Preparing a budget kitchen worktop involves multiple variants that will make the scale tilt from one side or the other. In addition, kitchen worktop prices in 2022 could have increased slightly due to import prices after Brexit. Here, we analyse all the elements that affect the final worktop price: price differences between materials, thicknesses, type of edges, fronts, finish, and sink inserts, among other things.

Worktop material prices

In general terms, natural marble and quartz would be in the group of cheapest countertop materials. And imported quartzites and some porcelain brands are among the most expensive. However, the prices of worktop materials vary according to availability. Then, in the case of natural stones, availability can vary according to the stone’s location, transport, or scarcity.

When it comes to porcelain (within the same category or brand), different price levels are usually classified into two or three groups, with Group 1 and 0 being the cheapest. Generally, the lowest prices correspond to monochrome tones with tiny speckles, such as white, beige, brown, on other primary colours. Additionally, the most expensive groups usually imitate natural marbles, metal, or wood. The reason is that these types of materials take longer to be produced by the manufacturers. Also, there is more room for flaws and faults in the slabs with intricate designs. Resulting in a higher percentage of faulty material, and translating into a higher overall cost of the final product.

OTHER KITCHEN WORKTOP PRICES 2022: Linear Metre Prices 2 cm thickness

Dark Grey Quartz worktop prices

HOW MUCH ARE KITCHEN WORKTOPS: PORCELAIN, NEOLITH WORKTOP, SINTERED STONE, AND OTHERS

Here, we list some 20mm linear metre prices of leading brands of porcelain, ceramic and ultra-compact surfaces. These surfaces are relatively new in the market and can resist very high temperatures compared to other manufactured stones. It makes porcelain worktop prices generally higher than quartz, which has been around for almost three decades. However, we predict that porcelain and ceramic worktop prices will come down to the level of quartz over the next few years.

Below are 2022 porcelain worktop prices per linear metre, installed:

NATURAL STONE KITCHEN WORKTOP PRICES 2022

According to a report posted by the KBB Magazine website, UK homeowners’ most popular kitchen worktops materials are natural stones (marble tops, granite work surface, quartzite countertops, limestone) with approximately 20% market share. Secondly, the engineered stones (18% market share). Last, a 3% market share is taken by other materials (porcelain, ceramic, ultra-compact surfaces, wood.). We exclude laminate worktops and anything wooden from these statistics because we classify them as a different surface category.

Kitchen Worktop Prices and Sizes

The size of a worktop is a crucial element for prices. A worktop can have quite different dimensions from one home to another. Therefore, it will result in varying prices too. However, we know that the average worktop measures approximately three and a half linear meters. As for the kitchen worktop width, it is generally 60 cm. In addition, we make an overhang allowance of an additional 2 cm.

Worktop thickness and edge

Today’s most common thickness is twenty millimetres, although most manufacturers also offer 12mm and 30mm. This is because the price difference between 12mm and 20mm is exceedingly tiny. And in most cases, homeowners don’t notice a price difference between these as much as the manufacturers do. It is because, in many cases, thinner materials are more expensive to produce.

Kitchen worktop prices 2022. Worktop edge

The edge of the worktop is the finish and exterior shape, which you can choose from many different looks. However, the pencil or bevel edge, and the mitre edge, are the most in-demand. In the latter, the top end of the edge meets a concealed front to give the appearance of a thicker worktop. Similarly, mitred edges have been very fashionable in recent years, as they can give the appearance of a worktop to be as comprehensive as you may like it to be. But the pencil edge is the most economical: it usually does not add extra cost by stone suppliers and is the default edge profile in estimates and quotations. In terms of the mitre edge, prices go per linear meter. And it represents an increase of between £50-£100+vat, according to the worktop supplier and the location of your property.

