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I'm now thinking about the worktops for our kitchen, are there any problems with getting granite (apart from I'll have to sell a kidney!)?
We had a granite worktop in our last kitchen. It looked as good as new 17 years after it was installed. Best choice we made in the whole design. We would have had granite again in our new kitchen but the colours available didn’t meet approval. It is stain resistant, not as affected by acids or alkalis like marble for instance. We now have quartz, which is excellent but not as resistant to heat in particular so you need to be a bit more careful. Just don’t use the granite as a chopping board.....knackers knives.
They are very heavy, so several people/equipment required to lift in place. Also, any modifications afterwards mean stone cutter and polishing, unless you're happy with endcaps. But they are solid!
We chose granite for our kitchen about 15 years ago and it has been excellent - and still looks good now. It has resisted high temperatures, so I've never worried about putting roasting tins or cooking pots directly on it, and compared to wood it is impervious to water and doesn't get scratched by knives.
We are about to refurbish our kitchen and despite it being much more fashionable now to have these quartz resin materials, we are going for another granite.
We've a granite worktop - all but doubled the cost of the kitchen! Make sure you have everything laid out exactly as you want it. The fitters came to make templates, we're in an old house so the walls aren't straight or square, and it was another week or so before they returned with the cut and polished tops.
We had one in our last kitchen. It was lovely but not maintenance free. We had to polish it regularly and be careful of any thing that might stain it like curry. It has open pores so can absorb stuff so if it absorbs something strongly coloured like curry it can stain. Also there is always the risk that something falls out of an overhead cupboard and cracks it. So we got a bit paranoid about it and when we got our kitchen re-done when we had an extension we just went with a cheap worktop that we wouldn't mind trashing and replacing in a few years time. think you're better off with one of the man made materials, though they're not necessarily cheaper.
We have had the plain black granite tops since 2005 and they still look great. We had a kettle that leaked for a while and it got into the surface. It was there for years but has disappeared now. Apart from that, no issues at all and still love them.
Thanks, seems like I'll be trying to find a decent supplier/installer, any recommendations (South Lincs/Cambridgeshire/Norfolk)?
Black granite still looks great? 😀
Is Changing Rooms still on tv or what?
We have it in our house and I’ve got to say it’s a great work surface. Pretty much maintenance free and robust.
Gecko, the slate worktops look great. If you have them, do you mind me asking how the price compares to quartz/granite and if they are hot pan proof?
Ours is labrador granite and we installed it about 13 years ago. Genuinely looks the same as the day it was installed. I was paranoid about marking it for the first couple of years, but I've since realised its exceptionally hard-wearing stuff!
Not sure about the comment above about it being absorbent - I've spilled all sorts on ours and it's been entirely stain free. Seems pretty impervious to scratches and heat too (i.e. I've tried my best, but still haven't managed to mark it in any way).
Great for working on directly (like making dough), so I'm told by those in our house of a cooking persuasion.
One of those examples of absolutely getting what you pay for.
Bloody expensive, but unless we take it out, it'll still be here after the rest of the house has collapsed around it!
seems like I’ll be trying to find a decent supplier/installer, any recommendations (South Lincs/Cambridgeshire/Norfolk)?
we use Arnolds in Doncaster but they fit nationwide.
Gecko, the slate worktops look great. If you have them, do you mind me asking how the price compares to quartz/granite and if they are hot pan proof?
My friend works at Honister and all I'll say are the tops are VERY expensive, even compared to granite.
We've had granite worktops for nearly 20 years. Still in pristine condition and we are lazy when it comes to cleaning. Nothing seems to mark, stain or scratch it.
Confession: wanted worktops from them but as above much spendy. Have just got a hearth though which we're in the process of fitting. Pleased with how it's going to look.
There's more info in the link I posted but I seem to remember when we visited Honister they said that in spite of the name it basically is granite. (I am not a geologist.)
It’s cooked volcanic ash, not cooked shale like other slates. Structurally nothing like granite.
Weve had polished black granite for 12 years, great surface, still looks smart, though can show up limescale around sink area, and thats not easy to remove as its not good to use strong cleaners, which can strip off the surface shine (patina?!) and leave faded patches.
Had one scare where id used some strong adhesive to fix a plastic utensil, left it on the worktop, with glued area just off the surface, but 'fumes' from the adhesive strangely left marks in the surface overnight, luckily in a corner, so not too visible, and marks have mostly gone now after about 6 months.
Silicon trivets are also a must to help prevent breakages, specially of plates and glasses, as they rarely bounce off the granite in one piece....
We had a granite worktop in our last place for 27 years- bulletproof.
