Valchromat, what is that?

Ann Smith's Valchromat sink counter

Most of our projects have undermount sinks. They look great in an old timey way, and function much better than the usual “drop-in” sinks that have that ledge around the edge. It's much easier to cleanup around the sink, you can just sweep stuff from the counter into the sink. It also works much better for draining dishes, you don't get those puddles on the counter. Not to mention how nice the undermount style looks.

We usually use stone for these counters, but are always looking for less costly alternatives. Not everybody can afford slate, soapstone, or granite.

What's the alternative? An undermount sink in a wood counter is asking for trouble. Tile eventually fails. Laminates don't work because the edge of the plywood is exposed.

One of our clients, Ann Smith, asked us to do her sink counter with Valchromat. Valchro what?

We had never heard of it. It turns out to be a European, fairly green, “medium density fibreboard”. Though it can swell, it doesn't break down when wet. It comes in a lot of wonderful colors, and the colors go all the way through. It comes in 49 X 98 sheets, 3/4” thick (slate colored one 1” thickness). It costs about $200 per sheet For a waterproof counter, that is very inexpensive.

Valchromat is incredibly easy to sand, saw, or route using ordinary woodworking tools. At Ann's, we made a plywood template for the sink cutout, followed it with a ordinary router bit, and sanded it. This stuff is flat, stable, doesn't chip out, really nice to work with.

I love the colors. We've put every sort of finish on it, including oil based poly and various oil finishes. With certain oil finishes, or an “oil wax” it looks very beautiful, sort of leathery. It's not impervious like stainless steel or maybe granite. Like wood or soapstone, it does best if given a new coat of oil when it looks dried out or uneven. This is a “patina material” not a “stays new looking forever” material. Ian is still experimenting with different finishes to find the best choices.

It's a revelation making a set of drawer fronts, or a cabinet door, out of Valchromat. If we're making, say, a bank of ash or pine drawers, we have to get the wood, plane it, glue up a panel, cut out the drawer fronts, then sand and finish. Fun, but a major task. With Valchromat, you cut out a piece the size of the cabinet front, slice it up as needed, and that's it. Ready to finish and install.

This new material brings us a little closer to an important goal: finding a way to build a custom kitchen that is not too expensive, but has the same attention to detail and functionality that we can get with more traditional materials.

There are at least two other products that we particularly like for similar reasons. I'll do separate posts on those.

Often it's not cabinetry that runs up the cost, but other factors. I'll do a post on “cost drivers” soon.