Is Porcelain Perfect Countertop?
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- Опубликовано: 30 сен 2024
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Porcelain countertops are growing in popularity. But is porcelain as good as they say. I am breaking down the pros and cons to porcelain, in hopes that it will help you make the decision for yourself!
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We installed a porcelain countertop about 5 months ago. My scientist husband was really into the claims of porcelain being stain and scratch resistant, able to withstand high heat, and the claim that porcelain doesn't fade or scratch. I wasn't that sold on it, but gave in because the scientist was so excited. One thing about going porcelain--there weren't that many pattern/style choices in the area in which I live, but we found one that we both agreed on and it does look beautiful.
Here's why I almost hate the porcelain countertop:
We opted for the polished finish instead of the honed finish. It's very pretty and reflective, but if any water sits on the countertop and is allowed to evaporate, we are left with a hard-water mark. (Our water is of moderate hardness, I forget the exact number.) I've talked to my husband about getting a water softener to deal with this problem, but we haven't agreed on that yet. He says there are water softeners that you can get for just under the kitchen sink. Anyway, these hard water spots drive me insane. The only way I can get them off is with Barkeepers Friend which doesn't seem to scratch the porcelain (I know that this cleanser is a no-no for other types of countertops.). So I'm going around my kitchen all the time investigating for any drops of standing water. We have a new undermount sink and there seems to be a lot more splashing when compared to the drop-in sinks, so I'm always finding water that needs to be mopped up. We do pull out/lower the spraying mechanism of our new faucet when we use it, and that does help reduce the splashing, but then the sprayer is almost constantly pulled down (which doesn't matter I guess since it's just us around here, usually. We can easily remedy the faucet situation when guests are over.).
Besides being on the lookout for water droplets, any use of the countertop at all requires not just wiping, but then polishing with a dry microfiber towel. So I'm spending a significant amount of time after any cooking or other kitchen project wiping down and drying/polishing the shiny surface. I had to do this with the ceramic tile that we had before, but the porcelain is taking even more time than the ceramic tile did to make the surface look good. On the other hand, the marks/dirt/water are somewhat hidden by the marbled pattern of the countertop, so you do have to be looking for smudges, etc. I guess I'm looking! I'm a cleaner! One positive note is that perhaps my countertops will be cleaner than they ever were!
About the chipping/scratching:
We had our new porcelain countertop for maybe 3 months when I was rinsing my ceramic crock pot liner in our sink and accidentally nicked the edge and got a chip. (Please watch Mark's video on which type of sink to get. We got a double sink with a larger washing bowl and smaller rinsing bowl, but now I wish I had gotten the large 1 bowl.) Anyway, I was very disappointed that the sink chipped so soon!! I luckily found the chipped off piece (first thought it was a small piece of garbage or food) and so I think that I can repair the chip, but I haven't done it yet. Not sure how...my husband says superglue. Also I do see small scratches in the porcelain like one of the commenters said below. So it's not a perfect world. That's one lesson I've learned from this kitchen remodel--there are always trade-offs.
Anyway, I love/hate my porcelain. It is beautiful. It's shiny. It looks like marble. It does seem to be heat resistant although we still use hot pads for hot pans or dishes. But I do feel like we've installed a sheet of glass on the counter that I have to clean every time anything touches it. I don't mind cleaning, but not this much!
There you have it. A review from the wife of a scientist. Thanks for letting me rant. I hope this is helpful to someone.
Yes! It was very helpful to me actually. I love hearing from real experience. And I love hearing that I was right about the large single sink. hahaha. Thanks so much for sharing!
Is this true of all porcelain counters! Thanks for the feedback porcelain isn't popular yet in UK so hard to get a real review
Years ago I bought a really cheap porcelain chopping board and the claims of it being stain and scratch resistant are no joke. It would take a lot of force to break this surface and it would be pretty weird to be tenderising meat etc without using a wooden chopping board to "soften the blows". The only real downside at the moment is the colour selection as most use "printing" to mimic stone or solid colours. We've yet to see manufacturers really lean into all the different colours and painted effects common in small format tiles. Which has lead to a weird situation where I'm very tempted to just go for "plain white" for lack of any other option that really celebrates this material. I'd suggest if people are unsure to get a free sample and test it out - i had laminate and ended up getting both a wood and stone chopping boards to provide a easy and cheap way to test out each surface.
We have 20x20 porcelain tiles as countertop. Indeed if you try making meat for street tacos with a cleaver you will crack it. Nevertheless, it’s a shiny beautiful product.
I like porcelain for all the reasons mentioned but also because one can install an induction cooktop under the porcelain. (See Invisacook). For a kitchen with limited counterspace, this allows the whole cooktop area to be used for other purposes when not using the burners. So easy to clean! The new conference center in the building where I work in has induction burners and cooling units installed under the countertops on the buffet area and they work great. No more chafers with sterno.
It is an amazing idea, but I checked it out and it is very expensive, at least here in Germany, to install the induction under the counter.
