Has anyone ever used/installed one? Also, what's the new Samsung countertop
material like? I want to be able to groove the top (a little channel to
keep spills from going to the floor, and draining back to the sink).

On Sat 04 Mar 2006 04:27:35p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it So'n'so?

> Has anyone ever used/installed one? Also, what's the new Samsung
> countertop material like? I want to be able to groove the top (a little
> channel to keep spills from going to the floor, and draining back to the
> sink).

IMNSHO, terrazzo would be a very poor choice. You may or may not know that
terrazzo is comprised of stone chips held together in a matrix of portland
cement and either epoxy resin, polyester resin, or polyacrylate resin. The
finished product requires multiple sealants and, usually, a heavily buffed
wax coating. The reason that commercial applications almost always look
beautiful is due to frequent and high maintenace of repeated sealants and
waxes. I doubt this is something you would want to do in a residential
kitchen setting, especially on a work surface.

Years ago I knew a family whose entire home was floored in terrazzo. They
were fairly well off, and they could easily afford to have the maintenance
performed, but it still had to be done, and they still had to endure the
process.

--
Wayne Boatwright o¿o
____________________

BIOYA

I agree with having smooth benchtops. In our old house we had a laminate
that wasn't smooth and it was difficult to keep clean and not easy to work
on for pastry, bread etc. We have marble in our new home and it's great for
working on and cleaning.

"Wayne Boatwright" <wayneboatwright_at_gmail.com> wrote in message
28.19...
> On Sat 04 Mar 2006 04:27:35p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it So'n'so?
>
>> Has anyone ever used/installed one? Also, what's the new Samsung
>> countertop material like? I want to be able to groove the top (a little
>> channel to keep spills from going to the floor, and draining back to the
>> sink).
>
> IMNSHO, terrazzo would be a very poor choice. You may or may not know
> that
> terrazzo is comprised of stone chips held together in a matrix of portland
> cement and either epoxy resin, polyester resin, or polyacrylate resin.
> The
> finished product requires multiple sealants and, usually, a heavily buffed
> wax coating. The reason that commercial applications almost always look
> beautiful is due to frequent and high maintenace of repeated sealants and
> waxes. I doubt this is something you would want to do in a residential
> kitchen setting, especially on a work surface.
>
> Years ago I knew a family whose entire home was floored in terrazzo. They
> were fairly well off, and they could easily afford to have the maintenance
> performed, but it still had to be done, and they still had to endure the
> process.
>
> --
> Wayne Boatwright o¿o
> ____________________
>
> BIOYA

On Sun, 05 Mar 2006 10:24:47 GMT, "Viviane" >
wrote:

>I agree with having smooth benchtops. In our old house we had a laminate
>that wasn't smooth and it was difficult to keep clean and not easy to work
>on for pastry, bread etc. We have marble in our new home and it's great for
>working on and cleaning.

Is it really marble, rather than granite? Marble is porous and an awful lot more
work to maintain than granite.

-- Larry

On Sun 05 Mar 2006 01:18:54p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it pltrgyst?

> On Sun, 05 Mar 2006 10:24:47 GMT, "Viviane"
> > wrote:
>
>>I agree with having smooth benchtops. In our old house we had a
>>laminate that wasn't smooth and it was difficult to keep clean and not
>>easy to work on for pastry, bread etc. We have marble in our new home
>>and it's great for working on and cleaning.
>
> Is it really marble, rather than granite? Marble is porous and an awful
> lot more work to maintain than granite.

While it's true that marble is porous, some marble is more porous than
others. Candymakers routinely use marble to work candies like fudge,
taffy, hard candy, etc. It can be more work to maintain marble, but if
it's well sealed it's not too bad. Years ago I had a creamy carara marble
in an apartment kitchen. It was always spotless and had been there many
years before I moved there.

I would be a bit more concerned that marble is softer and more fragile than
granite. It will crack and chip more easily.

--
Wayne Boatwright o¿o
____________________

BIOYA

On 5 Mar 2006, Wayne Boatwright <wayneboatwright_at_gmail.com> wrote:

>I would be a bit more concerned that marble is softer and more fragile than
>granite. It will crack and chip more easily.

But granite does chip. I have a chip in the edge right above the
dishwasher.

I've worked on Formica, Corian, and granite. The granite I have now
fortunately has a tight grain and does not need to be sealed. But it chips,
you can't see where any dirt or debris is, it is non-resiliant, and you
have to be gentle putting glass things down. I much prefer working on
Glacier White Corian. In my next kitchen I want two materials. Alongside
the stove I'll put white Silestone, and Corian for the rest.

Don <www.donwiss.com> (e-mail link at home page bottom).

Terrazzo is a product that was very popular for house floors in the fifties,
especailly in s florida. These were not always fancy homes or for the well
off.
"Wayne Boatwright" <wayneboatwright_at_gmail.com> wrote in message
28.19...
> On Sat 04 Mar 2006 04:27:35p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it So'n'so?
>
>> Has anyone ever used/installed one? Also, what's the new Samsung
>> countertop material like? I want to be able to groove the top (a little
>> channel to keep spills from going to the floor, and draining back to the
>> sink).
>
> IMNSHO, terrazzo would be a very poor choice. You may or may not know
> that
> terrazzo is comprised of stone chips held together in a matrix of portland
> cement and either epoxy resin, polyester resin, or polyacrylate resin.
> The
> finished product requires multiple sealants and, usually, a heavily buffed
> wax coating. The reason that commercial applications almost always look
> beautiful is due to frequent and high maintenace of repeated sealants and
> waxes. I doubt this is something you would want to do in a residential
> kitchen setting, especially on a work surface.
>
> Years ago I knew a family whose entire home was floored in terrazzo. They
> were fairly well off, and they could easily afford to have the maintenance
> performed, but it still had to be done, and they still had to endure the
> process.
>
> --
> Wayne Boatwright o¿o
> ____________________
>
> BIOYA

In article >,
"So'n'so" > wrote:

> Has anyone ever used/installed one?

I haven't ... I did check out the price of recycled-glass
countertops like IceStone and Vetrazzo
(http://www.icestone.biz/palette.html , http://tinyurl.com/qbwjo)
when I was replacing mine and found the price simply astronomical. I
think I could have had granite excavated with brushes, polished with
Tiffany diamonds, and hauled by Sherpas to my house for less money.
Just kidding, but it is more expensive than most granites, which I
find amazing for a product that is made primarily from recycled
glass.

> Also, what's the new Samsung countertop
> material like? I want to be able to groove the top (a little channel to
> keep spills from going to the floor, and draining back to the sink).

If you're talking about Staron, it's quite similar to Corian,
HiMacs, Avonite, and other solid-surface materials. Anything you can
do with them you can do with Staron. It's solid and color-through,
so there should be no problem doing that.

sd

"Coverings" in Miami is a tile and stone dealing. I've seen terrazzo slab
sections they sell for floors and conters. They are of various large sizes.
These can be set like tile and sealed.brass or stainless steel serating
strips can be used for added design. These look great.
"So'n'so" > wrote in message
...
> Has anyone ever used/installed one? Also, what's the new Samsung
> countertop material like? I want to be able to groove the top (a little
> channel to keep spills from going to the floor, and draining back to the
> sink).
>