On 13 December 2023, Commonwealth, state and territory governments agreed to prohibit the use, supply and manufacture of engineered stone. In Queensland and the majority of jurisdictions, the prohibition begins 1 July 2024.
Our kitchen designer, Chloe recorded a video explaining this in more detail. Also of interest, a few alternative materials are suggested. The full transcript follows below.
Chloe, designer with Wood Marble & White, explains how prohibition of Engineered Stone from 1 July 2024, will come into effect.
Engineered Stone – what you need to know
Hey guys, my name is Chloe. I’m one of the designers here at Wood Marble & White.
We’re very excited to announce that we’re going to be doing some monthly sessions talking about all things kitchen and kitchen design.
We’re going to kick off the first session talking about engineered stone.
As some of you may know engineered stone has now been prohibited as of the 1st of July 2024.
Since we have a limited time to fulfil orders with engineered stone, we feel that this is an important subject to talk about.
So for you as the client, this means you have a specific date that you need to have your engineered stone installed by.
You need to keep in mind that there’s going to be a limited number of stock and limited supply available with the ban coming up.
Your stonemason may be taking on extra orders and they might be a little busier due to more people trying to get the stone in, prior to the cut-off date.
You need to ensure that you have your cabinetry on order within the next month and that everything is installed and ready to template prior to July.
One of our most popular alternatives to engineered stone is natural stone. As you can see natural stone comes in a range of colours, slab sizes and different styles.
Later this month, we’re going to pop over to Finestone. We’re going to show you some of the full slabs over there and different products that they have on offer.
Another alternative to engineered stone is natural timber. Natural timber is one of the original products we used as a bench tops in kitchens.
It stands the test of time. There’s a range of different colours. And timber is a great way to add warmth and layers of texture into your kitchen.
Another great alternative to engineered stone is porcelain. Although porcelain has been around for a long time, it’s most recently been used as a benchtop material.
The benefits of porcelain include that it comes in a 3.2 M slab, it can be used outdoors and indoors, and it can be joined and mitred.
Porcelain is comparable in price to Natural Stone.
Another alternative is Corian. Corian is an acrylic based product can be formed joined and there’s no limit to the size. This product has been around for a long time and there’s a wide range of colours and styles available.
The final product we have to show you today is laminate. Laminates are hard-wearing, heat-resistant and have stood the test of time. There’s a range of colours and styles available.
Thank you for coming to our monthly chat. Have a lovely weekend and we’ll see you next time.
Do you need to act now?
With the cut-off date looming and limited supply of engineered stone available, you will want to order your cabinetry now and have everything installed and ready to template prior to July.
Please don’t hesitate to contact the friendly team at Wood Marble & White today.