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Manmade Stone Benchtops
Usually a quartz and resin compound, engineered stones are the latest entry into the benchtop market. Formed under huge pressure they are very strong and provide a hard, attractive and durable work surface. There is a great choice of colours and patters from various manufactures.
Engineered stone tends to be more expensive that the cheaper granites and at least as expensive as granite. It does share similar characteristic to natural stone in use, the major advantage of engineered stone is that it is manmade and therefor colours and patters are reliable. The benchtop you get is likely to look the same as the sample.
A variant on solid manmade stone is the stone tile. This is generally only about 6mm thick and has to be glued onto a substrate such as (preferably) plywood or (more likely) MDF.
One of the better known brands is Caesarstone but there are newer entrants into this competitive marketplace that are worth looking at.
Engineered stone will scratch and stain. It is vulnerable to acidic liquids such as vinegar, wine and fruit juices. Clean up spillage as soon as possible. Engineered stone can be protected to some extent with silicone polish.
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