Materials Used in The Pyramids Now in Your Kitchen: Granite Benchtops

What is the kitchen? In simple terms, one can say the kitchen is a room where we prepare our food to eat. Though this is technically true, from a cultural standpoint, the kitchen is an important part of the house, not just merely a room for cooking. Traditionally in many cultures, the kitchen is revered as a sacred place were strict rituals are followed. Some cultures even place the kitchen as the most important part of the house for conducting social meets and important events.

Nowadays time has changed, and many people have stopped following traditions and has settled in homes with modern settings especially in urban areas. The kitchen is the heart of any house. It is the place where the homemakers spend most of their time. Thus, people often when looking into procuring or renovating a kitchen commit so much time and effort into deciding what best suits their kitchen.

Why Opt for Granite Bench Tops?

What are bench tops in the first place? Also called countertops, counter, worktop, etc is a horizontal bench used for working in the kitchens for preparing food. It is also installed in lavatories and bathrooms for general purposes as well. Kitchen bench tops usually have cabinets installed along with it for the purpose of storage of groceries or crockery.

Granite has been in use for several years. The ancient Egyptians had portions of pyramids made from granite. It is a natural stone that consists of 20 percent of quartz, mica, and feldspar.

Due to its durability and quality, it is one of the most common natural stones used in kitchen benchtops. Some of the chief characteristics of granite benchtops when compared to that of other stones are:

1. Durability: because granite is a natural stone, it is extremely hard and is very durable. So you don't have to worry about it chipping away and cracking if used for a long-long time. Its durability and hardness make it a long lasting product.

2. Resistance to heat and scratches: Since it possesses the qualities of being high resistance to heat and scratches, it means that you do not have to worry about scorch marks in your table, which results when a hot object like a pans are placed on the surface of the bench top causing it to leave marks from being burned. This, however, is not a concern with granite benchtops. You also do not have to worry about scratches as granite possesses anti-scratch properties.Though granite is a natural stone meaning it is porous by nature, it can be sealed off and when done properly will make it water and stain-proof.

3. Spoilt for choice: granite is available in so many colours and styles, you will be left deciding on options. From monochromatic colours to bold and striking patterns, you can find several finishes to decide for your granite bench top to suit your needs and preferences.

Though granite is a great choice of material for your kitchen bench top, it, however, does offer its own share of disadvantages. It can prove to be quite challenging during installation as granite is very large and heavy. The other reason is granite can be quite expensive, and if you were to opt for more exotic types of granite for your bench top the prices could be double or more. However, despite these two concerns, granite benchtops are still a good choice due to its unique properties balancing its hefty nature and exuberant pricing.