Worktops & Splashbacks

Benchmarx worktops come in a wide variety of materials, styles, colours, thicknesses and finishes including; Laminate, Zenith Compact Laminate, Solid Wood, Engineered Real Wood, Apollo Magna, Apollo Slab Tech, Granite, Apollo Quartz, Silestone by Cosentine & Corian by DuPont. As you would expect from Benchmarx, all of our worktops are specially designed to the highest quality standards by world-leading manufacturers. They're tough enough to meet the rigorous demands of everyday family life, and some ranges come with a 10 year manufacture's guarantee. *Our lainate and Apollo Slab Tech work surfaces have been awarded the FIRA Gold Award, the supreme accolade of product excellence.

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Whether you require a splashback behind the hob or a full kitchen splashback solution, Alusplash makes the perfect complements to any kitchen. Alusplash is a durable 4mm thick aluminium based splashback. It is waterproof, fire resistant and stream resistant. The panels are very quick to install using tools suitable for metal machining and cutting. With its high gloss, UV resistant paint coasting, it is comparable to the look of a contemporary glass splashback. 

We have a wonderful range of kitchen worktops and splashbacks available in a variety of colours and styles. Request a free brochure and find your local branch!

 

Goodwill Coffee Table

I love going into the Goodwill or Bible for missions and seeing what I can find to give it a new look. Sometimes you can walk through and see nothing, but this one morning I went in and found this coffee table for $15. I wasn't looking for my own personal use it was to refinish it and sell it. I liked the price and I also liked that it was solid wood.
It was in pretty rough shape when I found it.
I started with sanding the top with my palm sander right down to the bare wood .
I applied 3 coats of Dark walnut stain and then I applied in a "satin finish" a clear coat to protect the top of table.
 
The top turned out really nice with that Dark stain.
I painted the bottom in my homemade Chalk paint in " Cottage White" with 2 coats.
I sanded the paint until it was smooth and I then distressed it along the edges and then I waxed it, and wiped it off. It feels really smooth, the chalky touch leaves after this process.
So a old table turned into a Cottage Style table ! More details on the blog!

Coffee Table Aquarium Stand – End Table

A coffee table or end table will work as an aquarium stand just fine as long as the tank isn’t too large. I wouldn’t do anything larger than a 10 gallon aquarium. I wouldn’t do anything big. Maybe a 5, definitely no more than a 10. Have you ever stood or sat on it? That’s usually a good indicator of whether it can be trusted to hold the weight of the water and tank. As long as the tank will weigh less than you than it would be good. 

1 gallon of water weighs 8.34 lbs.so a 14 gallon tank would be 116.76 lbs in just water. Then you have the weight if the tank filter and any decor you add. I feel like that might be a bit heavy for a coffee table.

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Additional Comments:

  • Maybe 30gallon? Water is sooo heavy. I know my coffee table couldn’t hold anything too big.
  • I have this 14 gallon tank and idk if it would be okay on a normal coffee table on a second floor? I always get so nervous about the floor caving in.
  • What’s the table look like? Is it all wood or is part of it metal? Is there a cross section underneath or no?
  • I believe it would be around the same weight as me with the water in, would a 12-14 gallon tank be okay do you think?
  • you could try it, but I would try to put the same amount of weight on it and let it sit for a while, that way if it were to break you wouldn’t lose the tank and/or fish.
  • A 15 quid table from Argos isn’t going to be solid wood and it doesn’t have any leg bracing. It’s made for coffee cups and TV remotes. Honestly I wouldn’t trust the one in your picture with anything more than a 25ltr betta tank.
  • But you can still have plenty of fun with a tank that size. Here is Bo, our little fighter dude. 🙂 We just added a couple of snails to munch some of the algae too.
  • I would say nothing more than 5 gallons. And it really depends on the table. Most are not made to hold hundreds of pounds of weight.
  • I wouldn’t put anything more than 5 gallons, got the same table and the legs aren’t very strong! Anything more it would start to warp and any water would make it weaker.
  • maybe a few weeks or months, the coating on these is rubbish and the smallest amount of water would get in.. It’d be fine temporarily though I think, just be careful doing water changes.
  • most important thing is that the tank is even with the table/stand. And isn’t putting all the weight somewhere it isn’t supported. Hope you get one sorted soon for your water pigs!
  • Depends on the type of table. 5 gallons might be okay but take into consideration the weight of substrate-if used,etc
  • I have a tiny coffee table with a 30 gallon on it. I wouldnt put anything more than my 30g. My table is also sturdy though.
  • Thank you! its currently not done, im trying to order some lights and switch it over to all live plants. theres just a little veiltail betta in there.
  • There’s no such thing as an ordinary table. We can’t answer this question in any meaningful way without specifics.
  • I have a similar table from Ikea that’s all that particle board. Unfortunately I wouldn’t put anything on it. Maybe the 5 others are suggesting. But yeah I looked at mine for a moment bc I don’t want to buy a stand when upgrading tanks is expensive enough…no way though.
  • I have a 35 gallon on a steel frame particle board table, the table is almost indestructible. Been full of water for a year, fish in for almost a year and no problems. The table is longer and wider than the tank.
  • this is NOT an ikea table. I got it used from my work, it was used for decades in a school setting so it was built to last. I was just thinking about this the other day (whether or not I needed a stand, but why buy one from petskart when it’s made from particle board anyway? Idk. I try not to think about it.
  • I know my pet store don’t sell stands they only sell them with the big goldfish tanks! I have no idea where I would get one 😂 I’ll need to shop around.
  • It really depends on the lumber/ material and construction. A vintage/ antique well built coffee table is generally going to be able to support more than an inexpensive press board coffee table.  Also, keep in mind that sitting/ standing on a piece to test its strength is different than setting a heavy weighted item on it for long period of time. I learned this the hard way and I should have known better with my background. Tested the furniture and figured it would be fine. A couple hours after the tank was filled, we heard some popping and cracking and then a loud pop like a gun going off… don’t make the same mistake we did. 
  • Just a couple of hours maybe. I wasn’t paying attention to the time really. We filled it and we were eating dinner after. Totally caught us off guard. It’s really easy to underestimate how much weight we put in our aquariums, tank weight included. 
  • If you ever question it get some friends over who will weigh more than the tank full of water and have them sit/stand in the spot. If the stand breaks then It wasnt strong enough.
  • A 10, maybe 20 
  • There is no “ordinary ” many parameters need explanations.   
  • We have a coffee table I am more than comfortable keeping a 55g on, yet I would hesitate to use a 10g on my parents coffee table.