Forgot to mention cement. Looks expensive but you get everything cast as one unit so you can have nice sloping surfaces going into the sink which is made to your specifications.
We had Corian. It was a fine surface - I especially liked the seamless sink. But it did get a couple of nicks/chips along the edges - not sure how - that were pretty noticeable (to us) given the color involved (arctic white IIRC). If cost is a concern, I would certainly consider Corian (or similar surfaces).
We will be putting in a new kitchen in a couple of months (assuming all goes well with a pending house purchase.) I expect we will use a stone - most likely granite, tho I am pushing to consider soapstone. I would also look into concrete, but my wife does not seem enthused.
In addition to the practicality, to me, there is an appeal to having a “natural” surface. We’re planning on staying in this home for the long run, so we are putting in what we want, without looking towards resale. But it is hard to imagine a relatively neutral granite will ever hurt resale in the foreseeable future.
That doesn’t seem sanitary. You’re supposed to have separate cutting surfaces for meat and vegetables, for example, and I would think that cutting all those nicks into a wood surface would provide a breeding ground for bacteria. But he’s the professional so I suppose he knows what he is doing.
There is also a trend to have thicker overhangs to make it look like the stone is very thick. This works especially well in larger kitchens. Granite slabs are almost all 3/4" thick (or 2 cm). You then laminate a piece to the sides of the granite that overhangs onto the cabient face frames. The standard is to use 3/4" so the net thickness in 1 1/2". But going to 2" or even 3" can have a nice impact for only a bit more in fabrication costs.
But you need to be careful and make sure your cabinet maker is aware of how much of an overhang you are going to use. Well, that is, if you want your top drawer to actually open. 
Plenty of studies have shown that wooden chopping boards are actually more sanitary than plastic, as the wood has antimicrobial properties and also dries out the bacteria, rather than keeping moisture in the crevices like plastic does. (Example, not very scientific, cite: Health & Sports - AskMen )
It is good practice, though, to use separate boards for raw meat. I would assume the chef in question uses the worktop to chop veggies etc and has a separate board for raw meat. That’s what I do - I have a big butcher block (which is the square I cut out of the worktop to install the hob, with rubber feet screwed onto the base) for general preparation of veg, cutting bread etc, and a separate double-sided board for meat etc.
I also sometimes use the butcher block to stand hot pans on, just in case they would mark the main counter. So far the only thing that lightly marked the wooden block was a moka coffee pot that I allowed to boil dry and overheat. The only other caveat with an oak worktop is that if you leave iron or steel on it you can end up with black marks where the rust reacts with the tannin in the wood. My mother-in-law left a food tin she’d rinsed out on the counter overnight and it left a black ring, but it sanded off with no problem.
Yes, we’ve had to sand off a round ring stain that was left by a old can. But it came right out.
The only problem we’re having with our wood is the area right around the faucet - it gets wet frequently and now is starting to discolor. We’ve treated it with mineral oil several times but it seems like we need a lot more to really keep the water out.
Anybody ever do glass countertops? There are many kinds-I like the semitransparent type-about 2" thick-any idea of the cost?
I used tung oil (well actually the Ikea stuff which I think is a mixture of tung and linseed oil), which is a drying oil that polymerises and forms a waterproof layer (but not like a glossy varnish). Water just beads up on the surface and I haven’t had any problems even round the sink where it gets splashed a lot. I do try to wipe down the surface so water isn’t left pooling on it for hours, though. Is your tap (faucet) mounted directly in the wood, or is it on the sink surround? I have one of these ceramic sinks which runs the full depth of the countertop, with the tap mounted in the middle of the sink, some distance from any wood. I can see that having a tap in close contact with the wood itself would be bad news in the long run.
Probably uses a separate board for meats. I just remember one episode where he showed his kitchen. I guess I liked the idea that a kitchen is not suppose to be an art museum. Harkens me back to my childhood when a kitchen was a bit more utilitarian in nature.
We had Corian in the first house we built. It was really nice but after 12 years it was pretty dull. Note we never cut anything on it, always used cutting boards. We could have had it polished up but just left it as is when we sold the house. Every single real estate agent that went thru the house was all “Oh you really need granite counters, blah, blah, blah.”
I, personally, have never been enamored with granite counters, they have always seemed cold to me. However, when we built the new house last year, we found that granite was substantially cheaper than Corian. I was still torn, especially because we were having a breakfast bar installed and I couldn’t imagine leaning on cold granite while drinking my morning coffee. One day we were wandering around home depot and saw a distressed walnut counter top. W00t, that’s what I wanted, until I saw the $$$$$tag. So I resigned myself to granite, Mrsin wanted granite anyway. Then one day we were talking to the cabinet guy and I mentioned the walnut counter top I loved and he said he just happened to have a 6.5ft long piece of walnut taking up space in his storage room for years. He had planned to make a mantle out of it but his wife wanted it painted white and he refused, hah.
Long story, short we ended up with a beautiful, warm walnut breakfast bar for me and granite counter tops for the singuy. Turns out I do like the granite, but I love, love, love the walnut.
It’s been mentioned, but I’ll mention it again: concrete, concrete, concrete.
I know it’s not for everyone, but as long as you find the right contractor, what they can do with cast concrete in 2013 makes it a beautiful, super affordable option. I’m a “modern” style guy, and I just love the look of it.
If anyone has an opinion on slate I would sure like to hear it.
Does concrete stain? I assume it has to be sealed in some way? I’ve seen pics of concrete counters and they look great, but then the brutalist concrete buildings that blight most cities probably looked kind of spiffy when they were brand new, before they went black and blotchy. That kind of puts me off the material.
We were originally considering concrete or quartz composite. Both looked quite nice. Then we researched a lot of granite places and found what we thought was prohibitively priced was actually not much different from any other material, it just took shopping around. Installing it was a pain though, we had to take down a door and cut out a chunk of drywall to get the slab to turn a hallway corner.
And there are some mind-blowingly cool patterns that nature comes up with. We didn’t get this…but if this was my countertop I’d just sit staring all day at it :eek:
I watched an episode of this old house and LOVED what they did with it. The sink was part of the casting so it was all one piece. Very cool look which can’t be done in a practical manner any other way. Do a google image search of concrete countertops and look what they can do with it.
If joins are acceptable, how about large tiles? In Thailand, concrete floors are covered with large tiles that are made of various materials, and in a local home store, I see that they are using them for counter tops.
The advantages are that hot pots can be put directly on them, and if get broken, only the affected tile needs replacing ( get a few extra tiles as spares ).
I don’t have a built in counter, so use stainless steel benches, but I did make a kitchen table and used small floor tiles to surface it with good effect.
It should be sealed, and you do need to make sure spills are wiped up promptly. It’s probably about the same as some of the softer stone materials. You can get “stain-proof” concrete, but it’s considerably more expensive.
I wouldn’t recommend concrete for anyone with small children (or clumsy adults).
How about copper sheet counters? They look nice!
There is a reason why the Copper Age gave way to the Bronze Age, which gave way to the Iron Age. You can look it up.
Zinc counters look pretty nice. They would only appeal to people who are happy to have a “used” looking patina though, not a “still looks brand new” granite look.
Mind you, a lot of the sort of people who insist on granite tend to be the sort of people who rip out a perfectly good kitchen after 7 or 8 years because it’s “dated”… 