What’s tops in countertops?
Favorites for upscale kitchens

If you’re planning to remodel your kitchen, the time will come to select new countertops. For some, the choice is difficult when trying to compare how materials will hold up and how they’ll look with the rest of the kitchen.

Kitchens.com, a Web site devoted to consumer kitchen information, discusses out the pros and cons of today’s popular countertop materials:

• Laminate. The most common kitchen countertop is a synthetic material made up of several layers and a melamine plastic coating. Laminate costs about $5 to $20 per square foot. It’s produced in hundreds of colors, patterns, and finishes, and is easy to maintain. However, you’ll need to use cutting boards, and chips are difficult to repair.
• Wood. Wood countertops, or butcher block, are laminated strips of hardwood. It costs $10 to $40 a square foot. It won’t dull knife blades, but it requires sealants and shows knife marks.
• Tile. There are three main types of tile – porcelain, ceramic and quarry. The spaces between the tiles are filled in by grout. An epoxy grout is recommended to help resist stains. A palette of grout colors looks like a palette of paint-colors - there are many from which to choose. You can put hot pots on tile and it resists moisture. On the down side, the grout may stain, and you won’t have a perfectly smooth finish

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