In one of our past homes, we had one section next to the stove that was butcher block, but the rest reg. There is def upkeep to one & doing a small section is much easier than a whole top. Wilson Art & Formica have some really great new laminate choices---for example, if you like granite look, you can get it with these but a matte finish which reads better in a country kitchen.

Yes laminex and polytech are both brands. no polytech don't offer more..... LAMINEX DO have patterned or profiled doors you mentioned, they have vinyl, painted, veneer and timbers! And definately a bigger range. Both have laminate, however LAMINEX have a larger range. I think you were confusing laminate which is a product with laminex which is the brand. They also offer thermo formed, or vacuum sealed doors known as vi yl wrap, laminex also offer painted two pack door, crystal gloss which is a laminate door that has a polyurethane lacquer coating, giving it the highest possible gloss coating over a solid co"our, woodgrains or patterns, they also do natural and reconstructed veneers, solid timber, aluminium framed etc. In laminate, which is a LPL, low pressure laminate, they also have 'impressions' which is their textured range, making woodgrains more realistic, polyptych also offer some in their laminate range with finishes called nuance for example. HPL laminate is high pressure, and has a different coating so it's used for Benchtops which require more durability. It can also be sued to ha d laminate or apply laminate in sheet form to custom made shapes or cabinets such as commercial fit outs. Under any brand, laminate is the cheapest door. Laminex has a far bigger product and co,our range, both are made in Australia meeting our standards, however some cheaper imrted ones tend to peel or fade, here they won't. With laminate doors the material is a paper based product, built up with coated layers of resin mKing it durable, and a surface we know that is moisture repel ant. Melamine is also but less durable, and generally we use it internally as carcass material, often white you can also have co.our, but laminate goes onestep further and is better for doors. Edging can be in 1mm, 2mm abs which is like a PVC acrylic and is tough to prevent chips or peeling from the door. Laminate will only offer a flat door- many colours and edge choices, abs edging can be matched, contrasted, metal look or ply look, so many to choose makingn your door stand out. Laminex the brand offer soft form doors with rounded edges to sides, so only top and bottom need edging, better if you are using whites or light so you don't see a joint line. The most affordable and durable door type! Vinyl wrap or thermo formed doors have profiles, meaning shapes to them, they also have no edging material as they are literally wrapped arpund an mdf door. They are slightly dearer or this reason. Both companies, and many more offer their own range of door profiles to choose from, also accessories like capping moulds etc, so this can decide who you buy from! Then there's crysta gloss, aluminum doors etc Timber veneers price up nect, they have an extensive re age offering nautural veneers such as traditional hardwood timbers, like blackwood, jarrah etc, but also exotic veneers like sassafras, zebranos, and oaks, so much more. Then theres reconstructed, manufactured to provide contemporary colours and finishes, often not requiring lacquers like naturals do. These reconstructed veneers have to have doors made from them, whereas most companies offer ready made veneer doors aswell ad solid timber too. Again offering profiles. Laminex too offer mdf doors wi profiles both flag and patterned for painting, they have a ready made painted range with colour choices made. All in all, laminate is a flat door, laminex the brand offer more than any other in Australia and are worldwide, they lead innovation and technology, and lead colour directions and trends. They may be slightly dearer, but back their product ad do I. I am a designer, mainly across interior fit outs mostly Focusing on joinery so kitchens etc are a specialty of mine.

Hi there. Same as above,. We laid our own flooring from Masters. You need 1cm around all edges against the walls. One important thing to do when you purchase the boards and bring them home is to leave them in the room you are going to lay them in and stack them like jenga bricks so they dont bow as they are exposed to the humidity and temperature of that room. Also if you have a large window they need to be laid adjacent from the window. It does need a thin underlay as per above its maybe 1-2mm thick plastic or foam with shiny back. consider what is uunderneath the floor.is there a bathroom below and moisture coming up through floorboards? Was it a concrete floor that still had glue patch or uneven surface as floors are meant to be leveled before laying. Did you remove the skirting boards before laying? Perhaps when they were put back they were too close to the boards and the pressure stops ability to expand, presuming expansion room was left. Good luck.

Hi there, we just do a wipe down every day for cleanliness ( can still see some marks with this) and a wipe and buff once a week to look as new. We have red wine, turmeric, beetroot, coffee drips, grey ‘pencil’ scrapes from plates. Oils are pretty much a daily addition on our benches too, and as it is also our backsplash it gets tomato sauce, spatters etc from cooking. All disappear with the wipe and buff method except for the pencil type marks which I use another Enjo product called marble paste on then follow up with the usual routine. I think you may have to make the hard decision between the fresh concrete look or a stone that shows less marks in certain lights- choose whichever feature will make you the happiest in the long term. Either way you will love your new space.