Necessary information needed for countertop design
In order to design the countertop and kitchen tops in details, there are necessary information that has to be collected in addition to the measurements which are required to include in the final diagram of design. This information will include the length and the width of the cabinets and kitchen appliance, sink location, refrigerator location, cooktop location, dishwasher location and even the placement of the seams along the countertops as well as the dimensions of the cabinet backsplashes where it joins the walls.
Moreover, the overhang has to be determined in accordance to the type of the countertops and the locations so that approximately 2 inch is added to the width of the cabinets with front openings except for the bar seating countertop to which 12 inch has to be added.
For an example, in figure 1 the overhangs are determined for different parts of the countertops in this special case of kitchen design.
Seam placement in the countertops
Seams are the important requirements while designing for the kitchen tops for two reasons. First, seams are necessary to be placed and designed along the countertops in order for releasing the tensions and the movements that arise from the contractions and expansions of the countertop pieces during the time. Second,, as the countertop pieces are cut out of the Slab , so it is required to place the seams along the length of the cabinets because the length of the slabs are limited in the markets.
It is also of high importance to design the seams locations so that they do not pass through the sink or cooktop cutouts because they would be thin enough to be vulnerable to the cracks during the time.
From an aesthetic point, it is recommended to ignore seams placements along the open runs of the countertops (peninsula). In figure 2, you can see how the seams placements have been included in the kitchen diagram shown by the hashes.
Countertop estimation and area calculation
In the final stage of the design, it is required to calculate what meter of countertops in natural stones are needed for the kitchen, In the estimations, we have to consider that there are two different basic pieces of countertops. The countertops on the cabinets are the first category of natural stone as the are normally 3 cm in the thickness. The second part is for the backsplashes because they are 2cm in the thicknes and have to be calculated differently. As the countertops are cut out of the slabs, it is required to select the proper slabs so that the waste parts in the cutting come to the least possible in order to make the project more cost-effective (Figure 3).
The important thing in calculating the back splashes is that the length of each piece is limited to 80 inch in order to safely transport the pieces altogether because of the fact that the width is commonly designed at 4 inch.
Best natural stones for countertops
As it was discussed in Kitchen Top , the best natural stones for the countertops are those which have the highest possible mechanical and physical properties in accordance to the countertop standards. The most important factor to be considered is that the countertops deter strongly the oil and fats so that the stone finish does not spoil easily or get scratched. The other factor in designing the natural stone countertops is the high abrasive resistance of the stone as it is the place which is frequently exposed to the damaging forces exerted by the kitchen appliance.
Generally, Granite and Marble II and some of the Marble I are the best options for the countertops which are ranked based on their mechanical and physical parameters. It should be noted that some types of sealing materials could be applied on the surface of the countertops in order to make their lifetime longer if and only if the hygienic requirements and standards are met with respect to the sealings used in the kitchens.
You can send us the code of your favorite stone in addition to the size and other details of your order such as the type of the stone and your desired countertop design through the Order Registration Form at the bottom of the page. We will then review your order and get back to you with the availability, the price and any other information that you might need to know about your favorite stones.
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