Silestone is the preferred kitchen worktop option of Fitzgeralds Interiors

Silestone is a durable quartz material produced by Cosentino, which has over 70 years’ experience in the natural stone industry and leads the market in the production of quartz surfaces.  Over 200,000 kitchen worktops are produced and installed in kitchens throughout Europe, America, Asia and Australia every year.

Silestone is a truly high-performance material: high levels of resistance to scratch, stain and heat, combined with the durability of natural quartz, create a low-maintenance, hygienic work surface (with Microban antibacterial protection), ideal for use throughout the home.  It has four times the flexural strength of granite and, unlike solid surface materials, does not need a substrate to fix onto, allowing greater layout design potential without compromise.  It is produced from 93% pure quartz and is available in 47 colours in two finishes: polished and the new ‘leather’ finish (which is slightly textured and with minimal surface reflection).  With a large quantity of slabs stocked in the UK in thicknesses of 30mm, 20mm and 12mm, it can be fabricated to suit all requirements.

Conclusions

Silestone Quartz and Granite are the only worktop materials giving consistently strong performances across the different tests.  All the other materials tested exhibited weakness in at least one area that could affect its ‘in use’ performance.  

The quartz and hard silicate minerals found in the Silestone Quartz and Granite generate high heat and scratch resistance and the resins contained within the Silestone Quartz, Laminate and Solid Surface materials provide exceptional qualities of stain resistance.

The Laminates provide extremes in performance.  The Gloss finish performed poorly on two of the three tests, while the Textured finish appeared to be much more resilient and performed in many ways similarly to the Silestone Quartz.  However, both Laminate samples suffer from being softer and generally yielding low scratch resistance.  The Wood sample is clearly soft, which results in significant damage in most tests.  The sample was not oiled or lacquered and staining performance at least could be improved through this, although the strength will only marginally improve.

Table of Results

A Guide to Kitchen Worktops

Your kitchen worktop is the most used item in your kitchen and warrants as much attention as choosing appliances and selecting doors.  Kitchen worktops have to meet your demands in regard to both design and performance.

Kip Jeffrey (a Chartered Geologist, Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Geological Society, involved in the study of industrial and construction materials for over 20 years) has written an independent report and managed individual tests, detailed fully below.  The conclusions are as follows:-

The Tests

• Stain Resistance - olive oil, coffee and blackcurrants in juice were tested on each separate worktop and placed in contact with the surfaces for varying periods of time.  The samples were then cleaned according to the respective fabricator’s instructions and a visual assessment made of any staining.
• Heat Resistance – to replicate a roasting dish, steel rings were heated to 170°C/gas mark 3, 200°C/gas mark 6 and 230°C/gas mark 8 and placed on the work surface for periods up to two minutes, after which the surfaces were examined and any visual or physical changes noted.
• Scratch Resistance – knife cuts were made on the worktop surface by the controlled pendulum motion of a serrated bread knife.  A visual assessment of the depth, width, continuity and visual impact of the cuts was made in each case.