If you looking into what’s available in terms of the different types of kitchen worktops, then this article should help you to understand some of the advantages of installing maia kitchen worktops in your kitchen. We will look at both how maia worktops functions and how they look, as both of these factors are important when deciding which kitchen worktop is right for you and your home.
Maia worktops, produced by a UK company called Sylmar, are often described as being a solid surface worktop. Their surface is constructed from a mixture of acrylic resin, colour pigments and aluminium hydroxide. This results in a smooth finish which looks like stone. Corian worktops are very similar in this respect. Let’s have a look at some of the attributes of maia kitchen worktops in more detail.
Firstly maia is strong, hardwearing and durable. Maia worktops usually come with ten year guarantee and, if they are cared for correctly, they should last a great deal longer. Surface scratches can be polished out of a maia surface and the worktops are reasonably heat resistant. This doesn’t mean that you can place hot pans directly onto the surface, as you would be able to with a stainless steel worktop, but it does mean that the maia will not be damaged by cooking splashes and water spills. Unlike wood worktops and stone worktops, maia countertops do not allow liquids to penetrate them.
Secondly, maia worktops are really easy to keep clean. They can be wiped down really simply due to their smooth finish and, because they impenetrable to dirst and dust, bacteria will not be able to build up below the worktop’s surface.
Thirdly, unlike laminate and wooden worktops, maia counters can be fitted so that the seams (the joins between the different sections of work surface) are invisible. This allows maia worktops to create a sleek, stylish finish which is particularly desirable in a modern kitchen design. In addition, unlike granite worktops, maia work surfaces feel soft to the touch.
Fourthly, although maia kitchen worktops are more expensive than some wood and virtually all laminate worktops, they are cheaper than installing a stone worktop or a corian worktop. I’ve often heard it said that a maia work surface gives the appearance of stone without the price tag.
Maia worktops are available in a range of colours. I’ve seen them installed in both modern and more traditional kitchens and I would have to say I think they are more successful as part of a contemporary kitchen design, In a rustic setting, they tend to look too clinical and end up detracting from the overall scheme rather than enhancing it.
It is claimed that maia worktops can be installed by the purchaser, providing he or she is fairly competent at DIY. Even though maia worktops come with detailed fitting instructions and can be worked with woodworking tools, I have heard some disaster stories about the fitting of these counters. Unless you are very confident of your own abilities, I would advise you to employ an experienced kitchen fitter to install your maia worktops. After all, you want to achieve the seamless finish as this is one of the factors that sets maia apart from some of the other types of kitchen countertop on the market.
As you can see, maia worktops have an awful lot going for them. In the right kitchen design they can look stunning and they represent a more affordable alternative to stone worktops.
When our Maia worktop was fitted the kitchen fitter failed to seal arround the Frankie sink properly an we now has a 20mm crack at one corner at the back of the worktop. Could the sink be removed and edge of the wood be sealed and the surface routed out and filled with a repair kit?
The reason I would prefer a repair is that to replace the Maia would mean taking the kitchen appaart as it goes into a corner with big unit at each end.
We love the worktop as a product
Yours
John Nightingale