Kitchen worktops - Krion & Caesarstone

[glitch]

My plans for a cast concrete worktop have been scuppered by the unwillingness of the manufacturer to guarantee they are safe from acidic stains - water is fine, oil is file, but something like wine... not sure.

So, I've started to look at something like Corian, etc and popped in to my local Porcelanosa where they had Krion and Caesarstone on display. Neither product being something I had seen before.

Krion seems quite nice if you find a good colour, plus any joins can be sealed/smoothed on-site during install for a pretty much seamless finish. Caesarstone doesn't have that, but does have finishes with some texture which might get me close to the cast concrete look.

Two different products, but they each have their pros and cons. Anyone have experience with either?

 

[Martynt74]

We looked at Corian but in all the show rooms they all seemed pretty scratched. I know they can be sanded back to smooth but I always thought they looked terrible.

I’ve not heard of Krion. Is that another acrylic type product?

I’d go with the Caeserstone if it was me. As mentioned elsewhere we’ve gone for the Silestone Quartz in a soft textured suede finish and I’ve never seen anything come close for me.

What put you off the Denton? Just because of the lack of textures on the edges?

 

[mattyg]

We went with a quartz frpm ITAStone it was half the price of silestone and I believe had a slightly higher % of quartz

https://www.prestigegranite.co.uk/productrange/#ita-stone

I mention this as we also grappled whether to go with a corian type.. But couldn't find one in a showroom that didnt look battered.

We called prestige granite tuesday afternoon. They templated wed morning and wanted to fit Friday. We weren't ready on friday so install was saturday.... Really can't knock that kind of turnaround. But I suppose thats useless if your not in the area

 

[planty]

We were also interested in corian but as others have said, went with quartz because the examples in showrooms were always scratched. If they get that battered in a showroom I don't see how they will keep looking good in the real world.

 

[glitch]

I’ve not heard of Krion. Is that another acrylic type product?

Yes, similar. Here's their blurb:

KRION™ is a new generation solid surface developed by SYSTEMPOOL, a company that belongs to the Porcelanosa Group.

It is a material that is warm to the touch and similar to natural stone. It is made of two-thirds natural minerals (ATH – Alumina Trihydrate) and a low percentage of high-resistance resins. This composition gives KRION™ a number of exclusive features: it does not have any pores, it is anti-bacterial without any type of additive, it is hard-wearing, highly resistant and easy to repair, only requires minimum maintenance and is easy to clean.

It is cut in a similar way to wood, allowing us to cut the sheets, connect them and thermoform them to create curved sections, and can even be injected during the production process, making it possible to create different designs and projects that are impossible to achieve with other materials.

Seamless sections can be created, preventing liquids from being absorbed and making cleaning and maintenance easier.

Looks good in the showrooms, but you need to pick from a small range within the range to get decent scratch resistance.

I’d go with the Caeserstone if it was me. As mentioned elsewhere we’ve gone for the Silestone Quartz in a soft textured suede finish and I’ve never seen anything come close for me.

I do like the textured finish options with the Caesarstone, but so far not found a colour that'll work.

What put you off the Denton? Just because of the lack of textures on the edges?

Yes, but thickness played a part. I want chunky, not slimline - just the look I'm going for.

We went with a quartz frpm ITAStone it was half the price of silestone and I believe had a slightly higher % of quartz

Don't suppose you went for Coral Grey? That's about the only finish they do which appeals.

 

[mattyg]

@glitch

No we went for the carrara
20171225_113707

Excuse the mess xmas morning getting ready for 30 guests...Oh and still no splashbacks...lol

 

[glitch]

Nice kitchen. Very nice kitchen.

 

[mattyg]

Nice kitchen. Very nice kitchen.

Thanks.

Its slowly getting there!

 

[rexehuk]

We looked at worktops extensively... and settled on Quartz, because it seems like the best all rounder/longest lasting. Didn't want to spend X thousands on a surface and be tiptoeing around it all the time scared of damaging it. So granite is great, but having to clean up a stain within hours (where you might not notice) is a risk. Same for Corian with hot pans etc, slight lapse of judgement in the moment and looking at repair bills.

 

[the_r_sole]

Krion looks pretty sweet but I think the whites are usually the best looking - it's certainly hard wearing, we have a sample panel that's 20mm think with routered design on it in the office that's been used for all sorts and still looks brand new.
They seem to have expanded the range recently too to include some concrete looking colours (or is that the ceaserstone?)

