Advice on kitchen benchtops

[greenhorn]

Am looking to do kitchen reno but there are so many options for benchtops out there. Am currently deciding between engineered stone or laminate for benchtops. Any advice as to which is better? I'm looking for something that's low maintenance; doesn't scratch easily; preferably heat resistant & doesn't stain.
There seems to be a heap of engineered stone products - Caesarstone, Essastone, Quantum Quartz. What's the difference between them? Which is better.

[Just George]

Caesarstone and Essastone are both a ground up Quarttz mixed with a coloured resin. Quantum Quartz is something that I've not heard of but sounds similar(after doing a google search I think it is also the same type of product).

Caesarstone and Essastone are naturally cold so you WILL NOT put your hot pots and baking trays straight onto it. A tiled bench top is good for this. Get a nice piece of timber for putting your pots and trays onto, sand and oil polish it.

These products are also very expensive unless you can get them direct from the manufacturer, even then it'll be a few thousand $$$.

[azza_1980]

ceasarstone has been getting to be a lot more popular now, so i asked my foreman why and he says that the ceasar stone costs much the same as it costs for us to make the laminated benchtops. If you do choose to go for a laminated top and don't want the scratches i suggest you avoid the darker colours and avoid gloss finishes.

[Honorary Bloke]

If you are looking for heat resistance, avoid laminate as it likes to melt. Nothing in the made-stones is completely heat-proof, but they are very resilient. Tile, as mentioned above, is the go for almost complete heat-proof bench tops.

[solid art]

Have you thought about concrete benchtops?

[pharmaboy2]

Caesarstone and Essastone are both a ground up Quarttz mixed with a coloured resin. Quantum Quartz is something that I've not heard of but sounds similar(after doing a google search I think it is also the same type of product).

Caesarstone and Essastone are naturally cold so you WILL NOT put your hot pots and baking trays straight onto it. A tiled bench top is good for this. Get a nice piece of timber for putting your pots and trays onto, sand and oil polish it.

These products are also very expensive unless you can get them direct from the manufacturer, even then it'll be a few thousand $$$.

here's a radical idea - my actual experience with a caesarstone ice snow benchtop, is that over the last 3 yrs of ownership I have made a pizza nearly every week with a pizza stone in an oven pre heated to 250 celsius - most times i have placed it straight on the benchtop while making the pizza - it has never marked the benchtop in any way. also included is lots of baking trays as well, and pots straight off the cooker.

What kitchen people say, has more to do with them being uncertain and not prepared to guarantee it - caeserstone recomend trivets, but at the same time note that igntioin of the resin occurs at just under 500o C - how the flap anyone can get a pot that hot in a kitchen is beyond me - but i'm sure a cast iron pot left on a wok burner for an hour will probbaly glow red hot.

Oh, and I have accidently stuck said pizza stone on a wooden chopping board - oops - some nice black patterns on the chopping block!