Kitchen Worktop - Laminate or Quartz Dilemma

When I moved into my flat the work top in the kitchen was badly stained so I bought some marble fablon and stuck it on the work top. Made a huge difference, that was 7 years ago and it still looks good. Just have to remember not to put hot pans on it. Cost was under £10.

Quartz overlays are a good heavy duty worktop without taking the old ones off

How's this for a bargain? When I moved here 13 years ago I hated the worktops but had no money left to replace them.
So I covered them all (very carefully) in sticky backed plastic at a cost of around £25. It looked brilliant and only recently have I needed to do it again, in a different design this time.
Life on the cheap!

Nee kitchen last April , I chose Corian , no regrets at all ! Main reason for choosing Corian was the way it is fitted - it sweeps up the wall! So no division between worktop and wall. This is particularly good behind the sink , so easy to clean ! and no water damage .

And a tip here from our plumber, if your white sink either in the bathroom or kitchen gets scratched just rubbing small amounts of Silvo with a dry cloth, it’s magic and removes these ugly scratches

I have always gone for laminate, cannot see any point in having anything else. Cheaper, an unlimited choice of colours patterns, thicknesses etc and cheap and easy to replace if there is a disaster.

Corian is fantastic. I'm not particularly careful but I haven't sratched mine in ten years, cooking almost every day.

Corian is nice but roughly the same price as the resin/quartz - and corian is less scratch-resistant.

I have light oak laminate. Yes it does scratch and if you get bleach anywhere near it it will stain. You do have to be a little bit careful of laminate around water - if it gets scratched and water gets in it will swell, just like laminate in the bathroom, so I am quite careful to mop up water around the sink. I use butchers block oil to give it a wipe every few months to seal any tiny scratches and after five years mine still looks like new. A lot depends on what you actually do in the kitchen - I know someone with beautiful granite work surfaces but she never does anything in the kitchen apart from making a cup of tea ?

When we had a new kitchen fitted we went for white laminate worktops which we had for three years but they always seemed dirty as they showed every little bit of dust crumbs etc. We have now had a granite composite overlay which is still looking lovely. The laminate was left on top of the cupboards and the overlay is just placed on top. The whole overlay was fitted in a morning with holes for the sink and hob cut on site.

Davida1968 I agree with your comment re Corian, we have had Corian for nearly 10 years and love it. No joins anywhere as the sink is also Corian, if it does scratch it can be sanded out.

I was glad to leave my laminate worktops behind when we moved. Now have a pale granite which is so much better.

I would get Corian - which is a high quality "composite". Not cheap - but our relative has these, and they are still excellent after 20 years of family life! (Worth researching?) We wish we could have afforded Corian worktops, ourselves..... (And no, we have no links of any kind, with the company!)

Thanks for all your replies. I’m going to go back to the showroom and do a bit more “research”.

I have a mock wood laminate which is textured. I looked at "real" surfaces but this is perfect. I have had marble (no!) and my daughter has granite (very very cold). Mine isn't shiny though - even with heavy use it shows no wear. It was "expensive" for laminate.

Having moved house quite a lot over the years, I've have all sorts of worktops. I'd never have solid wood again as it marks so easily, needs sanding and oiling and goes mouldy around the sink. Granite was a nightmare. I've recently given my kitchen a little re-vamp with a new hob, sink and worktop and I went for laminate. I'm really pleased with it. There are some lovely ones out there and they look great if fitted properly. I can spill anything on it and just wipe it clean.

I think it also depends on what you intend to do in your kitchen. My DS has granite. Sitting at the island working on a laptop it makes your hands and arms incredibly cold. Would quartz be the same?

There are different grades of laminate worktop and we chose the most expensive when we changed the worktops and tiles years ago. It has lasted well although we would like to have a whole new kitchen now.

I've got glass boards for hot pans or you can buy metal grids.

I don't use the glass boards to chop on as they blunt the knives.

You could afford to change laminate many times over for the price of quartz. Changing worktops is not particularly difficult and can be done in a day.

I always use a large chopping board, regardless of type of kitchen work surfaces.

I have had granite ( shows every mark) wood ( shows marks an needs oiling) and marble lookalike ....the latter gets my vote.
Still looks shiny and if you want even more shine, a spritz of Mr Sheen does the job.

As the others have said, it's a no-brainer. However careful you are, a laminated surface will eventually suffer. If, like me, you are fussy about hygiene, you will be using bleach or even washing up liquid to clean it down regularly and this eventually dulls the sheen. If you go for laminate, get advice for maintaining it, and buy as big a chopping board as will fit to prepare food on, to prevent damage to the surface through knives and acids.

I agree, get the best you can afford. We had quartz when our new kitchen was installed 9 months ago, it was expensive, but it’s the last time I’ll be doing it.

I bought a new kitchen just before I retired a good few years ago the top is marbled black plastic and it looks fabulous.I don’t allow anyone to cut directly on to it. It really holds its look after 10 years and the good thing is I can change it if need be at little cost in comparison to quartz pricing. I don’t put any hot pans on it I bought a fairly large wooden chopping board for hot pans which my ds duly scorched the first week she stayed with me but it doesn’t look too bad and I can live with that. I can always buy a new chopping board if I want perfection but I don’t really mind the scorched one I’ve had a change of splash back since first putting the kitchen in there’s so many beautiful glass one in the market.

Good luck with your decision

I agree with Curlywhirly. Get the absolutely best work top you can afford. Cupboard doors can be painted or changed but a really good worktop can last for years.