Home decoration cabinets go first, and countertops are the most important place to pay attention to when buying cabinets, because cabinet countertops are the most used part of the cabinet, and their quality is directly related to the service life of the cabinet and the environmental protection factor. In the current common cabinet countertops, there are three materials: artificial stone, natural stone, and stainless steel. What are the different advantages and disadvantages of different materials? Let the experiencer tell you.
Artificial stone: practical but good and bad:
The polymer artificial stone is made of natural ore + masterbatch + acrylic resin glue through high temperature and high-pressure processing to make a sheet with uniform texture, compact structure, and no pores, and has certain wear resistance, acid resistance, high-temperature resistance, and stamping resistance. , Anti-strike and flexural properties, especially with the characteristics of seamless splicing and good processing performance, and are widely used. The promotion and application of this new man-made material in the manufacture of modern cabinets have enriched the multiple combinations of cabinet surface materials and further enhanced the aesthetic content and practical decoration of the overall cabinet design.
The experiencer said: Ms. Zhang, 35 years old, teacher.
I have used many cabinets in my home, and I still think artificial stone is the best. Because the artificial stone can be seamlessly spliced, there are no sanitary corners, and it is also very beautiful and looks particularly neat and clean. But be sure to choose good quality artificial stone, because the bad artificial stone will have poor hardness, and cracks will appear after a period of use, which will affect the use.
Advantages: anti-penetration, no radiation. There are no pores on the surface, oil stains and water stains are not easy to penetrate into it, strong anti-fouling, easy to clean, easy to maintain, surface scratches can be smoothed with 1200-1500 fine sand, often used frequently. The colors are gorgeous and the patterns are natural and generous. Can be made in a variety of shapes, spliced arbitrarily, and seamlessly connected.
Disadvantages: Not resistant to high temperatures, easy to scratch, and uneven.
Recognition of artificial stone countertop and its processing quality
Due to the different raw materials used, there are big differences in the properties of artificial stone, and it is difficult to judge simply by the appearance, and it is not recognized by ordinary consumers. Therefore, it is recommended that consumers choose carefully according to their own affordability when purchasing artificial stone countertops. They cannot just choose low-quality artificial stone countertops for temporary cheapness, otherwise, there will be endless troubles.
Natural stone: noble but not easy to clean
After being tempered by wind and rain, natural stone has a natural unique beautiful texture and an extremely hard texture. The natural stone is made into a countertop, and the kitchen is undoubtedly built into a strong but beautiful castle. Natural stone mainly includes granite and marble, with relatively high density, outstanding high-temperature resistance and scratch resistance, good wear resistance, and low cost. The most commonly used materials are only a few hundred yuan per meter. , It is economical countertop material.
Experiencer said: Mr. Li, 40 years old, owner of a private enterprise
Since my home was decorated in European style and installed solid wood cabinets and natural stone countertops, my mood can be said to have been ups and down several times. The decoration was done first, and I looked at the new home in a very good mood, but after a while, I found that once the stains were accidentally put on the cabinet countertops, the countertops would leave marks and it was difficult to clean, which made me a headache.
Advantages: compact structure, high hardness, wear resistance, pressure resistance, fire resistance, and milk erosion.
Disadvantages: There are pores on the surface, easy to penetrate and difficult to clean, poor processing performance, difficult to make a whole table, and difficult to handle at the joints. There are invisible natural cracks, which will break when encountering a sharp change in temperature. The color is single, the seams are obvious, and they cannot be used as a front and back water retaining piece.
In addition, there is another kind of quartz stone countertops, a new thing in cabinet countertops. It is represented by “Silistone” produced in Spain. Its hardness is harder than artificial stone, and it is easier to clean than artificial stone, and sometimes even the cleaner it gets, the newer it is.
Stainless steel: neat but too cold
Stainless steel is the traditional raw material for household kitchen appliances, and among all the materials, stainless steel has the best antibacterial properties. For consumers who emphasize practical considerations, or consumers who like metal texture, it is not impossible to buy stainless steel countertops.
The experiencer said: Mr. Liu, 26 years old, architect
When choosing cabinet countertops, I chose easy-to-clean stainless steel. But every friend who came to the house said that my kitchen lacked a little taste of home, and it seemed too cold.
Advantages: bright and clean, excellent performance, strong, easy to clean, and strong practicability.
Disadvantages: The vision is “hard” and gives people a “cold” feeling. There is no reasonable and effective treatment method at the corners and joints of the cabinet countertops, and it is not suitable for the special characteristics of civil kitchens such as pipe crossing. Moreover, it cannot be repaired after being scratched by a sharp tool, the color is relatively fixed, and there are gaps in the splicing.