We tried to thoroughly check out Invisicook, but the only showrooms are at businesses that sell porcelain countertops, and the showroom employees are not usually very well trained in using Invisacook. We saw one demo in Seattle where it after 45 minutes with the Invisicook, a pot of water still had not boiled. Our second demo was also in Seattle, where a shallow frying pan with water started to boil after 20-30 minutes. Neither of these employees had much knowledge of the Invisicook, but they were able to get the cooking process started. We seemed to know more about the Inivicook than the employees. Our 3rd demo was in Portland, Oregon, and this was the best demo--the showroom worker was able to boil a moderate amount of water in 15 minutes. Needless to say, but although we love the idea of the Inviscook, the demonstrations left us wondering how long it would take to actually cook a meal. We watched RUclips videos of the Invisacook in action, but the camera always cut away during the cooking process so that we could never see how long the cooking process actually took.
Invisacook may be a great product, but we've yet to see an impressive demonstration.
My comments about our porcelain countertop below.
@@berlinoramai have seen some DIY, taking a normal ikea induction cioktop, removing the glass top and fixing it under porcelain countertop
Two real big issues with porcelain... they chip more easily than quartz or natural stone and it scratches more easily than you think. I own a countertop company and have over 20 years of experience. Porcelain is not a thru body color and the edges need to be mitered. The more you round the miter over on the top the more the underlying color is showing which is not the surface color. For this reason the top edges have a minimal radius which makes them vulnerable to chipping. When porcelain chips it tends to flake and results in a much larger chip than you would get in other products. Since the underlying color is not the surface color it is not easy (if not impossible on some colors) to make a decent repair. With regards to scratching, it is not that hard to scratch and due to the high gloss the scratches are more easily seen. Since this is not a thru body color you can't grind down the surface to sand out a scratch. In my opinion, until they get to a thru body color that can resolve some issues I don't think it is ready for a kitchen that gets the normal ever day use. It is definitely being used for kitchens and some of those kitchens will just be future countertop business for us when they get replaced.
You should email me and we should chat for a video. Your knowledge would be awesome to share!!
Which countertop will you recommend ?
Which material would you suggest, especially if you have a 30cm overhang on the kitchen island, pls?
What are your thoughts on micro cement for a kitchen countertop?
Very good info, stayed with my laminate in, "Ice mist fieldstone laminate" it's a matte finish and looks beautiful. The hard part was to find and old school fabrication contractor to make counters instead of buying slabs preformed. We found one and he was amazing...he built our cabinets and what a great job. Lil pricey but you get what you pay for..within reason of course...have great weekend to the Happy Tobin Crew👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 and Gammy too💐💐💐
I'm totally down with the laminate for sure, but if I had throw away money, then I'd consider some bling countertops. lol
I would’ve gotten a porcelain countertop, but I know what would happen if I told my next door neighbor Darryl about it. He would say “Porcelain? Isn’t that the stuff my toilet is made out of?” And then I could never look at it the countertops again😬
I can always count on you for the "comment of the day". lol
One factor I think many overlook is the elasticity of collisions on the surface. That is, when something falls on the surface, how "soft" is the material. The difference between a glass tipping over on wood or solid surface is totally different than, say, granite: a glass won't survive hitting the granite.
I never hear anyone discuss this. I'm not clumsy, but it's not uncommon to end up with chips or broken dishes over the course of many years. Maybe counter tops aren't really a big factor for this, but sinks definitely are.
Wish more folks would consider this. 🤷
This is something to consider, but I think of this more for flooring. It's a much longer drop and glass is more likely to break.
That sounds like something I should test. Thanks for the idea!
Shouldn't be a huge difference between porcelain and granite.
Hello!! Love your videos!! I am putting In porcelain as I type!! I am learning from RUclips University! I have flipped my house built in 1907!!
Oh awesome! I hope it turns out great, but I'm a little jealous. Thanks for watching!
It strips easily, though. When you clean it it'll get destroyed.
I should have noted that they recommend not using harsh cleaners. Good point.
Porcelain tiles have all those qualities, in my experience. Super durable. So I'd think a countertop would be great!
It's definitely on the top of my list right now. Thanks for watching!
If you hit the edge of a porcelain countertop and it chips, how do you repair it?
Depending on the severity, a fabricator can repair a chip. There are DIY repair kits on the market as well that homeowners can use if they feel confident in tackling that kind of project. Most of these are acrylic based and I'm not sure how they hold up.
My question is for the tendering of meat or cleaver usage, would a thick cutting board protect the porcelain surface? Thanks as always!
That's a great question. I would love to test this out.
I have tested and no, it will not protect. But then again I have porcelain tiles 20x20.
Since I'm allergic to everything and get sick from VOCs, I'm interested in the whole question of non-VOC materials for my kitchen design and is the reason my plans fell apart this past spring. But on countertops specifically, which countertop materials exactly would off gas VOCs? Until I saw this in your newsletter, I hadn't even thought that there might be a VOC issue with countertops as long as I was looking at something like Quartz or granite. Thoughts?