Worktop Splashback 

There has been a growing trend in installing worktop splashbacks or upstands to achieve a more minimalistic aesthetic in recent years. It involves cladding the wall space between the worktop and the kitchen walls or cabinets with the same material. Splashback costs are calculated per square metre and can increase the budget of our worktop by between 40%-60%. The trick to avoiding substantial splashback costs is to ask your worktop supplier how many offcuts you will have from your kitchen countertops before fabrication. For example, you would only pay for additional labour to fit a full-height splashback within the same number of slabs. Or perhaps there is enough offcut for having upstands instead? Either way, you would make substantial cost savings in kitchen worktop prices 2022 by doing a little calculation while avoiding purchasing an additional slab of material.

According to the research from our estimating team, 10% of the quote requests we receive from clients include a splashback behind the hob or cooker.

Upstands and draining grooves

Kitchen worktop prices 2022 include the hob cut out of the countertop (for the induction hob installation) and the over-counter sink cut out. When it comes to 20mm worktops, they can include the upstands, the pieces between the bottom of the worktop and the wall or the window.

Worktop Sink

The way your kitchen worktop sink carries its installation can impact the cost of the surface. When choosing the worktop material, we must be clear about whether we want what is known as an “over-counter” or under-counter “sink. The first type uses silicones for its installation. It is the most popular type over the last 30 years and the most economical. By default, this type of sink is already in the worktop quote. The second type is currently more in demand due to aesthetic reasons and easy maintenance with soap and water. However, this option is likely to add a little bit more cost to your worktops. It’s because all the exposed edges of the cut out require additional polishing by the stonemasons.

Integrated Sinks

Integrated sinks come of the same material from your worktop. Therefore, integrated sinks give you the feeling of unity and perfect integration with the rest of the elements of your countertop. Notably, many assume that the sink is a continuity of the worktop and comes from the same slab. Even though integrated sinks are available in the same material you choose for your worktops, these are generally items you must purchase separately from your worktops. The great news is that they are very efficient and easy to clean.

Cosentino and TheSize are two of the manufacturers that offer this option. In the case of the Cosentino, it offers Silestone Integrity Sinks from any colour of its collection. For example, you can choose an Integrity Sink One (with one cut out), Integrity Sink Duo (two cutouts), and Integrity Sink Top (it comes with specially finished top edges). Similarly, The Size offers Neolith Integrated Sinks. These integrated sinks by Neolith are available in 400x400mm, 450x400mm, 500x400mm, and 700x400mm. In many cases, integrated sinks are expensive compared to the worktop’s cost per square meter. Hence a tiny portion of worktop purchases, including an integrated sink in the same material.

Kitchen Island

One of the kitchen elements with the most success when space allows for it is installing a kitchen island. The island is a table taking up the central area of the kitchen and is independent of the worktop. Therefore, kitchen island prices are in square meters, and the most common measurement is 2500m in length by 900mm depth. For example, Silestone Blanco Zeus, one of the most popular quartz stones on the market, costs £572 per square meter. In fact, this price includes Vat and the template, supply and installation in London and surrounding areas. Unluckily, the island sides are not always the same material as the worktop. Because each side piece may take you into an additional slab of material for your kitchen, adding to the overall worktop cost.

Installation and extras

The cost of installing a worktop or kitchen island is usually between £250-£420+vat. However, installation prices vary according to the property’s location and the number of slabs needed to complete the installation. In this situation, installing a kitchen worktop from one slab will take less time than installing a 3-slab kitchen worktop.

Worktop estimates usually include extras like socket cut-outs for plugs on the upstands or the worktop. But it would be best if you let your kitchen showroom or stone supplier know of these in advance. In contrast, the hot-rods or hot-grooves installations that support pots or grooves have already gone down in history. These items are no longer fashionable and are not in demand by homeowners in the United Kingdom.

Note: The prices shown in this report are by The Worktop Library in London and only indicative.
Do you want to know everything that happens in the kitchen worktop industry? Then, subscribe to The Worktop Library Blog.

The post Kitchen Worktop Prices 2022. How much do worktops cost? appeared first on WorkTop.