One of the hardest decision you have to make when designing your kitchen is the material selection for your kitchen worktop. Undoubtedly there are so many choices available. Furthermore, each material potentially has a range of commercial or even company names. Clearly, this has created a lot of confusion in the market.
We have, therefore created eight categories for materials that can be used for worktops:
- Steel
- Acrylic resin-mineral composite
- Quartz composite
- Laminate
- Glass
- Natural marble
- Natural granite
- Ceramic or sintered surface
Which is the best material for a kitchen worktop?
Each material used for a high-end kitchen worktop has its various advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, it must be noted that no material can be considered the absolute best.
We have examined the main characteristics of various materials and graded them for you. The grading ranges from very poor to excellent.
We hope this will help you make the right choice.
Scratch resistance
We often hear of “scratch-resistant surfaces”.
Truth is, there is no such thing as an entirely scratch-resistant surface. Any material can be scratched by an element that is harder than it.
At Valcucine, we tested all of the above eight categories. And what is apparent is that many perceptions and convictions are disproved by objective data.
To find the most resistant material for your kitchen worktop, we performed a scratch test on all eight categories, using the sharp edge of different materials of increased hardness.
Scratch resistance test results
- Steel: Very poor to fairly good
- Acrylic resin-mineral composite: Very poor
- Quartz composite: Excellent
- Glass: Fairly good to good
- Natural marble: Fairly good to good
- Natural granite: Excellent
- Ceramic: Excellent
Scratch resistance test comments
- Steel, usually considered to be a hard material scratches really easily. If you want a kitchen worktop that remains unscathed by scratches, steel is not the right choice.
- The visibility of scratches was less visible on textured surfaces compared to polished surfaces.
- Scratches were less visible on a light colour kitchen worktop versus a dark colour worktop.
- If you want a kitchen worktop that doesn’t show up scratches, a streaked worktop is preferable over an evenly-coloured worktop.
Repairing your kitchen worktop
The ability to repair any kitchen worktop surface is theoretically possible (except for laminate). However, consideration must be given to the complexity and the cost of repair. Therefore acrylic resin-mineral composite tops are actually the only feasible ones that can be repaired because they are soft enough to be easily sanded.
Join us next week to read about stain, corrosion resistance, and cleaning of your worktops.
Valcucine South Africa is part of The Excellence Group. Read more about our companies here.
Looking for more kitchen design inspiration, read about:
Don’t leave your high-end kitchen in the dark
Applying the science of ergonomics in high-end kitchens
Practical tips to help design your luxury kitchen
What marks do best quality kitchens have?
