# Forum Home Renovation Bathrooms  New Benchtops

## venno

I am looking at getting replacement bench tops for kitchen and bathroom. I would love to go for a stone (real or fake) finish but am also trying to spend the minimum to achieve a good look. As a compromise I got a quote from Granite Transformations on supplying the bench tops, surfacing and fitting them to open spaces (eg. I have to remove existing tops). They quoted $3000 for kitchen and $750 for bathroom (in any of their standard colours). This sounds expensive for the sizes and when queried on price breakdown the chip board bench tops were only $350, the rest being the labour and surface material.  
I have a quote pending from a stone (real and engineered) place but they said to expect an absolute minimum of 5k.  
Are Granite Transformations a rip off or would a high quality laminex (such as the square form range) be any cheaper?

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## LegacyGT

my mate was telling me he could get granite benchtops for about the same price as laminates. but its not italian granite  :Smilie:  
i will try find out more.

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## arms

in a laminate it would cost about $1200 (remember i said about)than you would have to fit them ,this is assuming that you have 33mm thick tops and not the drop front type ,so for that price i would assume that there is more work involved than you are telling us about ,the prices i quote are here in gods backyard

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## venno

The quote from Granite Transformations includes supply and fitment of 33mm tops wich they will then laminate with the granite sheeting so they end up being a square form edge with pencil round corners and a 40mm thickness. 
I would like to get away from my bullnose look and am also changing the size of the bench top by nocking down a raised brick section so I can have a breakfast bar (have to do that myself as well as remove existing bench top as thats not included). 
If a square form laminated 40mm top supplied and fitted will be half the cost of the fake granite I will go that route. 
cheers

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## venno

> my mate was telling me he could get granite benchtops for about the same price as laminates. but its not italian granite  
> i will try find out more.

  
I would be very interested in this.

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## azza_1980

> my mate was telling me he could get granite benchtops for about the same price as laminates. but its not italian granite  
> i will try find out more.

  its the ceasarstone thats around about the same price, around here we use a mob called GMG stone, they use 20 mm thick which helps keep the price down.

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## venno

I have had a quote for normal stock standard laminex in bullnosefor $1500 which I must pick up and fit myself.  
I had another quote for the laminex squareform 40mm which included installation $2500.  
I finally got a quote through for granite (imported from asia), $5300, and I can't have my 200mm overhang for the breakfast bar. My cabinet may also have to be strengthened to support the weight (100kg+). There would also be an additional fee if I opt to have an undersink mount. Refitment of sink, hotplate...etc...is also at my cost. The slab is 20mm thick, to glue on additional end pieces to give a 40mm appearance is also extra.  
I went out to G.T. to look at their showroom,the stuff they use is an engineered stone sheeting that is quite thick and heavy. It looks like an engineered stone top because it is, only when you run your fingers down the underside o you realize it isn't complete slab as they don't go all the way in. The feel of the tops are good but they lack that cold sensation you get when touching a large slab of granite. The sample benchtops looked good with a 40mm square edge with pencil round chamfers. The colour range is also quite good. They gave me 6 sample pieces to take home and I intend to test all their claims regarding heat, scratches...etc...  
I am now of the opinion that G.T. may not be bad value for money after all, prices have really gone up since I last did a kitchen 10 years ago.

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## venno

I called the company who gave me the quote for real granite and asked them why they didn't include an engineered stone option. After revisiting the quote they said they made a mistake and forgot to include gst, so they said to add 10% to all their prices. They then said that all engineered stone and mid to high level granite would be a lot more expensive, and that they had merely given me the cheapest option. Well I responded with no thanks.  
I went to laminex today to discuss their squareform tops. After looking at their ones display I was very unimpressed with the feel and finish, didn't even bother pursuing that one further for the 2.5k quote.  
Meanwhile on the GT front, the product has lived up to most of their claims. I have dropped a variety of kitchen items on the samples (pass), tried to lightly score the surface with a knife (pass), and placed a hot pot from the burner onto it (fail, but the pot was dam hot). I think the surface would withstand moderate heat but certainly not straight from a full burner pot.  
By dropping 3k on the benchtop I am running out of cash for other things like the splashback and getting the doors replaced. I could just go for tiles for a splashback instead of the planned glass (was given a non measured quote of around 800 ballpark). I did want to get 2pac for doors but may have to settle for something cheaper...vinyl maybe...but I see lots of issues reported with it. Ideally I really wanted a nice colonial routed pattern to match in with all my internal doors including the kitchen pantry door.  
Any suggestions would be most welcome.

