Countertops come in a variety of materials, each with differing price points as well as pros and cons. Hopefully you've done some foundational work to make the decision process easier. If not, here’s a helpful worksheet from our "Planning Your Renovation" blog post: Planning Worksheet

There are 4 main materials:

Plastic Laminate
Solid surface
Stone – natural (granite, marble, soapstone) and manufactured/engineered
Wood/Live edge/Bamboo/Butcher Block

1. Plastic Laminate Countertops

This option is best for your wallet but no need to fret over being dull. There are lots of patterns, wood grain and stone-looks or options to satisfy the retro or Mid-century look. The tops are constructed from the thin layer of laminate being bonded to a substrate like particleboard or MDF.

Pros:

Budget friendly
Lots of variety

Cons:

Considered “cheap” so not the best for resale
Not as durable as other options as they can peel, chip and scorch over time

2. Solid Surface Countertops

This is a man-made material that was created as an alternative to natural stone options. It’s made with blends of synthetic acrylic and polyester materials held together with resins and shaped into slabs.

Pros:

It’s nearly non-porous
Homogeneous
Easy to work with and be repaired
Affordable upgrade over laminate.

Cons:

Scratches
May experience heat deformation
Over a long time will probably fade in colour.

3. Stone Countertops

There’s a wide variety here but there are two main camps. So, what's the difference between a natural stone slab and a manufactured or engineered countertop? Before we begin, here’s the basics of each.

Natural Stone

This has literally been around for millions of years. Huge blocks of granite, marble, slate, quartzite and other types of stone are quarried from the ground, cut, and then sliced into slabs, and polished. No two slabs are identical because nature doesn’t repeat itself.

Special mention under natural stone would be soapstone which is a favourite of ours if you can find the right slab. Soapstone can range in hardness and you have to be careful unless you are cool with scratches that eventually create a lovely rustic patina.

Manufactured Slabs

These are created in a factory by combining pulverized natural stone waste bits with pigments and then binding them together with resin or acrylic. It is 93-95% ground stone combined with a 5-7% polymer resin. In essence, it’s an engineered stone instead of one made directly by Mother Nature.

How do they compare?

Colour

Natural: Has a lot of variations slab to slab and every countertop is unique
Manufactured: Homogeneous – good colour consistency throughout

Durability

Natural: Options like Granite is usually very hard and durable. Soapstone and marble are little bit softer, are a little more prone to damage and require a little bit more maintenance
Manufactured: Practically maintenance free, resists staining, scratching, heat and impact resistant, can mimic almost any other stone

Porosity

Natural: All-natural stone is a porous material and does need to be sealed periodically to avoid staining. Especially the designer favourite – the Carrara Marble. It’s rife with issues with red wine around glasses and other bits of acid that eat into it, such as lemon juice etc.
Manufactured: Basically, nonporous and they don’t require any sealing.

Cleaning

Both clean easily but you’ll want to avoid abrasive cleaners especially with natural stone.

Seams

Depending on the size of your countertop, often times you’re going to have a seam.

Natural: Can be quite visible, especially on slabs that have a lot of movement or patterning.
Manufactured: Usually inconspicuous, especially between slabs of consistent colour, but they can still be a little more visible with patterns that are a bit wilder.

Other decisions to make:

Slab thickness

Today, 2 cm or 3 cm are the most popular options. You can also create a built-up edge by joining one or more layers together to create an edge that is much thicker in appearance or allowing it to have a profiled edge.

Edge profiles

In the 80s and 90s, people were getting into quite ornate profiles with dropped rounds, ogees, and full bullnoses, and a whole bunch of others with a variety of names. The general idea is that you built it up so that you could put a fancy design on the edge of it.

Today, the more common style is to do an eased edge and many inspiration pictures that clients bring us for islands, or a peninsula, would show a mitered or waterfall edge where the horizontal countertop surface is mitered at the ends then it continues vertically down to the floor. It can be an effective designer look but getting outlets into the ends to meet electrical code is sometimes problematic if you are wanting an uninterrupted look. There are ways to get around it but it’s just something you need to consider.

Finishes

There are a lot of different finishes you can choose from with all of the varieties of stone. There are the classic options like polished and then there’s the more fanciful ones like leather and they all have cost impacts. As expected, any finish that requires multiple processes will have a surcharge.

Granite: Polished, honed, leathered, caressed, flamed, bush hammered

Marble: Polished, honed, leathered, sand blasted

Manufactured: Natural, polished, honed, concrete (similar to honed but has a tactile effect), rough, suede, volcano. All these finishes will have different names depending on the brand.

Which type of stone countertop is the best for you?

Both Natural and manufactured slabs can be excellent choices. Most of our clients choose manufactured countertops because of the durability and easy maintenance. Costs for high-quality manufactured and natural slabs are comparable, but you will pay more for extremely unique natural slabs with lots of "movement" or patterning. If you want to make a bold statement, a natural slab would be the natural choice. Haha!

4. Wood/Live edge/Bamboo/Butcher Block Countertops

This is a great option to use when looking to bring in a warm feel but, as we all know, wood and water don’t play well together so not a great option around a sink – better used as an island or kitchen desk.

The timeless look of butcherblock countertops is coming back in a big way. Live edge slabs are really on trend right now, and bamboo has been making steady inroads for a while.