I'm actually working on a video called "Is Your Countertop Killing You". It explores this topic. From what I understand porcelain does not give of VOC's. However, there might be something with the glazing. Still researching.
@@MTKDofficial LOL. Well that's a title I'll look out. Along with, "Is my kitchen killing me?" Because that's about where I'm at with it right now.
Don't use porcelain knives on it. It is probably the only true danger to a porcelain countertop
I didn't know any of this about porcelain I'm shocked
"Porcelain" countertops are actually sintered stone. It's porcelain-like, but much more durable. They basically melt materials under extremely high heat while also compressing/compacting it under tons of pressure. (I only know this because I bit the bullet and am getting porcela...uh, sintered stone countertops for my kitchen and bathroom reno.)
Great video! Thanks
I live in south jersey and can't find any fabricator that does porcelain countertops. Do you know anyone in south jersey?
reach out via email and I can get you in touch with the North American rep for Infinity Surfaces. He can probably help or at least steer you in the right direction. mark (at) mtkd (dot) ca
Does anyone know if it’s possible to install porcelain tile on old laminate countertops? Just want to find a cost-saving way to update countertops.
I don't see it being a problem. You may want to sand the laminate surface first to allow better adhesion of the mortar. Otherwise it should be doable.
Thanks for the info.. learnt alot... is 60 × 60 cm good enough??
Thanks for watching. 60cm. I assume you're talking about tile size? Great for a floor, but go with a slab for countertop use. No grout!
All these kitchens are about as warm and welcoming as a hospital morgue.
Nice.
When you give a price range for the countertop, is that per square foot or linear foot?
Per square foot. Sorry I didn't make that clear in the video.
Great video As always Mark! Super interesting!
Thanks Rob!
Hi Mark and community. Just curious. Been thinking about cork a lot recently. Initially for flooring but then got thinking about countertops. I presume a finished high density cork countertop would be similar to a wood countertop but possibly with slightly better heat and water resistance. Idk guess was just curious on yours and others thoughts. I did find a couple manufacturers of cork countertops but dont seem to really be a thing in most places.
Cork is one of those outlier countertop materials. I think it would make a decent surface, but I'm uneducated on its features.
Where can I get wood-looking porcelain countertops?
I'm not sure if Infinity Surfaces does or not. Otherwise, I haven't seen any.
I've only found wood slab porcelain made in Italy. AtlasConcord is the company. Not too many distributors around here.
Thanks for doing this one, Mark. I really want porcelain for my next countertop but the price does put me off a bit. I haven't yet actually looked into concrete sellers here in Germany, though.
Yeah, it is a pricy upgrade. However, concrete sounds great too. I am itching to try it myself.
@@MTKDofficial aha, I didn't mean I wanted to look into concrete, I just meant specific sellers. But concrete looks cool too, just not what I am thinking of for my kitchen. Luckily I only have one countertop to cover, just over 3 m long.
Nice bokeh. New lens?
Newish. Sigma 16mm. has 1.4 f-stop (up to 12). Pretty versatile lens for what I need it for.
Porcelain countertop just a nice name for tiles. 1. Tile is not that strong. 2. Tile is somewhat thin; therefore the tricky installation 3. Tile may not be as durable as quartz or Granite.
No. I'm talking about large scale slabs. Nothing like tile at all.
@@MTKDofficial Actually I dont quite agree. You can say porcelain countertop is higher grade ceramic tile material. But the thickness is not even 1/2 inch so making porcelain not as strong as materials such as quartz. Since porcelain is as expensive as quartz, I don't think porcelain is a cost effective option. When procelain become much cheaper than it is today then it may become a viable option.
@@raymondchow8722I believe you can get porcelain countertops in various thickness just like you can with granite/quartz.
@@Cloudburst2000 You can but most people dont want to admit that prcelain is just tile. My point is is to let people know this.
I’m definitely getting you to design my kitchen. Love your insight and knowledge. So if I lay a baking dish from a 450° oven onto a porcelain countertop it won’t crack?
Hey! Yeah porcelain is completely resistant to heat damage. However, always check with the fabricator for details on the particular slab you purchase.
Makes sense. Thank you!
Makes sense. Thank you!
Makes sense. Thank you!
Makes sense. Thank you!
What about using porcelain tiles? Cheaper?
Definitely cheaper but I'm not a fan of tile being used for countertop. Grout is pretty nasty. lol
How thick is porcelain?
It comes in various thicknesses. It will depend on the fabricator.
Years ago, I did some college biology research and we worked on these terrific black laboratory countertops that could take absolutely anything.
I think they'd be great for my kitchen, but they're a lot harder to source for residences than I expected.
Isn't that soapstone? That is what I am shooting for in my reno.
Yeah, think they are soapstone. I can't say for sure, but I remember them from university too.
They do get discolored if you spill concentrated acid or base on them, but doubt that’ll be an issue in your kitchen😂
@@GretchenSchaefer
Epoxy. If you do a search on lab countertops (like for industrial contractors), you find a few manufacturers, and epoxy is what they specify. Pricier than you'd expect, but then, they're aimed at corporate/institutional clients.