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## arms

my suggestion would be to go back to the start and come up with a realistic budget that includes all your wish items then if you are short in the cash sense wait and save till you have enough to do the job properly rather than going with something you dont want just for the sake of how much money you have now

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## namtrak

A bit left field, but I have a mate who built formwork on top of his cupboards and then poured a concrete/stone mix to about 40mm into the form work.  Once it was dried he polished it himself.  It cost him about $50 worth of materials and the cost of tools. 
The benchtop looked a million dollars I thought, but he wasn't happy with it and ripped it out and was having a crack at just a laminate top.

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## AIRMAN

In comparison to a new kitchen, 
I just paid 6700 inc gst for a u shape 3.6m across with 3m sides. Alot bigger than yours. This is for supply only it includes.  
- Ceasar stone benchtops choice of most colours, could be $600 cheaper if I use the most common white colour
- Blum hinges and runners, soft close on all runners
- Nova handles
- 2 pac finish on all doors and draws choice of any colour, painted locally
- Double pantry and fidge with overheads
- 4 draws at 900 wide
- Over head cabinets all around
- Delivery , cabinets assembled 
The cabinets are imported but are good quality. 
Just thought I would throw that out there

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## venno

> In comparison to a new kitchen, 
> I just paid 6700 inc gst for a u shape 3.6m across with 3m sides. Alot bigger than yours. This is for supply only it includes.  
> - Ceasar stone benchtops choice of most colours, could be $600 cheaper if I use the most common white colour
> - Blum hinges and runners, soft close on all runners
> - Nova handles
> - 2 pac finish on all doors and draws choice of any colour, painted locally
> - Double pantry and fidge with overheads
> - 4 draws at 900 wide
> - Over head cabinets all around
> ...

  
Thats a great price, wish I could get that in Perth.

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## Bleedin Thumb

Just my opinion.....granit trasfomation is the uglyest cwap you could use - besides being way over the top price wise. I 
I Love solid granite and I can handle Ceaser Stone etc but reconstituted granite is a horrid joke. 
This is a wood work forum ..how about solid wood. I got mine made and delivered 30 % cheaper than laminex. I had to cut, sand, finish and fit though.

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## Terrian

> This is a wood work forum ..how about solid wood. I got mine made and delivered 30 % cheaper than laminex. I had to cut, sand, finish and fit though.

  all good and fine, but you fail to mention the wood used or the finish, or how it handles day to day kitchen traffic, I expect to see a full report on the making of and installation of those lovely wood bench tops  :Smilie:

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## memphis

> Thats a great price, wish I could get that in Perth.

  Try here  http://mcmahonauctions.com/ 
They ofteh have fully assembled kitchens with granite tops around that price

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## venno

I got the the quote from GT, its been a busy few days for quotes, and they want 1380 or all my cupboards and drawers in vinyl with blum hinges fitted. They have reneged on fitting door handles or even pre-drilling them, they also will not attatch my drawer faces any more. The rough estimation from Cullity/laminex was 1100with no hinges or anything else done (they just supply the door/drawer front.  
This is starting to escalate out of control. I have done a detailed measure of my current kitchen space and my current fitted kitchen. I am going to kitcraft on monday to see how much I can get a flatpack for. I think I will live with a laminated benchtop and put the 3k towards putting in a wholenew kitchen.If I don't change the layout (happy with the functionality) it shouldn't be too bad to install, just no fancy tops   
At least my patio, dining and bathroom projects are shaping up to be under budget and will look very ice when done.

