Your kitchen countertops are bound to get a lot of abuse. Your heavy-bottomed pots and pans will inevitably collide with their surfaces. They will have to bear the heat from casserole dishes and baking trays fresh from the oven. Water, oil, and other greasy substances will seep into the porous surfaces of your countertops. Counters will be sat on, stepped on, and doused with hot coffee. Whether intentional or not, kitchen worktops will be on the receiving end of some harsh treatment.
Most stone counters will last for many years. Even so, the kitchen is one of the busiest areas of the house, and signs of wear and tear will become evident no matter how careful you think you are. You may notice chips, indentations, and patches of discoloration. These can be treated with a variety of methods to refresh the look of your surfaces and make them look brand new.
Whether you choose to do it yourself or hire a service for countertop refinishing, there are several ways you can update your heavily worn and worn kitchen counters:
Painting is one of the most inexpensive ways to update your kitchen counters. You may easily do this yourself with everyday tools from the hardware store. It might require a little creativity, but you can give the surfaces a faux stone look and texture. Because it is a cosmetic update and may not address underlying issues such as dents, cracks, or weak spots, repainting your tops may only last a short amount of time and require frequent updating.
Another quick fix for your kitchen is to cover counters in laminate. As with painting, this is probably something you can do yourself. Laminates are thin sheets of material with an adhesive backing that you can use to layer over the tops of your counters. You will need to sand and prep the areas to make sure they are smooth before applying. The laminate process is simple and takes only a few hours to complete, leaving you with fresh-looking countertops in no time at all.
Butcher blocks are made of thick wood slats glued together to create a durable work surface. They can be quite tricky to maintain as they require you to oil and condition them every six months, at minimum. Some kitchens have only one section of the countertop using butcher block, others have used them for their entire surfaces. Without careful maintenance, however, these wooden tops will look dull and are prone to cracking and breaking.
Putting in completely new countertops is the best way to update the look of your kitchen. Unfortunately, this is also the most expensive option and is equivalent to remodeling the entire space altogether. For the time, cost, and effort involved in replacing your surfaces, you may opt to consider a full-blown renovation instead.
For those who are looking for high-impact and cost-effective options in the market, reglazing them may be an excellent choice. At a fraction of the expense of replacement, your countertops will look brand new. Reglazing involves refinishing the surfaces to restore the luster and smoothness. Materials such as cultured marble, fiberglass, acrylic, or laminate can be reglazed. With an experienced countertop refinishing contractor, the process takes less than one day, and the results will last for ten to 15 years with proper care.
Whatever material your surfaces are made of, they will require some sort of maintenance. If your kitchen is in dire need of an update, try refinishing your countertops to see what a significant difference it can make.
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