When you are considering a kitchen makeover, one of the most important factors is the worktops. Certainly, the cabinetry is important, and you can save money on this by simply changing the cabinet doors while using the existing cabinets. This will give your kitchen a whole new appearance without involving a lot of expense.
However, the other major factor from the point of view of the appearance of your kitchen is the worktops, as they are in a horizontal plane and stand out considerably. Now there is no doubt that when choosing worktops for your kitchen you have a lot of options. However, many people today are shunning things such as laminates or wood, and instead opting for stone worktops.
Even then, there are choices. There are natural stone worktops such as marble, granite, quartzite, limestone, and so on, and then there are man-made, or engineered, stone worktops such as quartz and sintered stone for example.
Many people today are going for quartz worktops in Kingston because of the advantages that the material has. Apart from any other consideration, you cannot stain quartz worktops, so they don’t need to be sealed as do other natural stones such as marble. That is a big benefit when you are working in a kitchen where spills are a part of the day-to-day routine.
Made From Engineered Stone
There is actually some confusion over quartz worktops because natural quartz is the second most common stone on the planet after feldspar. However, quartz worktops are made from engineered stone. What that means is that natural quartz is taken from quarries and is then ground down into a fine aggregate to which is added resins and some pigment for colouring. The resultant stone is non-porous and can be produced in any colour that you wish.
It is also exceedingly hard, but having said that, you should not chop foods directly on to it, although you are probably more likely to damage your knife than the quartz worktop. Furthermore, you must not place hot pans from the oven or hob directly on to quartz worktops because you could damage them because of the resins: always use a trivet. However, if you suffer any spills, you are not going to damage the quartz as it is non-porous, so all you need to do is to wipe them up with a damp cloth. This also means that quartz worktops are totally hygienic as they cannot absorb any bacteria.
Another advantage of quartz worktops is that they are less expensive than some natural stones such as granite or marble but still give the appearance of a natural stone surface. They are available in a huge range of colours and patterns, some imitating marbles and granite, while others are a solid colour, so there is plenty of choice when it comes to designing your kitchen, from the point of view of aesthetics.
As with many other stones, quartz worktops will have seams where more than one slab is used. However, it is easier to hide them, particularly if you choose dark or solid colours which will naturally minimise their visibility.
