Browse Forums Kitchen Corner Re: Why not laminate? 2Mar 07, 2011 3:58 pm No arguments from me unless you get one of those laminates with a grain which are horrendous to keep clean. The Harder You Try - the Luckier You Get ! Web site http://www.anewhouse.com.au Informative, Amusing, and Opinionated Blog - Over 600 posts on all aspects of building a new house. Re: Why not laminate? 3Mar 07, 2011 4:23 pm Cheap Hard wearing any color under the sun lightweight easy to match when replacing panels east DIY install VS Stone can Look nicer up close (and I love the cool touch of stone) edge finishes are nicer/cleaner/smoother no edge joins to get dirty joins can be almost seamless in benches and Its in fashion right now. This doesn't make any difference to US, we wanted stone (a proper slab of stone, not man made stone) and couldn't afford it, so we'll get laminate and if one day we have some$$ we might look at it. Until then, meh Re: Why not laminate? 4Mar 07, 2011 7:34 pm Yeah I agree with chrisandkate but on the other hand I still go for stone but if I can afford it easy to clean and more durable a and glossy. laminated gloss is not hard wearing I like pastry making so for me stone is the winner:D Re: Why not laminate? 5Mar 07, 2011 11:12 pm 5cm square tiles with blue grout - now that was hard to keep clean (so I recall my mother in the 1970's home). Laminate - vinegar and water, cleans fine. I think people are going for stone for resale and volume builders promotion. I think a lot of things are being done for (or justified for) resale and not because the owner particularly wants it. Include ourselves in that bucket too. Re: Why not laminate? 6Mar 07, 2011 11:28 pm Was speaking to a cabinet maker the other day about this. His view was that as ceasarstone costs about 3 times the cost of laminate, you can replace the laminate 3 times over the years if it gets damaged, get sick of the colour, etc. With the more expensive options, it is too expensive to repair if chipped or sick of the colour or style. Building tip No. 3: A raft slab will not get you down a river. A waffle pod slab does not go with maple syrup. My building thread https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=53000 Re: Why not laminate? 7Mar 08, 2011 6:35 am We aren't even close to redoing our kitchen but I think about it all the time. It will have to be on a tight budget when the time comes, but I definitely want lots of pot drawers so have already decided I am happy to go laminate to keep the costs down and still have the drawers Re: Why not laminate? 8Mar 08, 2011 8:57 am Laminate is perfectly fine IMO - I agree with lastone that stone benchtops are a bit of an in 'must-have' and perhaps tide is turning and people are realising that extra outlay isnt really worth it - bit like glass splashbacks - I notice they were a real 'must-have' a year or so ago, seem to be falling from favour a bit now and people realising tiles are perfectly fine after all. Generalising here I know and just my observation. Re: Why not laminate? 9Mar 08, 2011 10:06 am Yay for laminate and tile splashback lovers! We didnt upgrade for ceaserstone or glass splashbacks as I didnt mind the look of them and with 4 kids and a 43 sq home, we needed the money to go elsewhere. I was upset about it but now as time goes by and I see more display home going back to tiles and Im in love with my laminate. With more perminate structures, its actually best to go basic as styles come and go as fast as a cold. Forrester 43sq We have our keys (3/6/11) Now it's time to decorate (that's the fun part.lol) https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=37598 Re: Why not laminate? 10Mar 08, 2011 10:10 am If money is no object then i say go your hardest but for us the expense was just way too much. We didn't shop around for our kitchen due to feedback from friends with the company we went with so maybe we had a disadvantage in our pricing & not playing two or more companies off against each other. But they quoted us $17K for cabinets, benchtops & splashbacks & an additional $6K on top for 40mm stone benchtops including waterfall edges. This would mean that our benchtops would equate to approx 25% of the total cost (excluding appliances) which on paper didn't stack up to me or our bank balance. Also being an older house which in reality is lacking a bit of character I don't think we would ever be able to get this money back if we were to sell in the next 5 years. I love stone benchtops but in summary it was just too god damn dear for us so we lashed out on 2 pack gloss & soft close drawers instead. Hope this helps. Re: Why not laminate? 11Mar 08, 2011 10:12 am We just covered our tacky old 1980s laminate with the Roxx stone (like a stone veneer) and it looks fabulous! You wouldn't know that it's not solid stone. It cost a bit more than a new laminate benchtop but much less than a solid stone one. And it's super durable. And it was done in a day. We are going for a tiled splashback though, we estimated that a glass splashback would cost about $2000 for what we want and the tiles are costing $140. Can't justify the glass. Re: Why not laminate? 12Mar 08, 2011 10:15 am barker Was speaking to a cabinet maker the other day about this. His view was that as ceasarstone costs about 3 times the cost of laminate, you can replace the laminate 3 times over the years if it gets damaged, get sick of the colour, etc. With the more expensive options, it is too expensive to repair if chipped or sick of the colour or style. Its not quite that simple. 