Budget kitchen countertop question

[princessmom29]

We also have Wilsonart that gets mistaken for granite. One day we will put in granite, but for now the laminate will do. When we started looking we found that Corian was actually about $10/sq ft more than granite.

 

[punkin]

How well does the Wilsonart wear? How soon will I have to change it? I want it to look good for at least 10 years, hopefully 20.

 

[kawing123]

A ceramic tile countertop is a do it yourself project. My husband put it over are formica and it turned out great. Choose a regular grout that is a little darker than cement. After finishing, the grout needs sealing and I have had mine for a few years and there is really no problems. I sealed it one additional time. The formica must be sanded before cementing the tile to the formica. You will need to buy edge pieces and back pieces but all in all it is cheap even for nicer tile,

 

[kfeuer]

We just bought our current house last year and the previous owner put ceramic tile over the old formica. I can't express how much I HATE it. It's impossible to keep the grout clean, crumbs get stuck in the grout lines, it's just awful. Plus it's an obvious DIY job i.e. not done well.

My DH got laid off and we're having to look at selling this house, so we've been pricing new countertops. We settled on Wilsonart HD laminate in a pattern that will look like granite, which is appropriate for our neighborhood.

However, I wanted to mention that we could have gotten Wilsonart's solid surface (like Corian) for only $600 more then the HD laminate is costing us. Some of it looked like the old school plastic Corian, but a couple of them looked like the high-end quartz countertops. We decided against it because I don't think we'd see the extra money back in our case and obviously money is tight, but if you're looking for durability it's probably one of the most inexpensive options out there.

We have a lot of counterspace and the HD laminate is running us $2000 installed, and like I said the Wilsonart solid surface would have only been $600 more.

Lastly, if you're buying from HD or Lowe's, be sure to check Ebay for 10% off coupons. I bought 7 10% off Lowe's coupons for $7 and was able to use one on our countertop order.

 

[Blue.Fairy2]

OMG that first one is stunning! Is that yours? If so, how do I go about getting something like this? Would Home Depot be a good place to start?

Sorry to jump into the thread!

I wish! LOL

here though we have a salvage place that does granite tiles and counter tops for a fraction of what it is at big box but Home Depot and Lowes both have tiles.


They are gorgeous when done right!

here is a step by step guide although I do not like his choice of grout.

http://www.dannylipford.com/diy-hom...ths/how-to-install-a-granite-tile-countertop/

 

[skip323]

I think granite tiles come out nicely in a kitchen because the grout lines are typically very, very thin and are almost indistinguishable. I had ceramic tile in a previous house and hated it with a passion..

Boy....I wish I had seen a comment like this about 5 years ago!! I agree, the granite tile pictures posted look great and it is because of the thin lines. I have ceramic tile countertops....large tile....because we were just running out of money when we built our house and granite was not a need...not even necessarily a desire for us. I cannot STAND my ceramic countertops! The grout lines are large ...maybe it could have been smaller with more tiles and closer placement. Even though our grout is dark I can still see stains...red stains like spaghetti sauce can still show just not as obvious as with a light grout. My ceramic also has chipped in a couple of spots. Poor DH...he just doesn't understand that we will be replacing these tops soon!

 

[Planogirl]

We have a lot of counterspace and the HD laminate is running us $2000 installed, and like I said the Wilsonart solid surface would have only been $600 more.

I was wondering how much that laminate cost. We need something done too but ouch!

 

[corie161]

My husband just became a granicrete installer. It's a cement overlay option made to look like granite for less cost. Basically you can pick any color you'd like. I don't have any costs, as he hasn't done one for anyone else yet. He's working on our bathroom right now.

You could check out www.granicrete.com to see if you can find info near you.

 

[MrsPete]

How well does the Wilsonart wear? How soon will I have to change it? I want it to look good for at least 10 years, hopefully 20.

We put in Wilsonart laminate 2-3 years ago, and I regret it.

Well . . . no, I don't really regret it because it was the best option available to me. My cabinets are good quality but old, and I refinished them myself ($30 and LOTS of work). The countertops were horrible, and my kitchen is HUGE. The laminate cost about $2600, and that was really as much as I could stomach spending to top off OLD cabinets. We'll probably sell this house in a couple years, and at that point I'm going to have to either replace the cabinets or have them professionally refinished (don't know if that's even an option), but FOR NOW, the budget choices we made are perfectly acceptable, and when we get ready to sell we'll bite the bullet, spend the money, and the house will be very sell-able because the kitchen will be new.

But back to why I'm not completely satisfied with the laminate: It has nicks and dings in a number of places (though since we went with the dark green/black/brown look, you can't see them unless you look). We have the beveled edges, and they are coming apart in a couple places -- especially over the dishwasher, where the humidity affects them. I would be much happier if we hadn't gone with that flimsy beveled edge.

 

[kpm76]

Timely question since we just had granite countertops installed today. I have to say that I love them already Granted I was living with pea soup green laminate countertops that were original with the house built in 1947 so any new countertop would have been an improvement! You may be surprised with the cost of granite so shop around if it's what you really want. We got a great deal. My parents installed Corian about 4 yrs ago and we have roughly the same amount of counterspace and their Corian was $300 MORE than our granite.

If you ever plan to sell the house I would invest in quality countertops. Most people will not consider laminate when looking at houses, especially if you are in a high end area. You will get a return on your investment with granite....

