Browse Forums Kitchen Corner 1 Dec 12, 2011 3:04 pm hi, am in a bit of a dilemma. builder we are going with has offer on essa stone tops in price. but as i want to extend bench in kitchen/bathrooms/laundry it will be $$$$. having never had stone benchtops im not sure whether to keep them or 'downgrade' to laminex thruout and use the $$$ elsewhere? any advice?? - for or against much appreciated. Re: Stone Benchtops or Laminex Benchtops?? 2Dec 12, 2011 3:20 pm Why not get a price on both, that might make the decision for you. I've got 30mm Caesarstone and love it, actually it wasn't very much more expensive than laminex so the decision was easy and imho, it looks so much nicer. It also depends if you have an open plan kitchen and the style you are wanting to achieve.
Both bathrooms and laundry benchtops here are Birch laminated timber, looks good and sealed with a high gloss exterior lacquer. Re: Stone Benchtops or Laminex Benchtops?? 3Dec 12, 2011 3:22 pm GardenofNeedn-58 hi, am in a bit of a dilemma. builder we are going with has offer on essa stone tops in price. but as i want to extend bench in kitchen/bathrooms/laundry it will be $$$$. having never had stone benchtops im not sure whether to keep them or 'downgrade' to laminex thruout and use the $$$ elsewhere? any advice?? - for or against much appreciated. Hi GardenofNeedn-58, I personally love stone benchtops throughout, however I do realise that getting stone everywhere is bit much on the pocket So I would definitely suggest stone for kitchen since it's easier to clean,stains less.... less scratches too and looks amazing..... I don't really think laundry needs the stone so you can do with laminex there..... the en suite and bathroom is completely dependent on what your budget is.... Good Luck!! Stone Benchtops or Laminex Benchtops?? 4Dec 12, 2011 4:49 pm Can you put hot saucepans on the caeserstone? Re: Stone Benchtops or Laminex Benchtops?? 5Dec 12, 2011 5:44 pm If you are asking me, the answer is I don't know because it's something I would never do on 'any' bench, I always use a wooden trivet or chopping board for larger pots. Heaven help anyone who tries it in my kitchen....they might not live to tell the tale!! LOL Re: Stone Benchtops or Laminex Benchtops?? 6Dec 12, 2011 7:32 pm benblinkau Can you put hot saucepans on the caeserstone? I believe engineered stone is 'heat resistant', but manufacturers recommend not putting pans on them directly from the stove. Certainly you should never do this with laminate either. In response to the price difference between laminate and stone, I priced up both and found that stone was less than twice the price of laminate (I got quoted for Laminex Diamond Gloss). Quantum Quartz is a little cheaper than Caesarstone, too, so you can make a bit of a saving there. Good luck - I agonised over this decision for ages and in the end decided that I would regret it if I didn't get stone for the kitchen Re: Stone Benchtops or Laminex Benchtops?? 7Dec 12, 2011 8:57 pm ....and don't forget that both CS and QQ have specials at various times throughout the year. Also colours fall into different price categories so this can also change the price. Still can't remember the $$ difference between CS and Laminex but I know it wasn't a huge gap. Mr Zebra...interesting that you found QQ was cheaper, because when I was getting quotes CS was cheaper, then again it might have been the colour categories coming into play. I chose CS Nougat, the QQ equivalent is Turino. Like you, I also didn't want to regret the choices or that I'd tried to save a few $$$'s and use 20mm stone, so in the end decided on 30mm CS and I've not regretted that decision for one minute. As with any suppliers, they all seem to have such variation in their pricing structure for the same product which is also governed by the amount of work at the time. The stonemason I used had only recently bought the business and they were trying to capture more of the market which I guess had a bearing on their price too. Re: Stone Benchtops or Laminex Benchtops?? 8Dec 13, 2011 9:27 am HappyCamper_au ....and don't forget that both CS and QQ have specials at various times throughout the year. Also colours fall into different price categories so this can also change the price. Still can't remember the $$ difference between CS and Laminex but I know it wasn't a huge gap. Mr Zebra...interesting that you found QQ was cheaper, because when I was getting quotes CS was cheaper, then again it might have been the colour categories coming into play. I chose CS Nougat, the QQ equivalent is Turino. Like you, I also didn't want to regret the choices or that I'd tried to save a few $$$'s and use 20mm stone, so in the end decided on 30mm CS and I've not regretted that decision for one minute. As with any suppliers, they all seem to have such variation in their pricing structure for the same product which is also governed by the amount of work at the time. The stonemason I used had only recently bought the business and they were trying to capture more of the market which I guess had a bearing on their price too. CS or QQ specials wouldn't really come into play unless your stonemason extended it to you. It would only help you if you bought the slabs directly in which I don't think the specials would apply as you'd only be buying a slab or two. QQ is definitely cheaper than CS. Nougat is about $1000 per slab and Turino is about $650 (in Victorian pricing anyway). Only boutique range QQ is more expensive than CS. Re: Stone Benchtops or Laminex Benchtops?? 10Dec 14, 2011 12:22 am Essa Stone!!! At least in the kitchen. Well, that was my one "non-negotiable" with the house I'm building. I don't know about other people, but whenever I have people around to my place, they ALWAYS gather in and around the kitchen. It would be great to have a nice kitchen for them to gather in! I just think stone benchtops look so much better! Re: Stone Benchtops or Laminex Benchtops?? 11Dec 14, 2011 4:26 am We couldn't afford both, I would have loved CS in the bathrooms.
We have gone for CS in the kitchen and laminate in bathrooms and laundry. Stone Benchtops or Laminex Benchtops?? 12Dec 24, 2011 11:06 am We went with laminex as in a few years we will replace with cs or es (kitchen only I think). You dont need to have the whole house the same but if you do want that perhaps you could do the kitchen and laundry now and do the bathrooms later. Jasmin Hickinbotham Belmont - modified Signed: February 2011 Slab should go down before 2012 My build thread https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=52310&p=799483#p799483 Dear Members I have to decide the Facade column size. My custom builder standard is 350mm with rendering, but i asked for 470mm plus stone or tiles and yet to get… 0 7496 Hi, planning on using the attached stone pieces in my bathroom. I want to remove stains and gloss seal. Can I get some advice on best way to remove stains and best… 0 6709 Re my second point – yes exactly. And often it may take additional time if the manufacturer recommends no more than X meters… 3 5643 |