Glass vs. Acrylic: 4 Reasons Acrylic Is a Better Material for Residential Kitchen Splashbacks
If you are looking for practical ways to add a decorative touch to your kitchen, splashbacks are your best bet. They are great for protecting the walls next to the countertops from heat, spills and damaging oils. They also add visual appeal to your kitchen, especially if you find the right material. For a long time, glass and acrylic have been popular splashback materials. However, acrylic is a superior and better option for kitchen applications. Thus, if you are planning a kitchen renovation, here are a few reasons why you should choose acrylic over glass.
Style and versatility
Both glass and acrylic splashbacks can add visual interest to your kitchen. They are available in an array of colours. Thus, if you want a bright splashback in yellow, blue, or orange, you can customise the materials to your liking. However, acrylic rivals glass in versatility. Acrylic is more malleable than glass, making it easy to personalise with colour, patterns and photography. Acrylic weighs significantly less than glass, making it a suitable material for machining. Thus, if you want to customise the colour, shape, size and pattern, acrylic is a better material to work with.
Performance and durability
Kitchens are busy spaces, and when installing splashbacks, you need a material that can provide excellent performance for a long time. Furthermore, splashback installation is a one-time project; thus, it's essential to invest in a durable fixture. Glass splashbacks are usually made of toughened glass, which is incredibly durable. However, since glass is fragile, it can still crack when hit by a heavy object such as a saucepan. This factor significantly limits the durability of glass, especially in a kitchen where accidents happen regularly.
Acrylic is a plastic material that's over ten times stronger than glass. It does not break on impact, which makes it an excellent choice for family kitchens. The only thing you need to worry about is the possibility of scratching on impact. However, scratches on acrylic are easily fixable. You can sand the scratched surface and refinish it to restore its appearance. This is not possible with glass — you have to replace the broken splashback.
Material and installation costs
Material and installation costs can be limiting factors when renovating a kitchen. Thus, it's essential to adhere to your budget. Glass is costlier than acrylic sheets. The cheapest glass splashback costs around $149. If you want high-quality toughened glass, you may part with over $400 for every square metre of glass. On the other hand, high-quality acrylic splashbacks cost around $180 per 1.2 metres.
Glass is a heavy and fragile material, and this means it can easily break during installations. You need at least two people to move glass sheets during the installation. Workers have to exercise care when handling the material, which can increase project hours. Acrylic is lighter than glass and easy to handle. Since it doesn't break on impact, the installation process can be relatively fast and seamless. All this translates into reduced labour and installation costs.
Ease of maintenance
High-traffic kitchens require low-maintenance splashbacks. Spills, accidents and oil splashes are common. Users constantly touch surfaces and leave finger marks. If you have a high-maintenance material, keeping it clean will be a nightmare. Unfortunately, this is the reality with glass. The material is more likely to harbour dust, stain marks and fingerprints. Since soap water leaves streaks on glass, you have to invest in a specialised cleaner to maintain your kitchen's aesthetic appeal.
Acrylic has a beautiful shine similar to glass. However, it does not attract dust, marks and stains. To clean acrylic, you only need water, dish soap and a clean towel. You don't need to invest in additional cleaning products. This eases the maintenance of your splashbacks, especially in a high-traffic kitchen.
Acrylic is evidently a better material than glass for residential kitchen splashbacks. All you need to do is choose your preferred size, colours and patterns. Contact an acrylic manufacturer for custom kitchen splashbacks made of materials like Perspex.
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