 

[mdsouth]

We have a lot of counterspace and the HD laminate is running us $2000 installed, and like I said the Wilsonart solid surface would have only been $600 more.

Be sure to check out the standard sized precut sections of either laminate or granite slabs at Home Depot and Lowes. You can get a four foot section for around 50.00 I think.

We redid our kitchen a couple of years ago. We refinished (sanded and painted) the cabinets ourselves and bought a laminate counter top (Wilsonart Butter Rum). We went through a local counter top dealer (the one who supplies contractors, etc) and the entire countertop order was around 800.00

My husband installed it himself - so no labor charge. I helped him a bit and it was extremely easy to do. You just set it on top of the cabinet base and then run glue (special kind) down the seams and seal the seams with clear silcone. I can check with my DH for specific information. You also then screw the tops down from the inside of the cabinet so they do not shift around.

 

[neatokimmo]

Thanks for the tutorial on how to install the tiles, I am so putting in granite tiles when I redo the kitchen next year.

 

[KNJWDW]

We just put in a new countertop and had considered granite, but just decided it wasn't worth the money for this house. We put in a textured laminate. It is very pretty, it has some sheen to it and looks like granite. You can also get different edges with it, that give it a very custome look. We got ours through Home Depot, here is a link to the one we picked: http://samples.wilsonartcontract.com/p-465-mountain-passage-1843-45.aspxo the color. I was somewhat dissapointed with some things with Home Depot, but I am sure the product is available elsewhere.

Amy

 

[Poohbug]

I have been very happy with the Wilsonart laminate. I really could not justify the cost for granite or corian. I have three boys and we do not "baby" the counters at all. I have no chips or discoloration.

Now I am looking for new surfaces in the bathroom. I think I will go with a concrete counter. It does not hurt that my brother (who does concrete finishing for a living) will do if for me.

The tile looks very nice but the grout would worry me.

 

[Niagara2]

We have the wilson butter rum and people walk in and look, take a second look, run there hand over it and ask - what is this. It is better than laminate but not granite for sure. We had an edging put in on a slant that is called gel edging but is corian and matches perfectly. Nice finish and confuses people even more on what the product is.
This is fine for our area and even though I would of loved granite, was a much cheaper alternative.

 

[MickQuinn]

We replaced our old laminate with quartz slabs a few years ago. My husband did tons of research and quartz was the way to go for us. It was cheaper than granite, and does not release radon gas as granite can.

Our countertop is the easiest to take care of, no sealing or special products needed, just good old soap and water. It looks beautiful still. I like not having to worry about hot pans or knife marks.

We found a company through our local lumber yard. They installed it too. We did a 4x6 foot island along with about 14 feet of wall counter and backsplash. By having them use two smaller slabs for the long run, it saved a ton money. They made the seem at the sink, so you can't even see it.

 

[kfeuer]

Be sure to check out the standard sized precut sections of either laminate or granite slabs at Home Depot and Lowes. You can get a four foot section for around 50.00 I think.

We redid our kitchen a couple of years ago. We refinished (sanded and painted) the cabinets ourselves and bought a laminate counter top (Wilsonart Butter Rum). We went through a local counter top dealer (the one who supplies contractors, etc) and the entire countertop order was around 800.00

My husband installed it himself - so no labor charge. I helped him a bit and it was extremely easy to do. You just set it on top of the cabinet base and then run glue (special kind) down the seams and seal the seams with clear silcone. I can check with my DH for specific information. You also then screw the tops down from the inside of the cabinet so they do not shift around.

I wish we could have used the stock countertops! Unfortunately, our counter tops are anything but standard-sized (one side has an eat-in bar and is extra deep, and there's a window box extension behind the sink) so we had to get them specially made. We've done what you suggested in the past and definitely came out cheaper, wish we could have done it this time! We should have our new countertops next week, I can't wait to see them (and get rid of the ugly horrible tile once and for all).

I love granite countertops, but we looked at the comps in our price range and nobody had granite so it wouldn't have been a wise investment. HGTV makes it looks like every house out there has granite, but that is not the case! We're doing a modest kitchen makeover that will give the feel of a new kitchen. I think that's going to give us the biggest bang for our buck.

 

[StephMK]

We have Wilsonart laminate also and got the rounded edge. The guy talked me out of the smaller rounded edge & wish I'd picked that one like I did at our last house.

I like the laminate, if there are dings or scratches, I can't see them, I can barely see the crumbs on it. We live in a granite style neighborhood but went laminate anyway because many here have not done any updates anyway. Plus like another poster said, our cabinets are in great shape but original, 30 yrs old & I painted them. One day the entire kitchen will get overhauled but that's a long ways off.

 

[UCFALUM]

OP-we renovated our MD house a couple years ago and there was a place out near/in Gaithersburg that sold cheap granite. They would discount certain colors and we drove all the way out there and just picked whatever they had. The price difference between laminate and their granite was only $700 and worth every penny. I maintain that is what sold that house in a down market.

 

[Silent1CB]

On the design shows, they are always getting granite sections for cheaper than buying a slab. If your countertop isn't 1 long section, you might be able to go to the remnant section and find enough matching pieces to do your kitchen. They sell smaller pieces for less money per linear foot than slabs.

We have quartz, but only because I was able to stack 2 big discounts on top of each other when a new Home Depot opened locally.