We are coming up for kitchen selections and I was wondering if anyone has used acrylic benchtops? I am not going with stone at this stage but as plain or gloss laminate don't come in a square edge we were shown this laminate that had an acrylic layer over the top and this was squared off, I like the look of it but wondered if there were any downfalls to this product? Thanks
Acrylic benchtops
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Hi,
We are coming up for kitchen selections and I was wondering if anyone has used acrylic benchtops? I am not going with stone at this stage but as plain or gloss laminate don't come in a square edge we were shown this laminate that had an acrylic layer over the top and this was squared off, I like the look of it but wondered if there were any downfalls to this product? Thanks
We are coming up for kitchen selections and I was wondering if anyone has used acrylic benchtops? I am not going with stone at this stage but as plain or gloss laminate don't come in a square edge we were shown this laminate that had an acrylic layer over the top and this was squared off, I like the look of it but wondered if there were any downfalls to this product? Thanks
DOWNFALLS:
Incredibly sensitive to heat,
Not very scratch resistant,
Looses sheen within 6 months,
POSITIVES:
Easy repairs if you severely damage it, (buffing, melting, joining, etc)
Cheaper than stone,
Quick installation if done by a pro, (not really that much of a positive)
All in all, a laminate benchtop is actually more durable and better value for money in my well informed opinion.
The smallest profile locally made in australia is a curve of about 6mm radius by Duropal.
They also import a 3mm one but the lead time is quite a bit. http://www.benchtopcity.com.au/QuadraWorktops.aspx however i would avoid it as it is only available in gloss, and gloss shows every imperfection in the manufacturing process!
I myself just paid 1300 (supply only) for a huge custom benchtop 6mm radius, 2 x 900mm wide pieces about 2.4 m long each, and 1 x 600mm wide piece by 2.4 m. Its ridiculously good value, and for a spruce up, i wouldnt go beyond it!
Where abouts are you?
Incredibly sensitive to heat,
Not very scratch resistant,
Looses sheen within 6 months,
POSITIVES:
Easy repairs if you severely damage it, (buffing, melting, joining, etc)
Cheaper than stone,
Quick installation if done by a pro, (not really that much of a positive)
All in all, a laminate benchtop is actually more durable and better value for money in my well informed opinion.
The smallest profile locally made in australia is a curve of about 6mm radius by Duropal.
They also import a 3mm one but the lead time is quite a bit. http://www.benchtopcity.com.au/QuadraWorktops.aspx however i would avoid it as it is only available in gloss, and gloss shows every imperfection in the manufacturing process!
I myself just paid 1300 (supply only) for a huge custom benchtop 6mm radius, 2 x 900mm wide pieces about 2.4 m long each, and 1 x 600mm wide piece by 2.4 m. Its ridiculously good value, and for a spruce up, i wouldnt go beyond it!
Where abouts are you?
We have corian which is a brand of acrylic. Love it!!!
In Adelaide corian is more expensive than caesar/essa/smart - stone but cheaper than marble.
We have had our benchtop for 2 years now and it hasn't lost it's sheen?? But we did not get a high gloss finish.
We love that you can't see any joins, we love that we can have someone come out and fix our bench and it will look new again.
We have never had any issues with heat but even when we had a laminate benchtop I never put things out of the oven/off the cooktop straight onto the bench.
We love but I know of other people that don't so it is really what you want that is important
In Adelaide corian is more expensive than caesar/essa/smart - stone but cheaper than marble.
We have had our benchtop for 2 years now and it hasn't lost it's sheen?? But we did not get a high gloss finish.
We love that you can't see any joins, we love that we can have someone come out and fix our bench and it will look new again.
We have never had any issues with heat but even when we had a laminate benchtop I never put things out of the oven/off the cooktop straight onto the bench.
We love but I know of other people that don't so it is really what you want that is important
I am not a fan or Acrylic bench tops. They wear badly in comparison to most stones.
Spend the money now and get stone!
Spend the money now and get stone!
@rebuilder86 thanks for the info, when you say it's incredibly sensitive do you mean if you heat up your morning cereal in the microwave and put a warm bowl on the counter top, you will damage it? I don't plan on putting something out of the oven on top of the counter so that won't be an issue, surely the product can take some heat, even from a tea cup? Sadlyy hubby wants gloss tops not Me, as I was the one wanting a waterfall edge and square edges this product is the only real choice, if I can stump him on the quality I could convince him to go back to normal laminate...one day I'll get stone, but it's not something high on my list of priorities for our home right now. We are in adelaide and have our selections with supreme kitchens. They have been great but I like to get other peoples feedback on how it goes in their kitchens
gloss is ok if ur going to get acrylic, its just the laminate gloss which is a bad idea.
What i was saying about heat, is in relation to cooktops. An installer who is friends of mine has seen more than he can count on his hands, installs where the acrylic has failed and cracked near the cooktop and more than 100 return visits where he has had to buff out burn marks from accidental <1 second touches from a frying pan.
Laminate and stone can handle a frying pan for as long as you want, acrylic melts instantly.
When i say looses sheen, im talking about the scuffing on the surface from everyday wear and tear from someone who doesnt treat their benchtop like something other than a place to work. If you use your bench as a place to cook and make food, and dont want to place chopping blocks and tea towels all over the place, acrylic is not the choice for you.
What i was saying about heat, is in relation to cooktops. An installer who is friends of mine has seen more than he can count on his hands, installs where the acrylic has failed and cracked near the cooktop and more than 100 return visits where he has had to buff out burn marks from accidental <1 second touches from a frying pan.
Laminate and stone can handle a frying pan for as long as you want, acrylic melts instantly.
When i say looses sheen, im talking about the scuffing on the surface from everyday wear and tear from someone who doesnt treat their benchtop like something other than a place to work. If you use your bench as a place to cook and make food, and dont want to place chopping blocks and tea towels all over the place, acrylic is not the choice for you.
Laminate bench tops, while quite heat resistant, shouldn't have a frypan straight of the stove or oven placed on it.
Even the care instructions say not to place hot pans directly on the surface.
I've had to replace many a bench top that has had scorched laminate from a hot pan.
Need to keep things factual.
Even the care instructions say not to place hot pans directly on the surface.
I've had to replace many a bench top that has had scorched laminate from a hot pan.
Need to keep things factual.
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