Home & Garden Cooking

Get value for money – use stones for kitchen benchtops

The kitchen at your home witnesses the most concentrated activities centred on preparing and cooking food. Accompanied with it are heat generating ovens, assorted kitchen equipments and raw materials for food that expose the kitchen benchtops to the most rugged tests of surface abuse by abrasions or staining. Therefore, the kind of material that you choose for the benchtops should be durable and aesthetically pleasing to the eyes. Indeed, cost is another important factor to consider. In addition, the selection will be driven by other factors like ability to resist chemicals, water, heat, stains and scratches. There are a lot of options that you can choose from to select the most ideal kitchen bench top. Taking all the factors into account, stones like granite of marble remain the best choice for benchtops, with granite being more popular than marble for reasons explained below.

Granite benchtops
Kitchen benchtops Melbourne are presented in both marble and granite, with the latter having some distinct advantages over the former. The immensely beautiful natural stone granite is available in polished or matte variety and comes in numerous colours and finishing style. The hardness of this stone that can withstand abrasion, which is very common in kitchen operations and its zero maintenance resulting from the property of not allowing the surface to be stained, makes it almost unbeatable in kitchens. Added to this are the heat and chemical resisting properties and the fact that any crack or chipping can be repaired without much difficulty.

Marble benchtops
The grand and gorgeous marble often stands to be a better aesthetic option than granite, but being a soft stone that is prone to scratches and stains, its preference for use in kitchen benchtops is comparatively low. However, kitchen benchtops Melbourne can be made from marble as marble benchtops are regaining popularity and you can try to have one for yourself provided you are ready to take some extra care in its maintenance and handling.

Handling marble with care

Prevent any damage to the marble surface by developing some good habits:

Use trivets or coasters under dishes and glasses to prevent ring marks.
  • Place the hard objects on runners or mats to prevent scratching.
  • Blot spillages immediately and rinse the place clean with a piece of wet cloth.
  • In case of staining, use specially made poultice to remove it.
  • Maintenance of marble surface

Special care has to be taken for kitchen benchtops with marble. Staining and scratching of marble surfaces can be prevented by using protective sealers as coating on the surface. This should be done every two years. Besides regular cleanings, periodically wash the surface with cloth soaked in warm water and add small quantity of dishwashing liquid, if required, but the soap has to be subsequently removed by cleaning again with another moist cloth. To maintain the lustre, apply marble polish regularly.

Edges make the difference

The edge profiles of kitchen bench tops Melbourne can give you innumerable variations using the CNC technology. Some basic edges are included in the quoted price whereas for fancy edges you will have to pay extra. The profile of the edges complements the overall design of the kitchen benchtops.

Go green, stay natural- use granite or marble to beautify your kitchen that will stand the tests of time.

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