01Bench, benchtop, worktop — and why it matters
Three words, one product, and a real cost when they get mixed up between a drawing and a quote. In Australia and New Zealand the installed object is a benchtop; the same thing in a commercial kitchen schedule is usually a bench or a work bench; in the United Kingdom it is a worktop. All three are cut the same way. What changes is the convention for stating the size.
| Market | Word | Height to top | Depth default | Units on drawing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia / NZ | benchtop · bench | 900 mm | 600 mm | mm |
| United Kingdom | worktop | 900 mm | 600 mm | mm, sometimes inches |
| United States | countertop | 36" (914 mm) | 25½" (648 mm) | inches |
| Continental EU | Arbeitsplatte · plan de travail | 900 mm | 600 mm | mm |
If you are setting out joinery to 900 mm and your supplier is quoting to 36 inches, you are 14 mm apart before anyone cuts anything. We quote in millimetres and state the inch equivalent beside it, because the cost of that misunderstanding lands on the person installing it.
02The dimensions that decide the cut
Height is a joinery decision, not a benchtop decision — the top sits on the carcass, so the number that matters to us is the finished length and depth, and where the openings fall.
| Dimension | Usual value | What it does to the top |
|---|---|---|
| Finished height | 900 mm | Carcass + top thickness; a 10 mm top lowers the carcass by 4 mm against a 6 mm top |
| Depth | 600 mm | 620 mm where the top overhangs drawer fronts |
| Overhang, front | 20–40 mm | Sets the front edge line |
| Splashback upstand | 100–150 mm | Cut as a separate piece or folded from the same plate |
| Sink aperture | Per sink template | Position from a stated datum, not centred |
| Cooktop aperture | Per appliance cut-out sheet | Clearance to combustibles is the appliance maker's number, not ours |
The one that catches people is height. A 10 mm plate top on a 900 mm finished height means a different carcass than a 6 mm top. Tell us the finished height and the carcass height, and we will flag the discrepancy before cutting rather than after.
03Plate thickness in mm, without the gauge
Australian and New Zealand drawings are in millimetres, so gauge never enters the conversation — which is a good thing, because the gauge tables are not one table. We cut 5, 6, 8 and 10 mm plate. If a spec sheet you inherited says 16 gauge, it is describing 1.588 mm sheet, which is a different product with a different substrate underneath.
The practical range for a domestic kitchen here is 6 mm with a folded front edge: stiff enough on a 600 mm span, light enough to be carried and set by two people, and it leaves the carcass at a normal height. 8 mm is what people specify when they want the edge to read as a slab. 5 mm is priced for volume joinery where the top is fully supported and the edge is folded.
Grade and thickness are quoted together, not separately. 304 in 6 mm is the default for a dry domestic kitchen; 316L goes where the top sees chlorides and is left wet. The edge tolerance we hold is ±0.05 mm on a machined square edge — and that tolerance stays with the machined edge, it does not transfer to a folded or radiused one, which is why the drawing should say which edge it belongs to.
04Wet areas: sinks, dishwashers and upstands
A solid plate top has one advantage that matters more in a wet area than anywhere else: there is no core to get wet. A bonded panel that loses its edge seal around a sink will swell, and by the time it shows it is a replacement, not a repair.
- Under-sink condensation. Plate stays cold. On a cold morning a 6 mm top over a dishwasher can sweat underneath; a drip rail or a ventilated carcass solves it, and it is cheaper to plan than to discover.
- Upstand or splashback. Cut as one piece with a fold, or as a separate strip sealed at the joint. A folded upstand has no silicone line to fail.
- Dishwasher venting. If the appliance vents into the cavity under the top, leave the gap the appliance maker specifies — a plate top will not absorb the moisture, but the carcass will.
For a commercial kitchen the same logic is a compliance point rather than a comfort point — see commercial stainless steel countertops.
The frame above is our own, from the showroom stand: a bowl welded into the deck with a basket in it, and a sponge tray behind the tap. What it is here to show is the joint at the sink — on a bonded panel this is the edge that swells; on plate there is no edge to swell, only a weld to dress.
05When the bench is in a food premises
In Australia and New Zealand, food businesses are assessed against the Food Standards Code (FSANZ), and the recurring requirement for surfaces is that they be smooth, impervious and able to be effectively cleaned. Solid plate meets that by construction. What gets picked up in an inspection is not the material, it is the joints: a silicone bead at a wall, a butt joint between two tops, a screw head under a front edge.
A 304 plate top with a 3 mm silicone shadow line at the wall will be written up; the same top with a folded upstand and a welded internal corner will not. If the site is going to be inspected, draw the joints on the plan you send us.
Thickness for commercial work usually goes up rather than down — not for hygiene, for impact. A 6 mm top in a domestic kitchen and a 6 mm top in a service kitchen see very different treatment.
06What to send us
One plan with overall length, depth, finished height, and every opening positioned from a stated datum. A photo of the joinery helps more than you would expect — it shows us whether the top sits inside a cabinet run or overhangs it.
You get a quote in 24 hours with thickness, edge, finish, packing and lead time written out. If the layout would be cheaper built in two pieces with a joint on a cabinet divider, we will price that version too and tell you which one we would do.
Custom and OEM work · mm to gauge conversion · Send a drawing