If you want a sleek and evergreen countertop for your kitchen, then you should head over to a quartz workshop to see the variety of designs and patterns available for your kitchen countertops.

Learn about ideal kitchen countertops

Amidst the natural kitchen countertops such as granite and marble, man-made quartz countertops are quickly making its way into the market due to its versatility in designs and many qualities such as solid and sturdy material, scratch free properties, affordable, nonporous nature making it free of stains, bad smells and antibacterial.

Kitchen countertops features

The quartz countertop fabricator is the best alternative to natural stone as it is made up of ground quartz mixed with a little resin and color and can attain any natural look of any stone and combines the imitation of lamination and stone. If you want to go for a quartz countertop fabricator, then go to any quartz workshop in your vicinity to choose the quartz countertop according to your requirements. Below are a few tips to select the best quartz countertop.

Size and Thickness

To choose a countertop form the quartz workshop, you will first need to determine the size and thickness of your preferred countertop. Generally, a countertop should be of a 1.25-inch thickness and quartz countertop come in varied thickness. So you will need to select the one that is according to your size.

Edges and Finishing

You can go for any edges or finish according to your preferences. Quartz countertops can be constructed into any edge you want, such as waterfall, rounded, straight, pencil or other sleek edges. Some certain kind of edges may require extra slabs of quartz to give a finished look an edge.

Cost

If you have a certain cost in mind and you do not want to exceed beyond that cost then you will need to select the quartz countertop accordingly. If you want to go for a customized edge and design, then the cost will increase as compared to regular and straight edged countertop.

Colors and Designs

The quartz countertops can be made into a variety of patterns, designs, and colors and can imitate even the most expensive of granite and marble. So first you will need to pick a color combination and design of your kitchen and cabinets and then decide the color you want or your quartz countertop.

Measurements

Your contractor will be needing the measurements prior to making the quartz countertop as he will need to know your requirements, whether you want a cooktop or a sink and faucet in between the countertop. He will need to know the basic construction work, design and how many holes and fixtures to add before making the quartz countertop according to your design.

Know The Materials

Most contractors do not state the amount of quartz, resin and polymers used. If you wish for a more natural quartz countertops fabricator Rockville MD then less resin should be used while for a laminated look then the quantity of resin, color pigments and polymers is increased. So make sure to ask your contractor how much of each material is being used.

If you are interested in making quartz kitchen countertops, try the method put forward by granite installers. They are fancy, easy to make and light on your budget.

Planning kitchen countertop installation

The first step is planning. You need to answer the following questions.

  • How much budget do you have?
  • What material are you looking for? (Wood/Granite/Quartz)
  • How much space do you have?
  • Do you have any expertise using tools?
  • How much time do you have?

If you are unsatisfied with your answers, stop right here and call professional granite installers. Tell them to show you an affordable range of countertops and you can directly buy, without getting frustrated upon construction.

  1. Making A Countertop

We are explaining a method of making a cheap countertop. This counter can be made in as low as $30. You need three things to get started:

  • Five 8’ 2 x 6
  • Wood glue
  • Lots of clamps

A 2 x 6 costs around $5. Being soft construction lumber, it is important to distress the wood before staining and oiling. The finishing will harden the wooden surface.

  1. Distressing

Get your hands on all sorts of scratchy materials you can find in the house. Use your imagination to scrape the wood. Think of yourself as an abstract artist, showing his masterpiece on your future wooden countertop. Now join all the planks with the help of wood glue. Clamps can also be used in accordance.

  1. Cutting

With the help of a jointer, trim the edges of each piece of 2 x 6. Make a wide wood plank by gluing and clamping the pieces together. Sometimes, you observe that the whole surface isn’t appearing flat. For best results, you can take pairs and join them at a time. Let glue dry and then join more. In this way, your concentration will be upon keeping one plank flat at a time. Remove any excess glue off the surface.

  1. Sanding

Get a sand paper or a belt sander to sand the entire board. The cool thing about belt sander is that it scraps off wood very fast. Keep it moving and make sure that the surface is even. You can even use a partition (straight edge) to make you aware about high points. Sand the area and try again.

