Granite Worktops

[pauly1664]

corian is the most expensive there is cheaper alternative but its te same sort of stuff...corian is the trade name....u can get mdf with 6 to 10 mm of the solid surface material bonded to it like laminte worktops....

[dongle]

Staron is cheaper than granite/corian, it also has a warmer feel to it than granite.

[PerlOfWisdom]

Perhaps you might also take into account that most of the granite now imported into Britain comes from India, where the quarry workers are badly treated and paid peanuts (including child labour), so what you pay now represents a huge markup by the middlemen with little benefit to the real producers. You are buying a luxury product off the backs of poor people.

 

Yes, we should stop buying it and then all the Indian workers will be sacked and allowed to starve to death like in the good old days. They don't have any social security there you know.

[davisond]

If you are looking for cheap granite worktops with very good quality then

try Sheaf Marble & Granite, the are based in Sheffield about 2 mins from town.

 

I saw them on Ebay they were selling Star Galaxy strips at 3.1m x 0.63m for £275.00, Baltic Brown 2.8m x 0.63m for £200.00 and a cream granite called rusty tan 2.8m x 0.63m for £150.00.

 

If anybody know of any other granite cheaper than £150.00 a strip then I would like to hear of it.

 

sheafmarble.co.uk

[Ruff]

There is some general info on worktops etc at http://www.guide-to-counter-tops.com/.

[Twitcher]

If you are looking for cheap granite worktops with very good quality then

try Sheaf Marble & Granite, the are based in Sheffield about 2 mins from town.

 

I saw them on Ebay they were selling Star Galaxy strips at 3.1m x 0.63m for £275.00, Baltic Brown 2.8m x 0.63m for £200.00 and a cream granite called rusty tan 2.8m x 0.63m for £150.00.

 

If anybody know of any other granite cheaper than £150.00 a strip then I would like to hear of it.

 

sheafmarble.co.uk

 

Many thanks, their website isn't working but I'll phone them tomorrow

[Mags]

I have Corian worktops,they are not cold like granite and they are not as noisy as granite either.

I didn't have mine polished to a glass finish because I didn't want the shine.

They can be scratched but the scratches wear away somehow.

Wonderful material, not a lot cheaper than granite but can be joined and edges shaped very easily.

If you want the pristine glossy appearance of polished granite don't buy Corian.

[Cyclone]

There are quite a few alternatives to granite these days. Corian has been mentioned several times already, but there are alternatives like sile stone (and various other names for the same product). Basically it's crushed quart bonded in a resin, it feels, looks and sounds like a stone product, but it's actually more resistant to corrosion than granite (ie can't be marked by lemon juice or red wine) and is cheaper.

 

Stone and stone like work surfaces always feel cold because they have a high specific heat capacity. It's the same reason that metal always feels cold. (Obviously I mean when they are both at room temperature, if you heat them up somehow then they feel hot). Plastic at room temperature feels less cold because it has a low specific heat capacity and poor conductivity, so your skin rapidly warms it to a matching temperature.

[Monocotylido]

1. Granite is cold because it acts as a heat-sink. Takes a lot of heat to raise its overall temperature, but then it takes a long time to cool. Once its in the house it will get up close to ambient temperature, but will always remain a bit cooler than the air.

2. Quartz does stain - quite badly. Best options are a dark, patterned granite with a close texture. Make sure you use the sealer recommended by the supplier.

3. I had some good granite worktops last year from ukaffordablegranite com - not exactly cheap, but good value and quick service.

[Zaytsev]

ks memorials side of garage quite expensive......you can get some cheap indian stuff but corrian is better got it in my bathroom

 

KS Memorials own KS Surfaces who supply worktops.

 

Careful though as they have been found to be lacking on the customer service front by using second hand gravestones for memorials as documneted in this Star article:

 

LINK

 

Lovely people.