Renovations: Thinking of Renovating?

Benchtops made of stone will not depreciate with time and will continuously add value to any property where they are installed. Stone presents a surface depth that seems almost three-dimensional. It has a luminance that's absent from other surfaces. Regardless of its finish, stone creates an immediate impression of elegance, and is considered a definite plus on any real estate agent's checklist.

Stone should be your first choice when deciding on a material for your bench and counter tops. Stone will provide your home with elegance and sophistication and provide a lifetime of satisfaction.

Marble Art is perfectly at home in any domestic environment. We have the most experienced team in Melbourne, and with more than 30 years in business, we'll be here for you when the others are long gone.

Stone bench tops make an excellent choice for renovating an older kitchen or bathroom.

You may be replacing the entire kitchen, including cabinets and fixings, or leaving the original cabinets in place.

One idea worth considering is, leaving the original benchtops in place, and placing new stone benchtops over the existing surface. A special stone apron edge will hide the old bench edge. This often works well for laminate benchtops, where the original surface is flat and level, and provides an excellent solid substrate for the stone. Gas hotplates generally cope well with this situation, as the gas leads are flexible, but you may have to move the sink plumbing 20mm upwards (which is generally easy).

Splashbacks should be considered. If the existing splashbacks are tiled, they are often not perfectly straight (or the wall behind isn't straight), and will look out of place against the straight edge of the new stone counter. You may be able to place stone splashbacks directly over the tiles, but consider if there will still be enough room between the splashback and the sink/hotplate edge. The best way generally is to remove the existing splashbacks, and install stone splashbacks in their place.

If your original counter surface is in bad condition, you may have no other choice but to remove the surface. If the cabinet carcasses are stable, solid and level, you can install stone benchtops directly onto the cabinet rails. You may have to brace or reinforce the existing cabinets to make them solid and stable.

If you need to use a new substrate such as MDF or particle board, you should consider that MDF may swell in contact with water, and therefore attention must be paid to waterproofing around sinks etc. Waterproof marine-ply is the best substrate, but is expensive. With substrates, ensure there is good support for the stone, as stone is heavy (about 50kg per sqm), and the substrate is flat and level (as stone is not flexible!)