 

[glitch]

They seem to have expanded the range recently too to include some concrete looking colours (or is that the ceaserstone?)

I think that's Caesarstone - very few of the Krion finishes look natural; on the whole it has a touch of the artificial about it. Fine if you like that sort of thing though.

I've got two Caesarstone samples in the house with me as I type, Sleek Concrete and Airy Concrete, neither of which looks anything like the images on the web. However, they do look almost identical to the cast concrete worktop samples I have.

At this rate I'm going to stick with laminate, which gives me pretty much all of the aesthetic appearance at about an eighth of the cost of anything else.

 

[tom_nieto]

Corian is really soft and does stain quite easily. It's repairable more easily that if you took a chunk out of solid stone though.

 

[a1ex2001]

Are those products guaranteed against red wine stains? When

I think that's Caesarstone - very few of the Krion finishes look natural; on the whole it has a touch of the artificial about it. Fine if you like that sort of thing though.

I've got two Caesarstone samples in the house with me as I type, Sleek Concrete and Airy Concrete, neither of which looks anything like the images on the web. However, they do look almost identical to the cast concrete worktop samples I have.

At this rate I'm going to stick with laminate, which gives me pretty much all of the aesthetic appearance at about an eighth of the cost of anything else.

quartz for me is leagues ahead of laminate for the feel and look. We have a whiteish quartz with grey flecks which we are really happy with stain-burn resistance is good and it finished the kitchen beautifully!

 

[Business Man]

Have a look at Maxtop. These are hybrid tops that feature Quartz bonded to moisture resistant board. they are equal to 40mm standard laminate worktops. I believe Wren stock them.

The great thing with these is that you don't need to have professionals template your kitchen and then have to wait days. These can be fitted on site with standard tools. You just need diamond discs and blades, you can buy the fixing kit if your good at DIY or just have a fitter fit it. Much quicker to fit as well compared to laminate

 

[glitch]

Are those products guaranteed against red wine stains?

Which ones?

quartz for me is leagues ahead of laminate for the feel and look. We have a whiteish quartz with grey flecks which we are really happy with stain-burn resistance is good and it finished the kitchen beautifully!

There's no mistaking laminate for stone/quartz/etc, but I've got a large sample of the laminate I was originally looking at in the house... and yeah, it's actually pretty good.

If I can't find a suitable stone product to work with, I'll go laminate now and then replace with something nicer next year.

Have a look at Maxtop. These are hybrid tops that feature Quartz bonded to moisture resistant board. they are equal to 40mm standard laminate worktops. I believe Wren stock them.

I've seen something like this before, but the joins were ridiculous - you were left with a grooved channel that stood out a mile. Is this the same stuff?

 

[-Ad-]

Corian is horrible.

Here, buy our expensive plastic composite worktop......... Just doesn't work for me Every one I've seen feels horrible, is scratched all over and just seems like a crap product.

Now, come back to Dekton....... Just don't look at the edge

A decent laminate does the job perfectly though. Might not have the prestige, coolness or 'keep up with the Jones' factor, but it just works! Not a bad choice to try it out and you might love it for years and decide not to change it.

 

[glitch]

I am still considering Dekton... 30mm thick, though. And that definitely means I need to find one that has an edge which won't annoy me!

40mm would be where I really want to be. Just yet to actually see a 30mm thick sample of Dekton, which is what I really need to start making decisions.

Hopefully I'll get my 30mm Caesarstone samples through soon, which will give me an idea of how it might all look.

 

[the_r_sole]

why would you want a standard laminate thickness for a product that doesn't have that limitation? I'f I was spending money on krion/ceaserstone etc I'd be either looking to it as 20mm max thickness or to put a larger downstand to make it look really chunky like 80mm

 

[glitch]

20mm is too thin - it's not the look I'm going for. And 80mm is just laughably thick - the downstand will get in the way of the door openings.

30mm - 50mm is where I'm at currently and it will all depend on the finish of the material I go for. I almost pulled the trigger on 40mm concrete before the acid staining issue arose.

 

[the_r_sole]

if you are going for 40mm I would just stick to a decent laminate then - to me there is zero point in using a specialist material that allows much sleeker looking depths only to use it in a completely standard way, not worth the extra expense when it's going to look like a standard worktop