edging on the bench which hides it.
Is it possible to add edging once the bench is in place? I think there was a thread about this once but I can't remember the answer.

so in that case 30 mm is the strong one. 40mm is for the looks but otherwise would have same compressive fracture resistance as the 20 mm. I wonder if the edging adds to any reinforcement.. it would certainly make it heavier... there are people going for 150 mm too which is again by gluing up wider bits.
i have experienced crack in my present granite hence the analysis. for the next house I am still getting granite but 40 mm thick.

Just showed cabinet maker husband the pics. He was kind of shocked to start with!

He says the lack of laminate on the overhang part of the bench is standard, but where he works they laminate it, but most don't. Also, the white panels under the overhead, they do it in the same colour as the cupboards, but reckons it varies between cabinet makers. Pretty much reckons he would get shot by his boss if he left a house looking like that.

And just one other vent.......I am also having caeser stone benchtops in the bathrooms & laundry and no black strip thingy.........go figure?????