Now smoothen the final surface with an orbital sander. 80 is a good number to start with, followed by grit 120 and 220. Work on the front edges to make them round.

  1. Staining

To make the color effect more thought provoking, you can use more than one colors. Dark shades of brown and black are appreciated since they maintain their color. Smear it all over the place and let it dry.

Repeat the process again.

  1. Making A Sink Hole

If your sink comes equipped with a template, your job has gotten easier. You can take help from a Sharpee to trace the sink shape and cut it either, via jigsaw and a circular saw. If you don’t have a template, you have to take the measurements and drill the hole. The hole made will have to be smoothened.

After smoothening the final hole, you have to stain it again. It seems making a cheap countertop is all about sharpening and smoothening. Apply layers of multiple stain colors till you are able to feel the awesomeness.

  1. Making Wood Vivid

To make wood rich in color, use Tung oil (drying agent for wood). If you have applied 3 – 4 coats, you have to apply 3 coats of Tung oil. The Tung oil penetrates into the wood and makes it rich in color.

Initially, the wood will absorb more oil and look very dull but with each coating iteration, less oil would be absorbed and wood will appear will rich in color.

  1. Installation

Install the countertop with hardware provided with sink. It is always a good strategy to have larger reveal area for your sink. You can use the extra space for folding laundry.

Granite Installers and Quartz Kitchen Countertops

If you are unsure about any step, rest assure that professional granite installers rockville md are just a call away. They will help you during difficulties and have exclusive offers at discounted rates.

Seeing their rich variety of quartz kitchen countertops, you may like to avoid builder’s stress and enjoy readymade quartz kitchen countertops at low cost.

 After conducting some research have you narrowed down to granite or quartz as your material to be used for your kitchen countertop? But you are not sure which one is better and therefore you are in a dilemma. If this is the situation that you are involved in, I am sure you are in a difficult situation and will not be able to get out of your problem very easily. So, you please read this article and come equipped with knowledge about the pros and cons of both these materials so that you can decide whether you need granite countertops or not .  In this article I am going to study the pros and the cons of granite as well as quarts.

Most often the manufacturers of granite and quartz tout each other stating that their product is very hard, natural and obtained from the crust of the earth.

What are their differences?

Natural:  Let us examine one by one. Granite are extracted from quarries and they are 100 percent natural. They are cut to convenient sizes and are honed down till they attain the required smoothness. Quartz is 97 % natural according to the popular beliefs. But one of the top quartz countertops manufacturers opines that it is only 93 % natural and the remaining 7 % comes from polymer resins and color pigments. Particles are bound together by the resins.

Cost:  Bargaining will not give any positive results as far as these two products are concerned.  You can save money only if you decide to avoid these two materials and go for something like Laminates for your kitchen countertop. Price of countertop materials like granite and quartz are regularly changing as they are coming from other countries. So whenever there is considerable change in the price of petroleum, the price of these products also changes. Base price of granite can be around $60 per square foot and it varies exponentially from there. Price of quarts varies from $65 to $90 per square foot.

Radon

A radioactive element called radon which is linked to cancer in the lungs is found in both quartz and granite countertops. But as its traces are very little house owners need not feel worried about its presence while using in kitchen counter tops.  A scare in this regard was widespread in the US during the period prior to 2008. A publication named Consumer Reports has reported that no radon is released from granite and it is very little in the case of quartz.

Maintenance

One naturally feels that stones do not require any maintenance, whether it is engineered or natural.  This is not true in the case of quartz and granite.  Both these substance require maintenance. Granite is considered to be requiring more maintenance than quartz. Granite needs sealing on installation and then it has to be repeated on regular basis. But quartz is an exemption and it does not need any kind of sealing whether it is initial or continued.

Durability: Presence of resins makes quartz more flawless. There will be no invisible striations in it that can lead to cracks. Quartz is prone to staining as it contains resins in it. Granite which is a natural stone has all its beauty. Though it has some imperfections and flaws home owners love for its beauty. Granite can get stained when red wine falls on it.

Recommendation

Quartz is designed for rigorous conditions prevailing in the kitchen.  It is not a quarry material. So quartz countertops rockville, MD are preferable.