6 Common Mistakes to Avoid Making with a Porcelain Benchtop

You’ve done the research and have all but installed your new porcelain benchtop. Congrats on deciding on what will ultimately be a transformative part of your kitchen!

Before you finalise your design plans, we wanted to offer some tips to help you prevent some common mistakes we’ve seen in the past.

At Archant, we love to empower designers and homeowners alike with a wealth of information to guide their investments. Since you’re reading this, you’re likely already aware of the game changing benefits of Porcelain benchtops.

The wide variety of styles, durability, resistance to heat have all been well documented. So, in this article, we’ll talk about some of the more technical details you may not have read about anywhere else.

By the end, you’ll have a complete picture of everything you need to know to move ahead with your kitchen design and benchtop installation date.

1) Maximise Your Porcelain Slab Size for Budget Efficiency

It’s important to know the size of our porcelain slabs when prepping your kitchen design. Archant offers very large sheets measuring 3200 x 1600mm. With that info, you can choose to scale your benchtop to use just one slab. This will dramatically reduce the cost of required raw materials.

Of course, if you want to opt for a larger benchtop, our expert installers can certainly accommodate that by joining two slabs rather seamlessly. The materials are a bit more complicated to work with due to their large size and substantial weight.

Our team of fabricators and installers are highly trained and work with industry leading tools to create the look you’re after. Just be aware that as the design increases in complexity, labour costs also rise.

The same is true for specially designed edges and the need for mitred corners, and cut-outs. To make the most efficient use of your budget, have all these measurements and options in mind when you talk with your designer or showroom consultant.

2) Be Consistent with Slab Thickness

To enjoy the look of a porcelain benchtop but also keep the costs down, we recommend opting for one consistent slab thickness for the benchtop and island. If you look at our product offerings, you’ll notice we have 6mm, 12mm, and 20mm thicknesses.

All can be made denser with a special backing product called WEDI. To minimise install time, streamline the process, and save on price, we recommend limiting the use of substrate and opt for just one thickness throughout the space.

3) Avoid Chipping and Cracking Your Porcelain Bench

Porcelain surfaces are truly solid, but no benchtop is impervious to damage from heavy force. Since porcelain doesn’t include resin or any other filler, it’s extremely rigid and lacking in flexibility. Under normal circumstances this is not a problem.

Be cautious near the more vulnerable areas of the bench, particularly the corners and edges. If you were to smash a frozen block of ice here, it could result in a chip.

Likewise, we don’t recommend standing on top of your bench while changing a lightbulb for example. By creating too much pressure, you risk cracking the counter.

This kind of accidental misuse can often be repaired, but it’s not covered by the lifetime warranty.

4) Ceramic Knives and Acidic Beverages Can Damage the Finish

One of the amazing features of a porcelain bench is the ability to cut directly on the surface. This works beautifully with traditional stainless-steel knives. One point of weakness though is with ceramic blades. They are quite hard and can damage the counter.

While certainly not a deal breaker, we want you to avoid scratching your beautiful new porcelain surface. If you love working with ceramic knives, use a cutting board for an added layer of protection.

Archant Porcelain come in a variety of finishes. Some feature a highly polished quality, or a less reflective matt appearance, and even unique textured surfaces.

Regardless of the finish you choose, be cautious of letting acidic spills sit too long. Liquids from citrus, coffee, tea, and red wine can eat away at the finish and leave a sticky residue that’s hard to remove.

5) Ensure Your Overhang is Properly Supported

Adding an overhang to a bench or island is a clever way to add some barstools and seating. Depending on how deep you design the overhang though, you will need to ensure it’s properly supported to handle the weight. We offer some helpful guidelines to make sure these functional additions are durable and safe.

Generally, an overhang can extend up to 150mm without support for 12mm thick slabs that include fiberglass mat backing. If however, you want a deeper overhang, it’s possible to go all the way to 300mm without support. To do this, you’ll want to go with a 20mm thickness of porcelain with backing.

For just about every design concept you can imagine, we have solutions to help make it a reality. Should you desire an overhang from 150mm to 300mm or 300mm to 450mm, you will also require support connected to the load-bearing structure, such as the cabinets. For the proper support, they should be spaced out every 600mm for 12mm slab thickness, and 900mm for 20mm slab thickness.

Also, if your kitchen configuration requires cut-outs or openings for electrical outlets, etc, these should be positioned no less than 150mm from the edge of the surface.

6) Steer Clear of Abrasive Cleaners and Scratch Pads

Porcelain surfaces are super easy to clean, making maintenance a breeze. All that’s needed is a soft damp cloth or a sponge and some warm soapy water.

Since porcelain has an amazing non-porous characteristic, there’s nowhere for nasty germs and bacteria to hide. All this works to give you a truly food safe, hygienic place to prep your meals.

A word of caution though is with harsh cleaning products that contain scratching agents, like Jif. If you’re not careful, the abrasive elements can do some damage to the beautiful sheen of your benchtop.

The same is true for rough brillo/scratch pads. These work well at removing food stuck on the surface, but they can mar your otherwise gorgeous counter.

We’re Here to Help

Our team of friendly and highly experienced design specialists are on standby, ready to help with your project. You can stop into a showroom to see our porcelain up close, or even order free samples to compare with your colour palette.

At Archant, we’re here to walk alongside you during this important design process and would love the opportunity to work with you.