Blog · Materials
Why large-format porcelain is taking over the outdoor kitchen
Ten years ago an outdoor kitchen counter meant granite, and it still works. But the projects we are asked to build outside now are bigger, with longer runs, integrated grills, bar seating and full-height back walls, and for those the material we reach for is large-format porcelain.
What outdoors does to a surface
An outdoor counter deals with things an indoor one never sees: direct ultraviolet light all day, water sitting on the surface, freeze and thaw across a Virginia winter, and a grill that puts sustained heat into the stone next to it. Engineered quartz is out immediately; UV shifts its colour and heat attacks the resin. Marble weathers. Granite works, with sealing.
What porcelain brings
Porcelain slabs are fired from clay and minerals at over 1,200°C into a dense sheet with near-zero water absorption. That single property solves most of the outdoor list: nothing gets in, so nothing stains and nothing freezes inside the material. The pigments are fired in, so sunlight does not fade them. And it is fully heat-proof, so a grill can sit directly in a cut-out.
Format, thickness and the mitered edge
Slabs come up to about 126 by 63 inches in 12mm, and 6mm for cladding. A 12mm counter reads thin on its own, so we mitre a drop edge to make it look like 3cm or thicker solid material. The mitre also hides the one drawback of porcelain: the pattern is printed on the surface, and a plain cut edge shows the body of the slab.
Fabrication is different, and it matters
Porcelain is hard and thin, which makes it brittle in the wrong hands. It needs different blades, slower feeds and careful support on the CNC. We run it on dedicated programmes, and it is the reason we advise against having a stone shop that 'also does porcelain' fabricate a large outdoor project. The material is forgiving once installed and unforgiving while being cut.
Designing an outdoor kitchen in porcelain
A few things we plan for on every outdoor project.
- A slight fall on the counter so water runs off rather than pooling.
- Expansion joints on long runs, hidden at a seam, because the substrate moves more outside.
- A matte finish rather than polished: less glare in sun and less visible water spotting.
- Stainless or masonry base cabinets that will not move with the seasons.
