— Porcelain · Bayswater, Melbourne
Porcelain benchtops.
Porcelain benchtops in Melbourne, cut and installed from our Bayswater workshop. A large-format ceramic slab, fired glass-hard, with the pattern on the face. Thin, light and colour-fast.
— 01 · From slab to install
How your porcelain benchtop gets made
The short version, for porcelain: four steps from a 12 or 20 mm slab to an edge that reads as 40 mm.
- Step 1 of 4
Choose the face you want
Porcelain carries its pattern on the face. Neolith Calacatta Roma and Caesarstone Fume are on our floor, and other ranges are ordered in per job.
- Step 2 of 4
Wrap the pattern round the edges
A cut edge would show the plain body, so the layout mitres each edge to carry the face around the corner. You see every mitre and join, then approve.
- Step 3 of 4
Check the build-up in 3D
Thin slabs can be mitred into a deeper edge, so a 12 mm top can look 40 mm thick. The render shows that edge, and any full-height splashback, before cutting.
- Step 4 of 4
Cut clean, handled carefully
Each cutout is supported while it is cut, and pieces are handled carefully all the way to site. Once installed, it never needs sealing.
See the full process, from your drawings to install →
— 02 · Edges, thickness, fluting
Porcelain waterfall ends, splashbacks and built-up edges
Mitred waterfall ends, full-height splashbacks and built-up edges suit porcelain. The edge itself is a square arris or a pencil round, because the pattern sits on the face. Every other edge and fluted profile is shown below, marked not available on porcelain.
Bookmatched slabs
Two consecutive slabs opened like a book, so the veining mirrors across the join.
Porcelain is fired from clay and minerals, with the pattern on the face.
See how your pieces are laid out on the slab →
Where porcelain works
- Kitchen benchtopsIdealStains and scratches barely touch it; mind the edges.
- Islands and waterfall endsIdealMitred ends wrap the pattern round.
- Bathroom vanitiesIdealToothpaste, makeup and hair dye wipe off.
- SplashbacksIdealFull height behind a cooktop.
- Feature wallsIdealThin and light, so it goes where weight matters.
- FireplacesIdealHandles heat.
- Outdoor kitchensIdealColour-fast in the sun.
- BarsIdealEasy to keep clean.
- Edge profiles and flutingNot availableSquare arris or pencil round only.
Living with porcelain
Hardness
The face is fired glass-hard. Knives, keys and pans do not scratch it in normal use.
Heat
Pans go straight from the hob to the bench. Porcelain was fired at over 1,200 degrees.
Stains and sealing
Nothing soaks in. No sealing, ever. Wine, lemon, oil and turmeric wipe off.
Outdoors
Colour-fast in sun and unbothered by rain. With sintered stone, it is the surface for outdoor kitchens.
Chips and edges
The pattern sits on the face. A chip on an edge shows the plain body underneath and cannot be polished back, so edges are mitred and corners are treated with care. If a piece chips off, it can usually be glued back in place; how much it shows depends on how intact the piece is and how cleanly it fits back.
Thickness
Slabs are 12 mm or 20 mm. A 12 mm top is often mitred and built up at the edge to read as 40 mm, which keeps the weight down on long runs.
In the workshop
Thin slabs, 12 or 20 mm, cut with clean passes and mitred at the edge so the face wraps the corner, often built up to read as 40 mm. Cutouts are supported and every piece is moved with care to site.
The ranges people ask for
Neolith
Its maker calls it sintered stone. It is fired the same way as porcelain, cared for the same way, and Calacatta Roma is on our floor.
Caesarstone Porcelain
Caesarstone’s post-ban range. Fume, Sleet and Graphite Metal are on our floor.
Dekton, Laminam, Maximum
Ordered in per job.
— 03 · Before you buy
Porcelain benchtop questions: pros and cons, joins, thickness and cost
01Is porcelain banned in Australia?
No. Porcelain is fired clay, not engineered stone, and the ban that started in July 2024 does not touch it. It is one of the two materials that replaced the banned slabs.
02Porcelain benchtop pros and cons
For: no sealing, no stains, hot pans, sun, and the lightest slab we cut. Against: a chip on an edge shows the plain body and cannot be polished out, so edges are mitred, and the pattern is on the face only. Pick it for hard use, not for a profiled edge.
03Does porcelain chip?
On the face, almost never. On an edge or an unsupported corner, it can, if it takes a hard knock. That is why we mitre edges, support every cutout and handle it like glass until it is fixed down.
04How thick is a porcelain benchtop?
12 mm or 20 mm. A 12 mm slab is usually mitred and built up at the front edge to read as 40 mm, which looks solid and keeps the weight down.
05Can you put hot pans on porcelain?
Yes. The slab was fired at over 1,200 degrees. A pan off the hob does not mark it.
06What does a porcelain benchtop cost?
Around reconstituted stone for the slab, a little more for the work, because the mitred edges and careful cutouts take longer. The slab count, the cutouts and the edges decide it, quoted live on your slab layout.
07Porcelain or sintered stone?
Same family. Porcelain is thinner and lighter, with the pattern on the face. Sintered stone is thicker and denser, usually coloured through the body. Behind a cooktop or on a wall, porcelain. On a heavy-use island, either.
08Can you see the joins in a porcelain benchtop?
A join is a fine line, placed where the layout hides it best, often at the sink or a corner. Mitred edges are cut so the pattern wraps round, and the layout shows every join before we cut.
09Porcelain or engineered stone?
Both are man-made. Porcelain is fired from clay and minerals with the pattern on the face; engineered stone is crushed mineral bound in resin. Porcelain handles heat and sun better. The engineered stone we cut is specified by its makers as containing less than 1% crystalline silica.
10How do you clean porcelain benchtops?
Warm water and a mild detergent or a non-abrasive cleaner. Porcelain needs no sealing.
11Can porcelain have a profiled or fluted edge?
No. Porcelain is brittle, like a very large tile: cut a profile or carve fluting into it and it chips, cracks or shatters, where other stones can be shaped and carved. The pattern also sits on the face, so a profile would cut through it. Porcelain edges stay a square arris or a pencil round, and a thicker front is mitred.
— Come and see it
See the porcelain on our floor.
Factory 4, 15 Ramage St, Bayswater. Monday to Friday, 9 to 4, weekends by appointment. Bring your plans and we will show your job on the slab you like.
— 04 · Against the others
Porcelain against the other stones
Porcelain beside the other three, in plain words: what each one is, and the three places it does better or worse than porcelain.
Porcelain
A large-format ceramic slab, fired from clay and minerals, with the pattern printed and fired onto the face. Thin, light and colour-fast.
In the workshop
Thin slabs, 12 or 20 mm, cut with clean passes and mitred at the edge so the face wraps the corner, often built up to read as 40 mm.
Where each one differs from porcelain: green is better, red is worse.
Natural stone Marble · Granite · Quartzite · Travertine
Rock cut from a quarried block into slabs, then polished or honed. Every slab is its own.
Sintered stone Smartstone · Dekton · Neolith
Natural minerals pressed and fired into a dense slab with no resin, coloured through the body. Made for heat, sun and hard use.
Reconstituted stone Quartz-look engineered surfaces, zero-silica
Crushed mineral bound in resin and cured into a uniform slab. The same colour and pattern every time. The reconstituted slabs we cut are specified by their manufacturers as containing less than 1% crystalline silica and fall outside the engineered stone prohibition. Safe Work Australia: the engineered stone ban