Worktop Express Information Guides

“Do I have to use legs for breakfast bar support?”

We were recently contacted by Charlie in Thornbury, who wants to know whether legs are required to support a breakfast bar on the side of her kitchen island. Read on to read our reply to the latest ‘Question of the Week’.

QUESTION:

“I’m currently designing our new kitchen island and want to have a breakfast bar, and wondered if you could advise whether I need to use legs for breakfast bar support?”

ANSWER:

Hi Charlie,

Thanks for getting in touch with us regarding your plans for a new kitchen island with breakfast bar. This addition to a kitchen island provides useful space for eating casual meals, entertaining guests, socialising with family or even doing work.

Breakfast bars on kitchen islands can be made along either the entire length of the island, or just on one end – the layout and size of your kitchen will likely dictate which suits you best.

Whichever design you choose, it is important to ensure that the worktop is adequately supported. If you are simply extending the size of the worktop beyond the cabinets to act as a breakfast bar, then ensure that any protrusion of 300mm or more has legs for breakfast bar support.

If you plan on making a breakfast bar that protrudes further than 300mm, we would recommend that one breakfast bar leg is attached for every metre of unsupported worktop. This will ensure that the weight of the worktop and anything on it is evenly distributed and does not put unnecessary strain on the rest of the surface.

We sell both chrome and solid oak breakfast bar legs. Our oak legs for breakfast bar support are available in oiled, sanded or white painted finishes – one of which may already complement your kitchen design, or can be treated or painted if not.

You can learn more about fitting breakfast bar legs by reading our dedicated ‘How to Install breakfast Bar Legs to Kitchen Worksurfaces’ information guide. Alternatively, find out more about choosing and customising wood or laminate surfaces by reading our ‘Laminate Worktops and Wood Work Surfaces for Laid-Back Dining’ guide.

If you have any further queries regarding our worktops or any of the accessories in our collection, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us again via email, live chat or telephone.

Best regards,

Ben @ Worktop Express

“Can I use a Belfast sink with laminate worktops”

We were recently sent in a question via email from Tom in Walsall. He wants to know whether it’s possible to use a Belfast sink with laminate worktops in his new kitchen. Read on for our response to this ‘Question of the Week’.

QUESTION:

“I’m trying to revamp our kitchen and give it a traditional feel, but want to use a low-maintenance laminate worktop rather than wood. Is it possible to use a Belfast sink with laminate worktops?”

ANSWER:

Hi Tom,

Thanks for getting in touch with us regarding your kitchen plans. There are some truly brilliant laminate worktop decors now available from Worktop Express that are perfect for recreating a traditional kitchen feel at an affordable price.

In answer to your question, Belfast sinks are not commonly recommended with laminate worktops. This is because of the way the sinks are positioned as undermounted solutions. In order to accommodate a Belfast sink, you would need to cut out a suitable aperture, then re-finish the exposed chipboard with edging strip. Whilst the edging strip does hide the chipboard core of a laminate worktop, it does not necessarily provide a fully waterproof protection, and so using any undermounted sink – including a Belfast sink – is not recommended.

To give your revamped kitchen a traditional feel whilst incorporating laminate worktops, we would recommend that you consider one of the Reginox Overmounted Ceramic Sinks. These sit on top of the worktop and have a drainer included, meaning that there is no chance for moisture to affect chipboard core exposed around the sink aperture.

These overmounted sinks are available in either a single bowl or 1.5 bowl configuration, and – being ceramic with a white glaze – are still a great choice for creating a kitchen theme with a classic style.

You can learn more about using overmounted sinks in your kitchen by reading our dedicated guide: ‘All about Overmounted Sinks for Solid Wood Worktops’, which features details on the material, design and configuration of this type of sink.

If you have any further questions regarding laminate worktops or sinks, don’t hesitate to contact us again.

Best regards,

Ben @ Worktop Express

“Are your rubberwood or bamboo worktops suitable for an outdoor kitchen?”

We were recently sent a message from Alastair via Twitter. He wanted to know whether either our rubberwood or bamboo kitchen worktops would be suitable for outdoor use.

QUESTION:

“Hi @WorktopExpress, would your rubberwood or bamboo 40mm stave worktops be suitable for an outdoor kitchen?”

ANSWER:

Hi Alaistair,

Thanks for getting in touch with us via Twitter. Here’s an extended version of the response we sent to you.

Any wooden worktops can be used outside if they are given the correct type of treatment on a regular basis. We would recommend that an appropriate outdoor timber varnish or lacquer is used, which will fully seal the wood against moisture ingress. Changes in environmental temperature can occasionally lead natural timber products to slip or warp if not correctly treated.

Whichever form of treatment you use, it is recommended to occasionally sand the timber and re-apply a fresh coating in order to keep the hardwood fully protected.

The two worktops you mentioned – bamboo and rubberwood – are both very sustainable timbers that are well-suited to creating an outdoor kitchen. Bamboo is naturally one of the more water-resistant timbers, but the process in which bamboo worktops are made means they may be less stable than a solid hardwood such as rubberwood, maple or any of the other dense timbers in our collection.

We also sell a selection of table bases made from solid aluminium and cast iron, which may be suited to turning any of our worktops into a table for use outdoors. Our bases are very high quality and start at just £60.

We hope this information helps, but if you need any more advice, don’t hesitate to send us another Tweet or reply to this email.

All the best,

Ben @ Worktop Express