3 times the cost at todays prices if each laminate bench top lasts 3-5 years expect a price increase of 10-15% so the 2nd replacement might cost 30% more than the first installation. Depending on kitchen layout you might not be able to take the top off with out damaging/removing the tiles, Appliances installed may need to be reonnected by a license trade. Personally i have installed both laminate and solid timber in houses i have owned and lived in, had ceaser stone in rentals i have lived in and 'inherited' laminate when buying investments or installed it. If its a decent house >$500k i think the market expects stone and its worth installing, anything less and laminate seems to be acceptable. If i was going to live in a place for a while i would go the stone, timber was stunning but way to easy to scratch and damage . Re: Why not laminate? 13Mar 08, 2011 10:48 am I've lived with laminate for 12 years in our old house, and it was fine. The kitchen had been redone in 1990 (6 years before we bought it), and it looked clean and fresh compared to a lot of other houses we looked at with original 1960's kitchens. The only trouble we had with it was swelling under the bench where the dishwasher was, but you couldn't tell on the top of the bench, and a nice gouge out of it on the top from a 'slipped' bread knife! The end panels also suffered a bit of usual wear and tear due to kids and toys, and in a few places the laminate had lifted from the chip board underneath...but a bit of glue fixed that! I have 2 pac in my kitchen now (standard was laminate, but I wanted to upgrade) and also CS, as that was standard too. I love the stone and after having it I probably wouldn't go back to laminate benches....but that's me. We built our house knowing we would be living in it for a long time, so I did what I wanted, not because of resale or what was in fashion. We also have a glass splashback (which was standard as well), but I really hate cleaning oily fatty marks out of grout behind the cooktop, so glass was the best option for us...and I love it! Had tiles been standard, I would have upgraded to glass anyway. We also upgraded to stone in the bathrooms, as I know just how messy with water my kids are. Water left on laminate can cause issues, and the stone has been a Godsend. I would have loved to have had 2 pac in the bathrooms as well, but couldn't justify the price and the thought of accidents! Laminate is easily replace if/when issues arise. I also like the ABS edging we have on all the bathroom cupboards and drawers. Henley - Wilshire Mk 3 ... I love my house!! Site start: 4th Feb 09 Handover: 10th Sep 09 Blog: http://stormygirlscastle.blogspot.com/ Build Thread: viewtopic.php?t=7166 Re: Why not laminate? 14Mar 08, 2011 12:18 pm I have been doing hi rise appartments now for the last 7 years,and have yet to one job that has Laminate tops in it. Even the mid priced range kitchens have forgone the softclose drawer systems and used the standard metal sided runners and have used 20mm stone. Its different in the domestic market, but i feel that stone, even the 20mm thickness, is better than laminate. G Re: Why not laminate? 15Mar 08, 2011 12:33 pm I think high-rise apartments vs domestic house are different markets with different expectations. Not sure of star-anises' building situation. I have stone in the kitchen, but square edged laminate in bathrooms and love it. A chip in the laminate on the edge by the kids in the laundy = dont love that so much! Re: Why not laminate? 16Mar 09, 2011 12:03 am So interesting! We are doing just our kitchen. It's an 1980s house. I plan to stay here 15 years or more, as our youngest is only 7. I was stunned that EVERY SINGLE person I know who has done a kitchen has gone for stone. I couldn't believe it. The laminate in our kitchen is 30 years old and has lifted in a few sections but in terms of the actual surface it is amazingly hard-wearing. My biggest issue with laminates is the edges showing. I plan to do a squareform type edging. Part of me feels I should do stone because I am the only one out there it seems doing laminate, but this kitchen is costing a flipping fortune anyway with us having to demolish brickwork and adding in extra benches/drawers. Thanks! Re: Why not laminate? 17Mar 09, 2011 6:42 am star-anise So interesting! Part of me feels I should do stone because I am the only one out there it seems doing laminate, but this kitchen is costing a flipping fortune anyway with us having to demolish brickwork and adding in extra benches/drawers. Thanks! Nope..you won't be on your own...whenever we start..lol Re: Why not laminate? 18Mar 09, 2011 6:57 am i will be doing laminate as well! Building tip No. 3: A raft slab will not get you down a river. A waffle pod slab does not go with maple syrup. My building thread https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=53000 Why not laminate? 19Mar 09, 2011 7:51 am I have had both stone and laminate. They are both fine in their own ways. Flat matte dark laminex is a pain to keep clean whilst glossy speckled laminex is a breeze. I like that I can be a little rougher with the stone - ie hot pans can go onto stone for a minute or so whereas no way can you do that with laminex. Laminex has some amazing colours and patterns now so everyone has the choice to be as personal in their selections as they want (or are brave enough) to. Some things are worth waiting for. 6 7974 That sucks! Hope it all works out. Good to move away from steel anyway for all your reasons, but it's also thermally poor. 16 13763 Hi All, I just wanted to close this topic out with an update. So we ended up agreeing to a number with the insurance company, and after an extensive amount of hand… 8 15451 |