Hi I just thought I would leave a comment about the visibility of joins in reconstituted stone such as Caesarstone tops on islands longer than 3 metres. From a patern point of view; by selecting a style that has a fine grain certainly helps with reducing the visibility of a join. As for the join itself, the technology and tooling used to make such joints has come a long way in the last 10 years; therefore if you use a Kitchen Manufacturer who uses up-to-date stone fabrication methods, then such joins can be next to near invisible. Below is a kitchen we made with an Island that is over 4.3 metres long and has a join through the centre; where the join actually has to be pointed out to be seen. We have seen Kitchen Manufactures use the two height method but you really don't have to do this to achieve a long island. If you would like a long island, then you should not be put off by having to have a join; careful selection of your material, manufacturer and planning can achieve great results. Hope this helps anyone reading this article and the comments above.

Hi, I'm far from the expert on this one. When I did a search for UV resistant woods/laminates up came ads for UV resistant sealer. So I looked into it and didn't find a decisive one product for the job. Olympic Maximum Exterior has a four year wear life. If you can deal with a darker than preferred stain on the first go, I'd go the real timber route; go heavy on the sealer& dark stain.. thats noticeable to fade. .. see how it wears in three years /50-75% of suggested time. Then you can sand and stain to preference; retouch as needed.

I’m getting quotes on Della Terra Quartz at $90. a square foot, materials and installation 2 cm product.

PET can be a replacement of two-pack, PET laminated MDF board/plywood can be high gloss, matt finished, look as nice as two-pack