You know everything that goes into your house when you build a new one. Buying an existing home is often a guessing game. Foundation, insulation, plumbing, and electrical work were all expenses paid for by the previous owner. You rely on their budget, contractor expertise and existing building codes when the house was built.
When it comes to the kitchen, many aspects are not as critical, but depending on what's in it and your willingness to spend money on upgrades, you may be looking at the possibility of investing a lot.
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| You know this will be pretty much a blank canvas when you start your renovations. Photo from: decoratingideasandsolutions |
If your home was built in the 70s and the kitchen clearly hasn't seen any upgrades since then, you generally know what you're in for.
Although the previous owner's style may not fully match yours, upgrading the kitchen could be the least of your worries if things generally look neat, tidy, and reasonably up-to-date. But how do you tell what's in your kitchen? Are your countertops made of laminate, natural stone like granite or man-made like quartz?
There are some distinctive and fairly easy ways to tell.
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| If the backsplash and the countertop appear to be made of one piece, it is almost certainly a laminate. It is also nearly impossible to have an under-mount sink with Formica. Bullnose edge is also a dead giveaway. |
LAMINATE
Laminate countertops are made of layers of plastic fused with kraft paper or particleboard. The newer the laminate, the more likely it is to look convincingly like the material it is trying to imitate such as wood or marble. The closer you get to it, however, the less convincing it becomes and the imitation pretty much goes away when you touch it. Few people will be fooled by its appearance. A simple knock on the surface that looks like stone, but sounds like hollow IKEA furniture will giveaway its ugly truth. You're looking at Formica aka Laminate.
Yellow, green or orange countertops point to laminate from the 70s. Those are easy to tell because there isn't much left of them. Another easy way to tell is, the backsplash is often integrated into the material and it also features mostly a bullnose edge. It also burns easily and it will scratch with a butter knife. None of these vulnerabilities are repairable either.
Laminate has a lifespan of about 10 to 20 years. Where on that timescale it is now, depends on the number of burns, peels and scratches already existing.
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| Fissures and cracks are possible to print on the top layer of laminate, but Natural Stone characteristics such as reflective minerals are not. This is Granite. |
GRANITE
If you determined that your countertop is not laminate, your next step in trying to identify - it could be granite. As a natural stone, all granite is old, it has lived under the surface of the earth for billions of years, but 'old' granite is characterized by patterns that are obsolete today.
If it looks like it belongs on a tombstone more than in your kitchen, then that's an 'old' granite colour that may offer you many more years of service, but it will be many more years before it has any chance of coming back in style.
Look closer. Look underneath the counter. If it has a mesh, it's granite.
Granite has natural fissures, small cracks, and minerals that will be reflective in certain light and change colour in other light conditions. Stone is naturally heavy. Knock on it. It won't sound hollow. It will have a different sound than the cabinetry it is resting on. It will also feel cool to touch.
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| Modern, light and stylish. The quintessential Quartz. It is nearly impossible to find granite that is consistent and light in appearance. |
QUARTZ
So your countertop is not made of laminate and not of granite either? Well, it's probably light in colour and very stylish. Is it veiny? It could be marble, which is a natural stone, but very expensive, and often NOT used in busy kitchens because of its high maintenance and low resistance to scratches and stains. Otherwise, you probably have quartz, which feels much like granite, it is heavy and... That's probably where the similarities end. As a manufactured product, quartz starts as a blank, usually a white canvas where designers showcase their talent.
Some quartz tries to imitate the look of marble without the marble drawbacks, while others go for a simple and delicate look. An easy way to tell that you have a quartz countertop is to see a manufacturing stamp underneath.
The more expensive the Quartz, the more likely it is to have very intricate veining, complex pattern and busy texture. If that is what yours looks like. Congratulations. It's likely that your cabinets are modern and of high quality as well, meaning the previous owner spared no expenses.
There are many other types of countertops out there. Anywhere from butcher block, porcelain, onyx, travertine, and many others. One day we will come up with a full list of ways to tell them apart.When you first bought your home, what type of countertops did you find? Still can't tell what yours is? Take a few photos and send them to us at sales@granitemountain.ca We will help you identify.