Kitchen worktop options?

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We have just ordered a new kitchen to go in the extension. Black gloss doors :LOL:

Now time to decide on worktops.......

We need approx 3m along th one wall with 2.5m coming out at right angles into the the room as a breakfast bar and hob island. Budget absolute max £700-£800. I will get supplier to cut corner joint and finish edges and then I will cut and fit hob and sinks then final assemble on-site.

Granite and man made equivalents too expensive and too heavy, Corian too expensive, wood too much hard work with young kids. New products like glass worktops are equally expensive.

Seems to leave products like Minerelle and laminate. I really like the Minerelle product but there isn't a very big selection of colours. Laminate is ok and reasonably durable but the ends let it down. We will have an enb on the breakfast bar and on the run of worktop along the wall, I think the ends will spoil it.

Cany anyone suggest any alternatives or perhaps equivalents to Minerele in a similar price bracket and with more colours?

Another thought, how about high quality tiles with a suitable grout on a 18mm or 25mm external grade plywood? Even at £40-50 per sq/m would be cheaper than most of the laminates I have looked at. (By the time you have had them mitred and ends finished etc)
 
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Paul_Thomas said:
We have just ordered a new kitchen to go in the extension. Black gloss doors :LOL:
With kids? I wish you all the best.......

Paul_Thomas said:
New products like glass worktops are equally expensive.
Not to mention they are a tad fragile - with kids (again)

Paul_Thomas said:
Another thought, how about high quality tiles with a suitable grout on a 18mm or 25mm external grade plywood? Even at £40-50 per sq/m would be cheaper than most of the laminates I have looked at.
The grout ends up grubby looking with time and is an environmental disaster area waiting to happen - read "microbe breeding ground".

With a young familyt you need a low maintainance, hygeinic worktop and for that laminate is unbeatable at the price. Minerelle is another man0made like Corian, Starion, etc

Scrit
 
seen loads of black gloss kitchens done with wood effect laminate worktops, some of the walnut designs look great.

On another note make sure you see a sample of the door you are getting as black is very bad for telegraphing on vinyl wrapped doors. So make sure you are happy with it

Andy
 
andymarshal said:
On another note make sure you see a sample of the door you are getting as black is very bad for telegraphing on vinyl wrapped doors. So make sure you are happy with it
I do so agree. The effect is caused by inconsistent glue application and looks a bit like orange peel of rippling dependingf on the precise fault. All the IKEA doors I've ever seen suffer this way

Scrit
 
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The grout ends up grubby looking with time and is an environmental disaster area waiting to happen - read "microbe breeding ground".





done that for many years, still alive. :D my grandaughter is at it now, don't take things too serious :D
 
libby lou lou said:
The grout ends up grubby looking with time and is an environmental disaster area waiting to happen - read "microbe breeding ground".





done that for many years, still alive. :D my grandaughter is at it now, don't take things too serious :D

Agreed, your body builds up immunity to these microbes by encountering small amounts of them.


Having gone round and round in circles it looks like my Wife will choose one of the Minerelle colours. I think this seems to be the best compromise, approx twice the price of laminate but looks so much nicer as the ends, joins etc are invisible and the surface can be repaired if damaged/scratched.
 
Scrit said:
andymarshal said:
On another note make sure you see a sample of the door you are getting as black is very bad for telegraphing on vinyl wrapped doors. So make sure you are happy with it
I do so agree. The effect is caused by inconsistent glue application and looks a bit like orange peel of rippling dependingf on the precise fault. All the IKEA doors I've ever seen suffer this way

Scrit

Glue is only one factor, the main issue is inconsistant MDF density or supply problems of MDF.

For example MDF suppliers sand there MDF board, but depending on the sanding run you can get varied results, depends if you are using the first board off the line or the last. Whenever you moan they just tell you that that falls within their quality tolerance.

Then its dependant on gluing procedure, pre glued PVC is a no no as is hand spraying. Then depends on what press you are using, its better without a membrane.

And also the quality and thickness of the PVC and then you need a little luck.

Andy
 
Oddly enough, Andy, I discussed this problem with one of the larger foil suppliers at the last but one ASFI. His opinion, and that of the firm I regularly buy high gloss doors from, is that glue/press problems are the biggest problem, followed by cleanliness. But then they are presupposing a consistent level of quality in the MDF, automated glueing (not hand spray), etc. What you can get away with on a matt or semi-matt vinyl will be highlighed in a high gloss vinyl, and if you look around many high gloss vinyl doors exhibit orange peel or shimmer. So if you are offering these doors it is necessary to find a reliable supplier, although to an extent it depends on how picky you are. Personally I know of only three firms whose high gloss vinyl wraps are worth selling. I can do better by hand spraying or going to an acrylic (such as Parapan), but the problem there is high cost.

Scrit
 
I think alot of retailers make problems by say having a laquered door on a display, quoting a customer on that door and then thinking they can save money by supplying a vinyl alternative.

If you are looking for a perfect gloss door, dont buy vinyl use parapan or laquered but pay the price. These products are at least 3-4 times the price of a vinyl door.

The key to a pressed to is to consistantly sand it (in house) and use an automated glue line and you need to use deep router grade board. Some of the made to measure door producers offer shaker gloss doors :eek: and im pretty sure they use normal grade mdf.

BTW the quaility of mdf is so up and down at the moment, as is supply issues and prices are definately up.

Andy
 
Oh BTW forgot to mention the fira test for doors:

Hold doors at arms length in normal lighting condition, in normal plane and if you cant see the fault within 5 seconds then its a pass.

So when a guys is lying on his worktop looking up at a doors at 4:16 waiting for the sun to come over the mountain etc.

This doesnt apply.

I once visited a customer with creme gloss doors installed, was a really well planned and fitted kitchen, using all the correct end panels etc, the guys wife was ultra fussy and stuck post it note on the doors where she found "faults". I pulled 2 off one door leaving one and asked to find the faults, She then replied you only see that one when the suns out.:cool:

andy
 
I bought and installed Minerelle worktops in my new kitchen. After 56 months they started cracking round the hob. The supplier was very good but could see no reason for this. The manufacturer told me I shouldn't have used a built in hob on thos surface.
The damage was repaired but the cracks have started appearing again.
Has anyone else experienced problems like this?
 

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