This place in Bristol let's you wander round a huge warehouse and select your slab of granite/marble from hundreds to find a pattern you like
https://bristolmarbleandgranite.com/
Thinking about where it all comes from makes me a little uneasy, not sure why
We opted for quartz in the end which we're very happy with
We had one in our last kitchen. It was lovely but not maintenance free. We had to polish it regularly and be careful of any thing that might stain it like curry. It has open pores so can absorb stuff so if it absorbs something strongly coloured like curry it can stain. Also there is always the risk that something falls out of an overhead cupboard and cracks it. So we got a bit paranoid about it and when we got our kitchen re-done when we had an extension we just went with a cheap worktop that we wouldn’t mind trashing and replacing in a few years time. think you’re better off with one of the man made materials, though they’re not necessarily cheaper.
So you replaced the granite with something else because you worried about damaging it?
One of the guys I use to ride with always worried about damaging his MTB, so didn't ride much...
It’s cooked volcanic ash, not cooked shale like other slates. Structurally nothing like granite.
Aha, thanks. Out of interest, how does it compare then?
So you replaced the granite with something else because you worried about damaging it?
One of the guys I use to ride with always worried about damaging his MTB, so didn’t ride much…
Really? you're trying to draw that analogy? If I damage my mountain bike I'm the only one that is bothered. And mountain bikes are generally repairable. And my mountain bike is not made of glass but something a bit tougher. If I damage our expensive granite worktop my wife would make my life a misery. And I do now remember that we did put a very minor chip in our granite worktop over our ownership so it is possible to damage it by dropping something on it. And it wasn't even a heavy cast iron pan so not a bulletproof carefree material. And our current cheaper work surface has sustained damage because, you know if you use it it will pick up damage but the difference is it will cost a few hundred quid to replace this surface and not several thousands of quids. There is nothing that spoils a beautiful granite worktop than a crack or chip. Just one of those things you'd notice every time you look at it and would piss you off.
You know, someone asks a question and people chip in with their experiences...actual experiences. The OP can then take all the responses into consideration, ask some more informed questions, do some more research and ultimately make an informed decision. That tends to be the way good decisions are made. I shared the experienced of my 5 years of Granite worktop which was fine though I did point out the bit about maintenance that was explicitly pointed out to me when we bought the kitchen so we followed that guidance. I'm not a geologist but some quick googling has confirmed that granite is indeed porous and kitchen worktops do need sealing and that sealing surface maintaining. But in reality not a major issue to just clean up spillages is it? Most of us would do that anyway no matter what our kitchen surface. Just something to be aware of that's all. In a sea of great reviews of granite worktop ownership mine is the only one that has some 'buyer beware' advice in it so just one differing view amongst a sea of overwhelmingly positive reviews. Make of that what you will.
We have white quartz in ours, absolutely love it, mega easy to clean and looks amazing.
J R Rotherham supplied and fitter ours.
I looked carefully at all the options for the last two kitchens I did. One ended up wood, one laminate.
Two main reasons. MJs TJ is a clumsy so and so and dropping stuff on granite breaks it and the other simply cost - I thought about what else I could do with the money. Staining was also an issue.
So you replaced the granite with something else
It has open pores
Whatever they replaced wasn't granite or even close.
We have some black diorite because it's what was in when we bought the house.
I put the kitchen in myself in part because local companies wouldn't touch it without extra money and were trying to sell us a new worktop. This turned out to be a big scam as it's really easy to work with though its heavy of course.
I managed to get some extra used from a kitchen refurb off ebay, I think I paid £125 for enough to build a 3m island and extend round a corner and at the ends and cut new back plates.
The stuff I bought was a bit rough and needed cutting which is incredibly easy with a diamond blade and circular saw.
You can easily cut out parts as well using a angle grinder fitted with diamond cutting and grinding disks and a hosepipe.
When you get it finished it polishes easily as well.
I had some diamond polishing pads off eBay that go from 50 to 3000 grit.
It comes out mirror finish then you treat it I used something called lithofin.
Should I ever find anything that marks it the diamond polisher disks would get it out.
We have black granite. Has been fitted for about 15 years. Still look good. There are a couple of chips around the sink from dropping the heavy le creuset right on the edge but on the whole it is pretty robust. Will certainly get it again if/when we ever refit this kitchen.
We got our kitchen fitter to make a temporary worktop out of ply/shutterboard and drop the hob/old sink in that as there was a delay between getting the granite company to template and cut/polish the new worktops. Only a week or so but we didn't want to be left with no hob/sink.
Our granite was installed by the previous owners. Chipped badly round the edges and we have added some since we moved in. Was installed in 2012. Also they had it in two pieces the the join was not well done. Not a great colour match or line up. Great for pastry and the like.
db
There are a couple of chips around the sink from dropping the heavy le creuset right on the edge but on the whole it is pretty robust.
Can't you put in a slightly bigger sink?
mrl
Also they had it in two pieces the the join was not well done. Not a great colour match or line up.
Not much you can do about the colour match but if you can shorten it 10mm you could cut the join again. (You'd want 5mm each side) It's just low mod silicone to rejoin.