Food preparation is done here. It must be easy to clean and sanitize. You want it to be peaceful and colorful. You need to select your counter carefully and deliberately. You want to do it right the first time as it is a major upgrade and expense.There are any choices to make in selecting kitchen counters for your home improvement project. Do you want a natural stone, an engineered stone, wood, tile, Solid Surface Acrylic or Laminate?
Natural stones have a depth and beauty of a polished surface that is hard to match, like granite, limestone, and soapstone. They must be kept cleaned, sealed and waxed as they are porous and will become discolored if not properly cared for.
An engineered stone comes in many beautiful colors and blends of rock and uses quartz as a filler and a resin to bind it together. They are very durable to heat, scratching and discoloration. It is easy to clean them do not require waxing.
Solid Surface Acrylics come in many different colors such as Corian or LG Hi-Macs, they are a fabricated counter. They are durable and easy to clean. You can take a fine sand paper of 400 grit or higher and lightly sand out the stain if the surface becomes discolored. They can be bonded together to make a seamless counter and the sink can be built into it.
Wood counters have a gorgeous look and feel to them such as teak, maple, cherry, walnut or mahogany but they require upkeep and care. You must take care of them as they can be scratched, burned or stained.
Tile counters are durable and can be assembled in many different colors, and sizes. They are easy to clean, but the grout between the tiles need to be sealed. This grout can become stained and is hard to keep clean. The tiles can be broken or chipped, so you must take care of them.
A concrete kitchen counter can be built in any shape you want. A form is built to hold the concrete until it sets. It requires knowledge and skill to make a quality counter. It must be sealed and waxed to keep it from staining.
Laminates, such as Formica or Wilsonart, have a durable surface and come in numerous styles and colors. They are easy to clean and to take care of but they can be burnt.
When you start to remodel your kitchen counter top go to Bruce Contryman’s advice on selecting a new counter top. kitchen remodeling
1 response so far ↓
1 Harris: Lancaster, York and Harrisburg Countertop Contractor // Apr 10, 2009 at 12:56 pm
My favorite solution out of these is solid surface. I really like the seamless look the it provides. Also, as you have said, the ability to sand out any imperfections over time is very nice. I have seen large scratches that have been sanded out to look as if they were never there.
Great blog, looking forward to reading some more.
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