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## venno

I have recieved a quote from Kitcraft Kitchens. The quote includes ripout and installation, with plumbers/electricians being extra. The quote is for a vinyl wrap finish and includes a Hefele Le Mans storage device, 750 wide drawer unit with 2 singles and 1 double, 4 sets of overhead cupboards, 1 slideout underbench minipantry draw, 1 bifold cupboard door, dishwasher cutout, 2 underbench undersink cupboard doors, all doors with blum soft close hinges. The quote is based on all other colours, fittings, handless...etc..etc... being from the standard range. The base quote is 7k without tops or $9600 with. Seems pricey so I have also asked Joyce Kitchens for a quote.

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## jags

hi venno  
i have just installed a new ikea kitchen in applad with a Essa stone top in Ciro  the top cost $3300 it is (1) 3400x 600 and (2) 1700 x 600 this included the undermount sink .
if you are thinking of useing any form of stone go and see Gordan at arcca in osbourne park its off hutton steet i think he's a great guy and will give you a good price i have used him three times p.s don't let the size of the shop put you off the last time i compare there price to kitkcraft it was $1500 cheeper . 
regards  
Rob

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## Bleedin Thumb

> all good and fine, but you fail to mention the wood used or the finish, or how it handles day to day kitchen traffic, I expect to see a full report on the making of and installation of those lovely wood bench tops

  
Sorry Terrian , just saw your post. The tops are solid glue-lam Tassie oak and I finished them with Satin Cabots polyurethane gel. At least 4 coats with a light sand in between. 
Been on for about 2.5 years and are a bit scratched but not enough to give them another coat yet.. I may get 5 years before I have to do them and I recon I will just redo them in-situ ....so about 4 hrs work. 
I got the benches made up in Tasmania and delivered to Sydney 30% cheaper than the cheapest quote for laminex and 200% cheaper than the cheapest solid timber quote I got up here...all up I got 8.82 x 0.6m of bench top delivered for under $1000. :Rolleyes:

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## Jacki007

> Sorry Terrian , just saw your post. The tops are solid glue-lam Tassie oak and I finished them with Satin Cabots polyurethane gel. At least 4 coats with a light sand in between. 
> Been on for about 2.5 years and are a bit scratched but not enough to give them another coat yet.. I may get 5 years before I have to do them and I recon I will just redo them in-situ ....so about 4 hrs work. 
> I got the benches made up in Tasmania and delivered to Sydney 30% cheaper than the cheapest quote for laminex and 200% cheaper than the cheapest solid timber quote I got up here...all up I got 8.82 x 0.6m of bench top delivered for under $1000.

  We are currently renovating an older house in Tassie and am wondering where you got your benchtops from??? We haven't done much digging round for prices as yet but a head start in the right direction would be great and your benches look great.
Thanks  :Smilie:

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## losonogo

Have you looked at smartpack kitchens yet? http://www.smartpackkit.com.au/
i had to research these guys for my folks and they came up trumps big time.
i got a quote from harvey norman, freedom, and ikea and these guys.
freedom was the most expensive at 2.5 times the price, then harvey norman at 2 times.  Ikea and smartpack came in around the same $5450. However i was sold on the fact they used blum and hettich branded hardware plus 16mm solid backing on all carcasses. Oh and most importantly sooooooo easy to put together (considering im hopeless at construction, go figure!) I suppose also they were local and a small company so when i had to get the filler panels cut to a more accurate size, they did it same day...how many companies can do that!
I sound more than enthusiastic i know but when you have been stung soo many times by small business cowboys, its a nice change to have something go right.
Back to the reason i posted here, we got a 4.8metre laminex benchtop which looks almost identical to ceaserstone with two joins and mitred corners for just over $700, looks great against white sprayed poly doors
Hope this helps

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