Outdoor Countertop Options: Which is Coolest?

Downing Designs offers many countertop choices. In fact, we are the ONLY countertop manufacturer that can supply our own custom  Textured Glass and Concrete Countertops, along with White Glass, and every Quartz, Granite, Solid Surface, etc.

The point is: We are agnostic when it comes to materials for your project. We do not care to push you in one direction or another, and as such, are a trusted advisor to many architect and design-build firms who seek our vast experience in the selection of materials.

Many times we are are asked to fabricate outdoor countertops, and the plans call for dark colored material (which makes us wince). We like to enjoy the great outdoors as much as anyone, BUT, in the Florida summer heat, most materials will be uncomfortable in direct sunlight (not to mention making my beer/wine warm).

We have a huge warehouse in Tampa, and store many materials outdoors. I purchased a digital laser thermometer to find out just how uncomfortable some of these countertop options are in direct summer sunlight.

Facts:  September 19, 2017  1:30pm,  Temperature 93 degrees, Zero Clouds. All materials were outdoors since early morning, placed flat. 

Item          Temperature       Notes

White Glass                        96                                  Cool

Human Skin                        98.6

Ultra-Clear Glass               104                                 Slightly Warm

White Concrete                  108                                 Slightly Warm 

Light Grey Concrete           118                                 Warm-Hot

Wood 2×6                           122                                 Hot

Asphalt Pavement              122                                 Hot

Dark Grey Concrete            125                                Hot

White Fiberglass Boat Deck  129                              Very Hot

Steel Bars 1/4″ x 2″ x 8′       130                                Very Hot

Black Granite                       131                                Very Hot

As you can see, there are clearly bad choices to be made when selecting your outdoor countertop material. There was one very clear winner, not surprisingly it was the White Glass.

This material was developed by Russian space agencies to repel heat on their re-entry rockets. Clearly it succeeds in that regard. 

Conclusion can be drawn any way, but we continue to become more and more impressed with our White Glass material, as seen in the above evidence. When selecting your materials for your outdoor kitchen countertops, please keep in mind these results, as they may just make the difference between a countertop that is highly used vs one that gets used only during the cooler months.

Come on by our shop someday and bring your own materials to compare with ours. Our digital thermometer is ready…

Jeff Downing (813) 784 5211

 

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