Liquid stone for countertops. What is it and what does it combine with?

Modern psychologists say that people who successfully conduct active professional activities, in fact, mentally have their place of residence is not their house or apartment, but oddly enough, their work. After analyzing the data on the average amount of time people spend in the workplace, the social circle of working people, the content of their mental activity during the day, the experts made an almost paradoxical conclusion: people live at work, and the hearth is a place for necessary rest and recuperation.

quartz worktop

Kitchen worktops must necessarily be aesthetic and practical, durable and comfortable.

But even without this information, it is quite obvious that the kitchen occupies an absolutely special place in the overall structure of the apartment and house. This is the holy of holies for housewives of all ages. Here young girls do their first culinary trials, accepting greetings from their father and older brother. Preparing wives, understanding how important, healthy, homemade food for the family. Grandmothers work by investing their love for their grandchildren, pastries and sweets.

choose a stone countertop

Therefore, choose stone countertops, in which a magnificent appearance is combined with certainly high strength.

That's why, naturally, the desire of any person to equip the kitchen as best as possible, providing, if possible, with all the necessary furniture and other interior accessories. Nature arranged the human body so that timely food intake is extremely important to him.

kitchen countertop

The main characteristics of such work surfaces are stability, durability, resistance to wear and mechanical damage.

Countertop in the interior

People try to get comfortable chairs for their kitchen, provide it with a high-quality seating area and all the necessary cutlery. Illuminate the room with the bright, warm light of spotlights or chandeliers. At all times, a special place was occupied by the tabletop. She always coped perfectly with the function of the surface for installing all the necessary kitchen appliances, placing cutlery and cooking utensils on it, and a cutting board.

kitchen interier

Countertops made of natural stone will always differ from each other, since it is impossible to find two identical plates in nature.

What is a liquid artificial stone?

The half century of successful use of artificial stone is widely known. The technology of its manufacture is based on the property of the stone chips molecules to enter into a qualitative inseparable relationship with the molecules of synthetic resins. At the same time, the material obtained as a result of such mixing due to the subsequent surface treatment, both in its internal properties and in its external characteristics, is very similar to polished granite.

liquid stone for countertops

Manufacturers claim that the table top made of natural stone is at least 12-17 years old, but practically this material turns out to be several times more durable.

The year of creation of the material is considered to be 1967, when the specialists of the French company DuPont, for the first time presented products made of artificial stone on the European market.

stone countertop

To date, the technology has been mastered by all the leading global furniture manufacturers.

Benefits of using liquid stone worktops in the kitchen

  1. Hygiene.

Thanks to a special treatment, the material acquires active antibacterial properties. This treatment gives it an absolutely smooth surface, which in turn does not allow organic substances, such as food particles or traces of domestic animals, to stagnate there.

artificial stone countertop

The missing microrelief in the form of microcracks and pores makes it easy to remove unwanted moisture, neutralizing the habitat of various microorganisms.

  1. Easy care of furniture.

Any cooking process is inevitably accompanied by the formation of a small impurity. Spilled ketchup, chocolate, or sunflower oil ... It is from such a tabletop that they are extremely easy to remove. And is it worth saying that after this there are no traces left?

artificial stone trim

Such a surface is not afraid of either water, or concentrated household chemicals, or hot, and the products here can be cut without a board.

  1. Damage resistance.

The worktop of liquid stone is difficult to somehow damage or spoil its appearance.

stone countertop

To avoid the appearance of stains, marble should be covered with a special protective agent.

Recall that the material has almost all the properties of this polished granite. And so it does not have the disadvantages that wood and plastic have. It is impossible to leave a scratch on it, any sharp object.

table top white marble

It does not dampen and does not fade under the action of sunlight.

It is worth mentioning the cons.

  • Using artificial stone as a material for making kitchen countertops, you should be careful in the process of using behind its surface, such heavy objects as: kitchen hatchet, or a hammer for beating.

    kitchen countertop

    The result of a direct heavy blow may be the formation of a small chip.

  • The second thing that cannot be ignored is the relatively high price of the stone.

    beautiful stone countertop

    However, it is fully consistent with the high quality of its characteristics.

Varieties of liquid stone

Depending on what material is used as a binder, and on the proportion that quartz crumb constitutes directly in it, the artificial stone is divided into two types: quartzite and acrylic stone.

quartz tabletop

Quartzite kitchen countertops are resistant to high temperatures.

acrylic table top

Acrylic stone is characterized by durability in use.

