Is Porcelain Perfect Countertop?

Porcelain countertops are growing in popularity. But is porcelain as good as they say. I am breaking down the pros and cons to porcelain, in hopes that it will help you make the decision for yourself!

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[ruthbrown]

We installed a porcelain countertop about 5 months ago. My scientist husband was really into the claims of porcelain being stain and scratch resistant, able to withstand high heat, and the claim that porcelain doesn't fade or scratch. I wasn't that sold on it, but gave in because the scientist was so excited. One thing about going porcelain--there weren't that many pattern/style choices in the area in which I live, but we found one that we both agreed on and it does look beautiful.

Here's why I almost hate the porcelain countertop:
We opted for the polished finish instead of the honed finish. It's very pretty and reflective, but if any water sits on the countertop and is allowed to evaporate, we are left with a hard-water mark. (Our water is of moderate hardness, I forget the exact number.) I've talked to my husband about getting a water softener to deal with this problem, but we haven't agreed on that yet. He says there are water softeners that you can get for just under the kitchen sink. Anyway, these hard water spots drive me insane. The only way I can get them off is with Barkeepers Friend which doesn't seem to scratch the porcelain (I know that this cleanser is a no-no for other types of countertops.). So I'm going around my kitchen all the time investigating for any drops of standing water. We have a new undermount sink and there seems to be a lot more splashing when compared to the drop-in sinks, so I'm always finding water that needs to be mopped up. We do pull out/lower the spraying mechanism of our new faucet when we use it, and that does help reduce the splashing, but then the sprayer is almost constantly pulled down (which doesn't matter I guess since it's just us around here, usually. We can easily remedy the faucet situation when guests are over.).

Besides being on the lookout for water droplets, any use of the countertop at all requires not just wiping, but then polishing with a dry microfiber towel. So I'm spending a significant amount of time after any cooking or other kitchen project wiping down and drying/polishing the shiny surface. I had to do this with the ceramic tile that we had before, but the porcelain is taking even more time than the ceramic tile did to make the surface look good. On the other hand, the marks/dirt/water are somewhat hidden by the marbled pattern of the countertop, so you do have to be looking for smudges, etc. I guess I'm looking! I'm a cleaner! One positive note is that perhaps my countertops will be cleaner than they ever were!

About the chipping/scratching:
We had our new porcelain countertop for maybe 3 months when I was rinsing my ceramic crock pot liner in our sink and accidentally nicked the edge and got a chip. (Please watch Mark's video on which type of sink to get. We got a double sink with a larger washing bowl and smaller rinsing bowl, but now I wish I had gotten the large 1 bowl.) Anyway, I was very disappointed that the sink chipped so soon!! I luckily found the chipped off piece (first thought it was a small piece of garbage or food) and so I think that I can repair the chip, but I haven't done it yet. Not sure how...my husband says superglue. Also I do see small scratches in the porcelain like one of the commenters said below. So it's not a perfect world. That's one lesson I've learned from this kitchen remodel--there are always trade-offs.

Anyway, I love/hate my porcelain. It is beautiful. It's shiny. It looks like marble. It does seem to be heat resistant although we still use hot pads for hot pans or dishes. But I do feel like we've installed a sheet of glass on the counter that I have to clean every time anything touches it. I don't mind cleaning, but not this much!


There you have it. A review from the wife of a scientist. Thanks for letting me rant. I hope this is helpful to someone.

[ether]

Years ago I bought a really cheap porcelain chopping board and the claims of it being stain and scratch resistant are no joke. It would take a lot of force to break this surface and it would be pretty weird to be tenderising meat etc without using a wooden chopping board to "soften the blows". The only real downside at the moment is the colour selection as most use "printing" to mimic stone or solid colours. We've yet to see manufacturers really lean into all the different colours and painted effects common in small format tiles. Which has lead to a weird situation where I'm very tempted to just go for "plain white" for lack of any other option that really celebrates this material. I'd suggest if people are unsure to get a free sample and test it out - i had laminate and ended up getting both a wood and stone chopping boards to provide a easy and cheap way to test out each surface.

[stevennenzel]

Two real big issues with porcelain... they chip more easily than quartz or natural stone and it scratches more easily than you think. I own a countertop company and have over 20 years of experience. Porcelain is not a thru body color and the edges need to be mitered. The more you round the miter over on the top the more the underlying color is showing which is not the surface color. For this reason the top edges have a minimal radius which makes them vulnerable to chipping. When porcelain chips it tends to flake and results in a much larger chip than you would get in other products. Since the underlying color is not the surface color it is not easy (if not impossible on some colors) to make a decent repair. With regards to scratching, it is not that hard to scratch and due to the high gloss the scratches are more easily seen. Since this is not a thru body color you can't grind down the surface to sand out a scratch. In my opinion, until they get to a thru body color that can resolve some issues I don't think it is ready for a kitchen that gets the normal ever day use. It is definitely being used for kitchens and some of those kitchens will just be future countertop business for us when they get replaced.

[ps]

I like porcelain for all the reasons mentioned but also because one can install an induction cooktop under the porcelain. (See Invisacook). For a kitchen with limited counterspace, this allows the whole cooktop area to be used for other purposes when not using the burners. So easy to clean! The new conference center in the building where I work in has induction burners and cooling units installed under the countertops on the buffet area and they work great. No more chafers with sterno.

[darlene]

Very good info, stayed with my laminate in, "Ice mist fieldstone laminate" it's a matte finish and looks beautiful. The hard part was to find and old school fabrication contractor to make counters instead of buying slabs preformed. We found one and he was amazing...he built our cabinets and what a great job. Lil pricey but you get what you pay for..within reason of course...have great weekend to the Happy Tobin Crew👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 and Gammy too💐💐💐

[soniCron]

One factor I think many overlook is the elasticity of collisions on the surface. That is, when something falls on the surface, how "soft" is the material. The difference between a glass tipping over on wood or solid surface is totally different than, say, granite: a glass won't survive hitting the granite.

I never hear anyone discuss this. I'm not clumsy, but it's not uncommon to end up with chips or broken dishes over the course of many years. Maybe counter tops aren't really a big factor for this, but sinks definitely are.

Wish more folks would consider this. 🤷

[perfectlyimperfectitsmeL]

Hello!! Love your videos!! I am putting In porcelain as I type!! I am learning from YouTube University! I have flipped my house built in 1907!!

[TwentyMinuteGuitarPlayer]

Great video As always Mark! Super interesting!

[Wazupu]

We have 20x20 porcelain tiles as countertop. Indeed if you try making meat for street tacos with a cleaver you will crack it. Nevertheless, it’s a shiny beautiful product.

[moocrazytn]

Porcelain tiles have all those qualities, in my experience. Super durable. So I'd think a countertop would be great!

[berlinorama]

Thanks for doing this one, Mark. I really want porcelain for my next countertop but the price does put me off a bit. I haven't yet actually looked into concrete sellers here in Germany, though.

[Bostonbob]

"Porcelain" countertops are actually sintered stone. It's porcelain-like, but much more durable. They basically melt materials under extremely high heat while also compressing/compacting it under tons of pressure. (I only know this because I bit the bullet and am getting porcela...uh, sintered stone countertops for my kitchen and bathroom reno.)

[silence]

Since I'm allergic to everything and get sick from VOCs, I'm interested in the whole question of non-VOC materials for my kitchen design and is the reason my plans fell apart this past spring. But on countertops specifically, which countertop materials exactly would off gas VOCs? Until I saw this in your newsletter, I hadn't even thought that there might be a VOC issue with countertops as long as I was looking at something like Quartz or granite. Thoughts?

[Theaterbuddy]

My question is for the tendering of meat or cleaver usage, would a thick cutting board protect the porcelain surface? Thanks as always!

[---eyhj]

I would’ve gotten a porcelain countertop, but I know what would happen if I told my next door neighbor Darryl about it. He would say “Porcelain? Isn’t that the stuff my toilet is made out of?” And then I could never look at it the countertops again😬

[MariMari-nysi]

I’m definitely getting you to design my kitchen. Love your insight and knowledge. So if I lay a baking dish from a 450° oven onto a porcelain countertop it won’t crack?

[dancing_drake]

Hi Mark and community. Just curious. Been thinking about cork a lot recently. Initially for flooring but then got thinking about countertops. I presume a finished high density cork countertop would be similar to a wood countertop but possibly with slightly better heat and water resistance. Idk guess was just curious on yours and others thoughts. I did find a couple manufacturers of cork countertops but dont seem to really be a thing in most places.

[peterrabbit]

If you hit the edge of a porcelain countertop and it chips, how do you repair it?

[ryansoo]

When you give a price range for the countertop, is that per square foot or linear foot?

[glory.glory.ukraine]

Thanks for the info.. learnt alot... is 60 × 60 cm good enough??