Benchtop Caesarstone versus Granite

So you'd be happy someone developed cancer just so you could be right? Nice attitude.

I think this topic went a little off track...

From a maintenance and endurance point of view... I still can't decide!!! From what I've read they're both comparable in these areas.

Will CS be the next CSR vs Wittenoom?

I put laminex in my reno so I've not had to make this decision for myself, but I believe those Caeserstone/Essastone options are susceptible to burns from hot pots etc, are they not? Or is that only the Corion-style products?

My personal preference would be granite but I can understand the appeal of the simple, minimalistic look of the even pattern of CS, so.... each to their own.

I was under the impression any benchtop would mark if a hot pot was put on it? Just to different degrees.

Granite dosen't.

Reconstituted stone and Granite/other natural stone can't really be fairly compared next to each other as they are very different products that each have individual characteristics which make them eminently suitable and attractive for specific applications.

You're not going to suffer any effects from exposure to reconstituted stone unless you cut, grind and breathe in a lot of the dust...do this with granite and you will be looking at some serious health conditions as well.

Neither reconstituted stone or granite should have hot objects placed directly on them - it takes a fair bit of heat before Caesarstone begins to deform, but it and granite can be affected by thermal shock from hot objects which can make it crack and break...if this happens it is easier to repair damage in Caesarstone than in granite but you don't really want it happening on either benchtop.

Cheers,

Earl

Thanks for clearing that up Strumer.

Well I've never read so much rubbish in my life. NEWSFLASH Strumer - YOU CAN PLACE HOT PANS DIRECTLY ON NATURAL STONE! Ever been to a restaraunt where you cook yoour own food on a stone grille?

I won't comment on reconstituted stone, well it should actually be called Resin because it isn't stone at all.

I have actually put hot pans on laminex before with no effect (but usually I pop them on a wooden chopping board instead). Maybe before I replace my current benchtop I will experiment & try to burn it.

Ahh it's always a pleasure to deal with well informed people.
I always try to refrain from personal attacks against anybody's specific opinion as we all have our own convictions, instead I try to give advice based on my personal experiences of years in the industry and as a professional Industrial Designer.

Let's just Google "Thermal Shock In Granite" - there are a plethora of opinions, not just mine that all warn against raising the temperature of stone QUICKLY, i.e. placing a very hot object on a cold slab of stone...which is pretty much the definition of Thermal SHOCK - rapid temperature change.

If we want to talk about "rubbish" , let's look at the example of restaurants using hot rocks or stone slabs...here's a "news flash", the stones used in those applications are preheated at moderate speed before having any flames put under them, not taken from an ambient environment of (say) 22 Celsius and raised to 90 to 100 in a few seconds.
The same applies to a kiln, stone oven or even the pizza stones used in conventional ovens - they all get heated gradually from ambient.
Any relatively inelastic material or composite will suffer high structural stress if subjected to rapid temperature changes.

Further to reconstituted stone being more correctly labeled as resin, I'm not quite sure what information this opinion is being based on given that Caesarstone, for example, normally consists of 90% or greater of quartz, 10% or less of resin, which implies to me that the product is mostly made of stone.
Of course I am always happy to be corrected if I have my facts wrong.

Cheers,

Earl

I guess being from the industry your views will always be financially based.

Earl, in you opinion... in an extremely busy kitchen (I cook 3-5+ times a day as I have 3 small children), would you recommend granite or man made stone (and which brands are you in preference of).

What would you use in your ideal kitchen?

Thank you.

Being informed is always better than guessing, but it's not as easy - I don't sell or resell granite or reconstituted stone and as an independent design consultant I don't have any affiliation or allegiance to any one supplier or fabricator.

As I have already said I believe granite and reconstituted stone to be appropriate for individually specific tasks and requirements - the duty of a responsible specifier is to understand and advise about the pros and cons of different materials and make recommendations most appropriate for any particular task at hand.

Cheers,

Earl

Mrs Green,

I wouldn't recommend one material over the other for your applications - they are both suited to the task of high duty cycles and resistance to damage.

Granite is a great material as are a lot of reconstituted stone surfaces and one can easily go either way.

Both reconstituted stone and granite can be damaged through scratching, chipping, staining and heat shock.
Both materials require regular cleaning and the darker and more uniform a piece of "stone" is the more noticeable marks and water residue will be.

The single biggest complaint I hear from people with very dark reconstituted stone tops is that they are constantly having to wipe off splashed water drops and marks.

Granite has a completely natural fingerprint with no single length having a repeating pattern, said pattern often having a high contrast which can be good for concealing minor blemishes and damage but bad if you are trying to match up several pieces of granite.
Granite often has a more "classic" or traditional look to it which can be important for certain styles of design.

Reconstituted stone has the advantage of regular and specifiable pattern and a large range of colours which makes it particularly suited to longer lengths of benchtop where two pieces may need to be joined as well as for tops with built up edges - a recent post here featured a granite top edge build up where the second piece of stone was completely mismatched to the edge it was attached to and it was very obvious...this may or may not matter depending on the clients needs and wants.
Reconstituted stone is easier than granite to repair and allows for more concealable patching if a new piece of "stone" needs to be put into an existing top.

If I were to recommend a particular brand of reconstituted stone I would always be leaning towards Caesarstone, mainly because of their high standard of production quality as well as the constant guarantee that any pattern/colour installed will be available for 10 years from the date of supply, which means if repair or replacement is required one can always be assured of a matching piece.

If you want my PERSONAL preference for a benchtop I can't go past stainless steel, seconded by polished concrete.
Both of these choices are suited to the way I would design and use a kitchen as well as my own philosophy of kitchen design and the place of a kitchen in the domestic environment - but then most of my own house design thoughts and ideals probably don't fit into the statistical norm anyway...

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Earl

Thanks Earl. I think a polished concrete bench would be a little too much with my white polished concrete floors
We haven't had much success in getting our kitchen layout/design right, so I guess we will let the interior designer have her say once we can complete the layout.

Nemisis - do you try hard to attack people just because they have a different opinion to yours?

Strumer is a longer standing forum member then yourself who makes himself available to assist with enquiries regarding kitchen matters.

I for one would prefer if you stuck to commenting solely on the topic at hand not attacking the members personally!!

+1

I'd go granite. When Caesarstone first came out it was way cheaper than granite. I know because I was looking into it during a build many years ago. Then as the fad became more popular it has risen in price.

My last house I had ceasarstone. Cant complain. But now that its is more expensive than granite, I've opted for the granite. It has such a depth of colour in it too. Every piece has a subtle difference if you look closely. Hey, you cant be nature.

I have noticed that many posters have claimed that caesarstone is more expensive than granite. I do not believe that this is actually true for ALL granite.

When we put granite benchtops and a granite splashback in our kitchen last year we went to a company where their granite was priced in 5 different categories from 1 - 5 (5 being the most expensive). Ours was from category 2 and the total price was just less than $10,000. I certainly don't regard it as being cheaper, and by inference, less worthy.

If we had picked a splashback from the top of the category 5 range we were quoted a price just under $20,000 - just for the splashback. The company we went to only imported stone via Italy where it was graded and checked and the quality reflected this.

I have a white caesarstone benchtop in the main bathroom and the marks are more obvious due to the even colour. If I could go back I would have used granite. But as others have said - it is personal preference.