Quartzite (agglomerate)

The structure includes:

  1. TOvarnish crumb (not less than 9/10 shares from a lump);
  2. TOcoloring pigments (from their combination with a hint of quartz crumb, the final color of the table top varies);
  3. Poliester resin, as a link.
quartzite tabletop

When they talk about the exact similarity of the qualities of polished granite with the qualities of an artificial stone, they mean precisely this kind of it - quartzite.

Such a high content of the mineral component is achieved due to the complex production process - high-temperature vacuum pressing of components. This is implemented extremely durable structure of the material. The tabletop is not exposed to high temperatures, which can occur in everyday life.

quartzite tabletop

A boiled kettle, set aside, or a hot frying pan, a lighted match or cigarette that was accidentally dropped, will not leave a trace on the surface of quartzite.

And it is clear that this option countertops can not be made independently at home. Details of the overall design can not be glued. They dock as a result of accurate dimensional fit.

tabletop agglomerate

Quartzite (agglomerate) as a material for the countertop will cost the buyer very expensive. However, the price in this case is fully consistent.

Acrylic liquid stone

The composition of this kind of artificial stone is distinguished by a high content of acrylic resin, as a binder material, and accordingly a small proportion of mineral filler.

acrylic table top

The table top made of acrylic without problems will fit into any design style of the kitchen room.

The material also has its pros and cons.

  • Due to the fullness of the composition of acrylic, the tabletop will be less "afraid" of chips.
  • Low thermal conductivity creates the effect of warmth to the touch.
  • Scratches accidentally left with a sharp object are easily eliminated by means of emery paper and GOI sanding paste.
acrylic worktop

However, the relatively low cost of materials and the absence of a complex technological component in the production process make the manufacture of an acrylic artificial stone with your own hands into an entertaining and uncomplicated work.

Buying liquid stone

Planning to acquire a good thing that will serve more than one year, while well presenting the necessary dimensions, style and material from which it will be made, will remain quite a bit - to find somewhere the real embodiment of all this. And what a disappointment it will be if it is at this final stage that we suddenly fail. What to do then? To accept the inevitability of choosing from the proposed? Of course not!

beautiful stone worktop

The tabletop made of artificial stone is more accessible, much easier and easier to install, and it looks nothing like the tabletop made of natural stone, but the choice of color of the surfaces is much wider.

There are at least two ways out of this situation. The first is to order a kitchen countertop, as you imagine it, directly at the enterprise producing furniture. The second is to do it yourself with your own hands.

kitchen countertop

And, despite the fact that at first glance, the last option may seem difficult to do, many people not only do not stop such difficulties, but even cause a kind of excitement.

Making countertops from liquid stone. Polyester acrylic spraying method.

  1. Prepared form of chipboard with the expectation that the stone will cover 5 mm of surface on each side.
  2. A surface that is ideal for its evenness, for example, large-format glass, is partially involved in creating the form. On it the original timbering from cut out chipboard is mounted.

    DIY table top

    The cheapest option is to make a formwork from chipboard. You can also find polyurethane or silicone form of industrial production.

  3. The entire inner surface is smeared with wax mastic in order to create the necessary insulating layer.
  4. One after the other 3 layers of acrylic without dye are applied from the spray gun. Moreover, each subsequent layer is not applied until the previous one is polymerized.

    DIY table top

    Work should be done as carefully as possible, because depends on the appearance of the edge of the future product.

  5. Next is the preparation of the main mixture. On 3 parts of acryl, 1 part of a mineral crumb and necessary part of dye is mixed. Mineral chips should be pre-washed with water and dried. Hardener comes last, anticipating immediate application.
  6. Then the mixture is applied with a brush on the inner surface of the form. Be sure to evenly and in several layers.

    countertop manufacturing

    All components are mixed strictly in accordance with the recommendations of the manufacturer.

    table top do it yourself photo

    On drying the mixture will take a day.

  7. We start the reinforcement. The glass mat is placed and pressed into the mold, onto which glue is applied (1: 1 polyester resin and calcite) mixed with a hardener. The previously prepared form of chipboard is inserted. A load is placed on top.
  8. Finally, the last layer of glue (1: 1.5 polyester resin and calcite) is mixed in with the hardener.
  9. After the completion of the polymerization process (about 4 hours), the chipboard is removed, the product is finally cleaned and polished.

    DIY table top making

    The finished product is polished, polished, mounted on the frame of the headset.

Today, not all people can afford to buy expensive trendy items and accessories of furniture furnishings. Not everybody can afford the services of professional interior designers, with their proposals for the decor of red woods.

kitchen countertop stone

But we will not be mistaken if we say that in order to make a reliable and beautiful thing for their loved ones, all that is enough to have is desire, patience and a little imagination.

VIDEO: Everything about the production of acrylic stone countertops.

Liquid stone worktops - 50 photo ideas:

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