Kitchen Worktops
Probably not a question asked that often, but I suppose it does fall under the heading of equipment
For my new kitchen I'm now starting to look at worktops. I appreciate that granite is perhaps the most popular surface in the kitchen today, especially if you do much baking. But it is expensive!
One of the worktops I'm looking at at present is duropal. There seems to be an awful lack of indepenent reviews out there so I'm asking has anyone used it in therir kitchen and from a baking point of view what do you think of it?
Yes I know it is a man made product but it does seem to offer benefits which other man made products don't.
I never appreciated it before but building a kitchen from scratch is quite a detailed undertaking and not only have worktops got to be servicable but they've got to look the part as well
I would, of course, be delighted to hear your views on other types of kitchen worktops
As always thanks for any advice
Here, for instance, and here, and here. Gotta love that Search tool! I don't believe I've seen/heard anything about duropal, so can't offer any insights there.
Here's a link to our own kitchen remodel from a few years ago. It is daunting to get everything figured out, from lighting to plumbing fixtures to finishes to... Well, you understand already.
Best of luck with your new kitchen and I hope it brings you many years of baking and cooking enjoyment.
Paul
Paul, how have the counter tops worked out?
We are planning to remodel our kitchen next year, so I guess it's time to start figuring things out! :)
I scrolled further down and saw your comments from a few years ago.
Looks like we might have to look into soapstone.
We still like it, Mike. I will note that it is a rather cool surface (temperature-wise) for kneading dough. That is especially true in winter months. Makes a proofer a handy thing to have.
The same will be true of any natural or synthetic stone surface, so don't take that as an indictment of the soapstone. Maple is the absolute best for dough purposes but I would not want all of the counters topped with maple, either.
In the end, one chooses what best fits their functional, aesthetic, and budgetary needs. If that is Corian or granite or wood or composite or something else, that's fine. Just find out as much as you can from people who have lived with a particular material for a while. They will tell you things that a salesperson can't or won't. For instance, if you do choose soapstone, try to orient it so that those beautiful white veins don't run through an area that will receive heavy use. They are calcite and less hard than the soapstone, making them more susceptible to wear. It's no big deal but nice to know ahead of time.
Paul
I know - daft answer - especially in-light of the searches Paul posted too, but at the end of the day most surfaces are OK.
I've just had the bakehouse refurbished and went for bog-standard laminate faced high density chipboard. The type fitted in 90% of all kitchens. Cheap and cheerful, and hopefully it will last 10+ years as the existing ones in our kitchen have.
I looked at wood - but couldn't get the right type in the timeframe I had to get it finished. Granite was too expensive and heavy (up a flight of stairs) and didn't like any of the new composites (which Duropal appears to be) Cups smash when dropped onto granite or the stone based composites too, so you need to be careful...
So just get what looks best for you and what you can afford. They'll all work. Just a word about real wood - don't oil, wax, varnish, etc. it. Keep it natural, wash and dry it and it'll be fine, but personally, I'd never had wood next to a sink. when I looked at wood, I was also going to get conventional laminate for the sink area.
Hope it works out well!
-Gordon
When we had our kitchen updated seven years ago we opted for Corian counter tops and they show no sines of wear or tear. It was less expensive than granite and we wanted a particular color for the counter. Duropal is a high pressure laminate which we have on our kitchen floor. The nice thing about it is it installed over padding and is a much gentler on the feet and knees than is marble, tile, or other similar hard surface. The company that manufactured the floor laminates also had counter top laminates but I was not convinced about the wearability of it as a counter surface where hot items are commonly present.
Mine is granite and I love it. It is great for kneading bread and making pastries as it stays nice and cool all year round.
We had duropal in the old house and I did not like it.