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Choose Your New Kitchen Countertop Wisely
There are many types of kitchen countertop
materials available on the market today. Some are of the do it
yourself variety while others take special skill and tools to have
installed. All kitchen countertop material however have one thing in
common. None are the perfect product for everyone.
Take the most inexpensive kitchen countertop material, plastic
laminate like the Formica (c) brand. This material is strong
relatively stain resistant, comes in a wide assortment of colors,
textures and designs and is rather easy to install. The negatives
however include it can be cut easily when preparing food and it
burns. Accidentally place a hot pan on your new plastic laminate
kitchen countertop and you end up with a nice round burn mark. This
is permanent and cannot be cleaned away. Knife marks or cuts in this
material also tend to fill up with dirt and tend to make the
countertop look ugly no matter what it's age. This is actually one
of my favorite kitchen countertop materials however because it's a
great surface to prepare baking goods and food. To get around the
problems with this material, I've simply purchased special plastic
cutting boards that resist heat, have them cut into the laminate
counter where I usually put hot pans and do my cutting. I get all
the benefits of laminate kitchen countertops without the usual
problems
Next up, is ceramic tile. Nothing can beat ceramic tile for that
"Old World" hand crafted look. The tile itself doesn't burn, scorch,
or cut with normal wear. There's a wide array of colors, textures
and because it's a hand installed product, you can get as fancy or
as plain as you prefer. Beautiful stuff Really. There's two big
problems with ceramic tile however. First, because it's tile,
there's also grout lines. Although the tile doesn't stain, the grout
lines do however. This means that white stuff shows if you have
darker grout and darker stuff will show if you have lighter or white
tile. Grout maintenance, although not difficult still should be a
consideration. The other issue is only a problem if you bake.
Rolling out dough on a tile surface is difficult because of the
grout lines and tile imperfections. A ceramic tile kitchen
countertop is not smooth or perfectly flat.
One type of kitchen countertop growing rapidly in popularity is the
solid surface and granite type counters. Solid surface materials are
man made while the granite is natural. Each however offer a
beautiful blend of natural blend of color that can give your kitchen
a clean, upscale look. These materials come in a variety of colors
with the solid surface being available in solid and multi colors.
Granite typically looks like a multi colored aggregate with a deep
glowing tone. The two biggest issues with these products however are
the same. The first is price. Both solid surface and granite kitchen
countertops can be considered some of the high end, most expensive
options available. 100-150 dollars per running foot of countertop is
typical. This also may or may NOT include any back splash on the
counter. The other issue with both the solid surface and granite
countertop materials is the rather limited selection. You will need
to be very satisfied with your selection as unlike the cheaper
plastic laminate kitchen counter, replacing this material is
expensive.
We have a wide range of kitchen countertop selections that continue
to grow in both type of material and product selection. When
choosing what is right for you, be aware of the possible issues so
in the end you can be happy and satisfied with your investment no
matter what the selection.
About the Author: D. Benjamin is the owner of
iapsales.com LLC - a family business specializing in HVAC products. We
are distributors of
Qmark Heaters,
electric tankless water heaters,
bathroom heaters,
patio heaters, electric heaters,
portable air
conditioners & electric towel warmers. Shop on line at
www.heateroutlet.com for these great home improvement products.
Iapsales.com LLC was established in 2003 and is the sister company to
Innovative Air Products located in historical Exeter, NH. We are a 2nd
generation manufacturers’ rep firm dedicated to providing residential &
commercial heating, ventilation and air-conditioning equipment. We offer
a great selection online at the lowest prices anywhere. We can also be
found on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube