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Sintered Stone: All you need to know when choosing your kitchen benchtop

If you have the privilege (or the pain) of designing your dream kitchen you most likely would have come across the names Dekton, Florim and Neolith, Ascale.These ultra-compact surfaces are sneaking into the radar as the newest craze in kitchen benchtops and are currently considered as the ‘elite’ in countertop and splashback choice.Although theseabove brands have similar products, they are made by completely separate companies, and each will have their reasons for being the best, they do fal...

Achieving NZESAG Gold Accreditation: A Mark of Excellence in Engineered Stone Fabricating

In today's world, the demand for high quality engineered stone products is on the rise. With their exceptional durability, versatility, and aesthetic appeal, engineered stone surfaces have become a popular choice for homeowners and businesses alike. However, ensuring the safety standards of fabricating these products is crucial. That's where industry accreditations play a pivotal role. One accreditation is the NZESAG RCS accreditation, offered by the New Zealand Engineered Stone Advisory Group.O...

Respirable Crystalline Silica (RCS) and how we prevent potential exposure

As a business that specialises in fabricating engineered stone benchtops, we take safety measures seriously. One of the main concerns in our industry is controlling the amount of silica dust that is produced during the fabrication process. Silica dust can be extremely hazardous to workers' health, causing lung cancer, silicosis, and other respiratory diseases.To ensure the safety of our team, we have several measures to control silica dust during the fabrication process. We are part of the NZ En...

How much will a stone benchtop cost?

Yes, when you imagine your kitchen looking sensational with a stunning stone benchtop and entertaining your guests around a benchtop that is the envy to every man and woman's eye, you may begin to wonder if a stone benchtop is in your budget. The good news is that supply and demand have made stone benchtop products much more affordable than it was 4-5 years ago. Engineered stone and Granite are the fastest growing materials in the benchtop industry, making them not only for the ‘Rich and Famou...

5 Reasons to Invest in Stone for Your Kitchen Benchtop

When you enhance your living space with stone it’s possible to increase the value of your home far beyond the extra investment you have made in a stone countertop. It gives a home a feeling of sophistication, class and timeless value that no other benchtop product offers....

What Stone should I choose for my Kitchen Benchtop?

If you have been into a kitchen showroom you may well have felt overwhelmed with the choices that lay in front of you. It seems that now the biggest decision to be made when designing your kitchen is the benchtop. In many cases it is the costliest part of the kitchen, so its understandable that you want to make the right choice. Here is a simple guideline of the 3 main categories of stone used for kitchen benchtops....

Can my stone benchtop crack or get damaged?

Let’s be honest, this is a real fear for many. It’s not a small amount of money that you are choosing to pay and you want to know that you are investing it wisely....

Are you thinking about a honed or leathered stone finish for your benchtop?

Over the past few years, we have noticed kitchen design trends are incorporating textured stones. With this comes yet another decision to be made when designing your kitchen. Should I choose a stone with a polished finish or a honed finish?...

Modernise Your Kitchen with a Benchtop Replacement

I will be so bold as to say that your kitchen benchtop is one of the most used surfaces in your home. From making your morning cup of coffee, preparing meals for the mundane and special occasions, right up to pouring a glass of wine at the end of a long day for that special person in your life. A kitchen benchtop can be an undervalued furnishing in your home so if you are a homeowner it is worth taking the next few minutes to consider how to transform this important accessory into an elegant st...

Kitchen Benchtop Replacement Transforms Hamilton Home

The Hamilton housing market, like the rest of the country, is on the rise. It should be no massive surprise that home owners don’t mind spending a few thousand on ‘up-specing’ their home when they’ve just made hundreds of thousands in the housing market rise. We’ve just replaced a benchtop for one client who struck it lucky and bought her Hamilton home at a bargain. It was a beautiful 1990’s home with all the bells and whistles. “It’s just the benchtop I cannot stand’ she expla...

Should I Get a Concrete or Marble Kitchen Benchtop?

Both concrete and marble in their real forms are extremely difficult to maintain over a long period of time.Marble, being a natural stone is extremely porous and prone to staining. Not only this but it is one of the ‘softer’ stones used for kitchen benchtops, thus, is more prone to damage by knocks and general day to day use.Concrete is also a very porous product, although today you have all sorts of sealants available that will prevent some staining. The customer report is that it is still ...

Our Customer Reviews – Tips and Suggestions from Our Customers

I recently surveyed some of our most recent customers and thought that some of their comments and suggestions would be perfect to put into a blog. Check out the top comments:...

Types of Kitchen Benchtops and Their Advantages

With so many bench top product types and colours available on the market, choosing one could be quite overwhelming and exciting. So what type of bench top are you wanting? Here the main types of bench top you can choose from:...

Composite / Engineered Stone Benchtops - A Growing Trend in Kitchen Design

There has never been a better time to be in the market for a new kitchen benchtop. Once upon a time you were limited to a few mottled laminate colours, but now, a home owner is able to choose from hundreds of colours, patters, textures in materials ranging from natural stone to composite stone, concrete, wood, acrylic and ceramic tile. Of all of these choices, Composite Stone or Quartz remains the growing trend in kitchen design....

My Sink is Falling Out of My Granite Benchtop

If you granite benchtop has everything but the kitchen sink you are not the only one. Sinks can separate from stone benchtops for 2 main reasons: Poor installation: If the correct specifications and quality materials have not been used or followed this can result in glues not binding effectively to the stone material of your benchtop. Age: Your benchtop may have been installed over 10 years ago which could mean that the adhesive products may just not be working as well as they used to. ...

Roy's Benchtop Replacement Story

We can’t wait to have our family come and admire our new kitchen benchtop these holidays! We love our home and my wife spends a great deal of time in the kitchen because she enjoys it. Our formica benchtop was 18 years old and had begun to fade in certain parts. Louis hated the faded patches and it just made the entire kitchen look worn. We are in our late seventies and just do not want the hassle of having our kitchen taken out and a new one built so I found CB Benchtops number in the phone ...

Vi's Story - Why I replaced my kitchen benchtop and why I am so happy I did

Vi is another one of our happy customers. She is over 80 years old and I recently visited her to find out how she was enjoying her new stone bench top and to also find out what made her decide to get her bench top replaced. And this is her story… When Clive came around with the samples to look at, he left them with me for a few days. I particularly like the twinkle black colour –I thought that it was quite dramatic and would add a wonderful feature to my home.I also decided to get new appli...

A benchtop replacement transformed my kitchen in just one day.

Wendy is one of our very happy customers who was able to completely transform her kitchen her journey and story of how she decided on a bench top replacement I though would be excellent to share. Wendy had been looking at replacing her bench top for a number of months. “I was never happy with my benchtop from the beginning,” she tells me “When we were building there were so many decisions to be made and I was rushed into it. After I thought, Why did I go with that dark colour.”12 years l...

Granite Benchtops - Going, Gone?

For the last 10 years, granite has been regarded as the most favored bench top stone material. Granite is a natural stone that is relatively heat resistant, durable and comes in fantastic, unique and natural colours. No two slabs are the same. However, it also has major flaws and for quite some time now, several bench top materials are emerging and competing with it....

4 questions you must ask your stone benchtop fabricator or manufacturer

With so many natural and composite stone brands and fabricators of stone benchtops available here are 4 important questions to ask your stone benchtop fabricator to ensure you make an informed decision when choosing the composite or natural stone for you kitchen benchtop as well an experienced fabricator: What is the country of origin of this stone brand? Composite stone is manufactured in a number of countries. Countries such as Spain and Germany have stricter quality regulations when compared...

What is Quartz, Engineered Stone or Man-made Stone?

Let's get the name right. There’s often confusion between tradesmen and homeowners when it comes to quartz benchtops. This can be because the tradesman are so use to using terms like engineered stone, man-made stone, quartz, and they presume that everyone one will know what they are talking about. To get the name right first. Engineered stone, quartz, and man made stone are all different names for the same thing. Like some may say automobile, vehicle, or car. In this article we will use engin...

Repairing Chipped Granite Benchtops

A kitchen is an area where we cook and prepare our food. A typical kitchen is composed of a sink, cooking stoves, cabinets and electric appliances such as refrigerators, ovens and dishwashers. More often than not, what makes kitchens stand out is its granite bench tops. Known for its durability and strength, not to mention its natural beauty, granite has always been one of the top choices for kitchen bench tops or countertops. This natural stone is heat resistant; therefore no amount of heat ca...

Why is quartz the best product for my kitchen bench?

If you are renovating your kitchen, building a new home or thinking of the simple benchtop replacement this question almost always comes up first “What product should I choose for my kitchen benchtop?”. With so many different options out there it definitely does not make the decision easier, in fact , sometimes it stops you from making a decision altogether. Instead of giving you the list of different product options and the pros and cons of each I would like to tell you a little about the p...

Free Home Consultation

Make the right choice for your kitchen benchtop in your own home. Choosing a colour for your kitchen benchtop can be one of the most challenging tasks. Unlimited choice can be paralyzing and prevent someone from making a choice to change altogether. That is why we offer a free consultation at your home so that you are able to see large stone samples in the comfort of your home under the unique light and shades in your kitchen. We know what colours look great and we can make recommendations for y...

Our laminate benchtop had a faded patch which always bothered us

Mike and his wife Anne are real jet setters and spend a lot of their time abroad. They have their house powered by solar panels and they are certainly a very interesting couple who are clearly enjoying their retirement. When, finally, I found them at home they were only to pleased to share their ‘benchtop story with me’ For which I’m so grateful and some of the reasons around why they replaced their benchtop and chose the colour that they did might ring a bell for you. • We had a faded p...