Kitchen Table Tops - What Material Is Best?

[palin 0]

I'm being quoted $200-220 per foot run for caesarstone. Anyone know where/how to get it cheaper?

[Eurypylus 0]

I'm being quoted $200-220 per foot run for caesarstone. Anyone know where/how to get it cheaper?

That's already a very good price.

[red33 0]

Anyone familiar with solid tops?I believe got several brands...

It's supposed to be man made,no join line etc...

[Scribbler 0]

Hi all,

Granite is a naturally formed stone, therefore, to be used as a worktop especially in the kitchen it should be coated with a sealant every year to protect the porosity barrier.

Natural stone needs a bit more maintenance.

As for solid surface, all the whites will actually yellow over time, whether it's top end Corian or low-end brands. As for blacks, carpenters always advise not to take solid black as the scratches and marks will show up very clearly; better to take the ones with aggregates in them to 'mask' the imperfection.

For the sake of my pocket, I will be considering solid surface.

[Scribbler 0]

Oh, as for Caesarstone, this is actually a compressed quartz.

You can get compressed quartz below $200 at rice-fields; better to go to their showroom.

Solid surface - better to get Corian, Cresto, Samsung etc... some other brands are really cheap but because there is more polyester than acrylic in them.

Hope this helps.

[feizhu 0]

I intend to do granite for my home because we do a lot of cooking and baking and solid surface isn't exactly very heat resistent. Got a quote for $110/ft run for black galaxy which I think is a very good price. Quartz is way out of budget.

[luvalist 0]

I am looking for kitchen table tops for my new house.

Came across "Stone Italiana" when watching Channel 8.

The owner used it for 10 years and his wife cut ingredients on the table top itself.

and it's scratch proof. still look pretty white.

Have anyone use this and any comments or thoughts?

I am looking for pure white kitchen tops

[Chanel26 1]

I have just resawn and planed some solid cherry for a new kitchen table top.

I, too, plan on breadboard ends.

I’m making it 5/8” thick to save on some weight.

Fortunately I have access to a 36” sander. But you might try a local cabinet shop. Sometimes if pays to pay a little money to get the job done right. And you might find another source of inexpensive lumber. Or a kindred soul.

[matrix0405 0]

i would suggest to go for plywood postform. cheap and good and wider choices. and its scratch resistance.

this is the most understated. but contractor don recommend any more because not must money to make from it.

[insidenews 0]

granite should be good, i guess.

[gurustyle 0]

Granite & Quartz should be good.

Just trying out, I use granite for my sink top & quartz for stove top.

Stone Italiana is quartz mainly.

[Eurypylus 0]

As my co and myself prefer light coloured top, we ops for caesarstone.

While we have yet to officially move in, I see that the caesarstone top is not as shiny smooth as solid surface top.

[gurustyle 0]

For long-term usage, granite or quartz is best.

Solid surface, no matter what brand, they are still the same - acrylic or polyester are still the same.

For Granite, best is India Granite, choose the better quality like Blue Pearl or Emerald Pearl.

I am thinking to do Blue Pearl for my living room flooring, but cost more than marble.

I think you could see luster or spark effect if you had spotlight on Blue Pearl, Emerald Pearl & selected Quartz color kitchen top.

Edited February 8, 2011 by gurustyle

[tanglc 0]

For long-term usage, granite or quartz is best.

Solid surface, no matter what brand, they are still the same - acrylic or polyester are still the same.

For Granite, best is India Granite, choose the better quality like Blue Pearl or Emerald Pearl.

I am thinking to do Blue Pearl for my living room flooring, but cost more than marble.

I think you could see luster or spark effect if you had spotlight on Blue Pearl, Emerald Pearl & selected Quartz color kitchen top.

do you know how much india granite sells for?

[BlueFly 0]

I have just resawn and planed some solid cherry for a new kitchen table top.

I, too, plan on breadboard ends.

I’m making it 5/8” thick to save on some weight.

Fortunately I have access to a 36” sander. But you might try a local cabinet shop. Sometimes if pays to pay a little money to get the job done right. And you might find another source of inexpensive lumber. Or a kindred soul.

Hi Chanel26,

How's yr solid cherry tabletop? Care to post some photos?

I completed my reno and installed my kitchen worktop abt 3 yrs ago. I chose an acrylic worktop:

If I have to do it again, I probably won't choose acrylic, esp not from the subcon or factory my ID got the worktop from.

Who's the supplier? Well, find out from my blog. Posting the name now 3 yrs later could be misconstrued as 'intentional' defamatory. But not if it was posted at the time my ID/Contractor did the reno. Also, I blogged about my worktop installation, how to choose and maintain work-tops (e.g. granite, Silestone, Corian, etc) and lessons learnt.

I think if I have to re-do my kitchen worktop again I will probably go for solid cherry or beech available from Ikea. Or solid glass top. Which unfortunately is still not available locally but is very popular in the US. So knowing how your cherry top turned out will be very interesting for me.

I can still live with my acrylic worktop for now. But in future if I get the itch I may redo the worktop again, as I ensured at the time my worktop was installed that it could easily be replaced in future - just lift up in one whole piece from the kitchen cabinet base and replace with a new worktop cut-to-measure!! That was an idea to rectify my choice "just-in-case". In retrospect turns out to be good foresight!

Single solid acrylic worktop piece measured to fit exactly my counter-top

Edited February 23, 2011 by BlueFly