Granite counter tops vs. solid surface

[Pooh's Pixie]

I am thinking about doing a honed granite, not shiny but never needs sealing and it still takes the beating.

You should look into soapstone. If you don't want shine, soapstone is dark and the added benefit is it's completely nonporous. It is the only stone that is. Granite is not very porous when sealed but I would bet honed granite might get stained.

Go to www.vermontsoapstone.com

We are very happy with it.

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

Am I there yet ~ Love your kitchen & bathroom! I especially like the decorative piece over your kitchen window. I can't have that due to the soffet being right over my kitchen window & tops of cabinets. Love your counter...we almost went with uba tuba too. My DH talked me into doing something a little more neutral for the kitchen but for the master suite bathroom, I forgot the name now (hate when I suffer brain hi-cups) but it looks very close to uba tuba. I love the look over the white cabinets. It's a nice contrast.

Thanks! Are you referring to Peacock Green, maybe?

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

We have soapstone too! Love love love it! We did a "restoration" of an old kitchen and the shiny granite wasn't going to look right. Soapstone was perfect! It's so organic and beautiful.

JayCT, are you having Vermont Soapstone do it?

Soapstone hasn't made it here yet. It's pretty rare to hear of someone putting it in down here.

I agree with you though; granite wouldn't have looked right in a restored kitchen. Soapstone has such a soft look.

 

[Cindyluwho]

You can see our new kitchen in the pic below. Our island is slab granite and the counterops are copper. I love them both!! My sister is putting marble in her kitchen against the judgment of the remodel folks. Realistically it's been used in Europe for centuries and still looks amazing. There's something out there for everyone!
BTW-the copper was wayyyy less expensive than the granite.

 

[FreshTressa]

I have Uba Tuba (one of the most carefree granite choices) in my kitchen and Absolute Black in one of my secondary bathrooms.

We do have to wipe down the bathroom walls after anyone takes a shower, since we have granite inserts, and Absolute Black does show water stains and will also show dust.

Uba Tuba is what our builder is installing in ours.

BTW...I love (what I can see of) your dining set. I've been looking for one kind of like that.

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

Uba Tuba is what our builder is installing in ours.

You'll love it! It has so many pretty specks in it. I love it when the sun hits it in the morning. I still stand there and stare at it and we've had it almost a year!

BTW...I love (what I can see of) your dining set. I've been looking for one kind of like that.

I think the table was either Thomasville, Hooker, or Kinkaid. I've had it for almost four years, so I can't remember. It's country french in style; shouldn't be too hard to find one like it.

Here's a picture of it. You can always print them and take it to a furniture store and see if you find something similar up there. It was really well-priced!

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

You can see our new kitchen in the pic below. Our island is slab granite and the counterops are copper. I love them both!! My sister is putting marble in her kitchen against the judgment of the remodel folks. Realistically it's been used in Europe for centuries and still looks amazing. There's something out there for everyone!
BTW-the copper was wayyyy less expensive than the granite.

The granite you used, is very similar to what we're putting in our master bathroom, when we start that dreaded remodel. Is it Santa Cecilia?

I am so shocked about the copper price. When I owned my plumbing company with my ex, thieves would break into our warehouse and steal our pipes all the time and sell them.

Very pretty kitchen!

 

[PlutoPony]

CindyLH - I've never seen copper counters before. WOW! What's maintenance like? Do you know how thick the copper is - and what's under the copper?
We were originally going with Uba Tuba but wanted stone with a lot of brown/gold in it (sometimes called Uba Tuba Gold). Unfortunately what has come in over the last several months is very olive green/black with little of the gold so decided to change at the last minute. We're happy with what we ended up with but it has a lot more visible "pattern" than Uba Tuba... fortunately we'd gone with very clean lines on cabinets or I'm afraid the kitchen would have looked kinda "busy". It's really amazing how much different a slab of granite looks in the warehouse and then in the kitchen....

 

[Cindyluwho]

CindyLH - I've never seen copper counters before. WOW! What's maintenance like? Do you know how thick the copper is - and what's under the copper?

The maintenance isn't too bad, much easier than the white tile counterops with white grout that I had in my last kitchen. I use Barkeeper's Friend on it every 10 days or so. Actually in the pic the countertops hadn't been polished for about 2 weeks. You do have to dry it after you wipe down after doing dishes, etc or it will leave streaks. It's about as thick as a nickel (how's that for a measurement?) and it's laid right over the old formica countertops. The came in, measured, made up a pattern and built the counterops off site in 2 seperate pieces. When they were ready they just bought them back in, squirted some glue in several places and laid the things right on top of the old formica. The total cost was $1700 and there's a lot of countertop in our kitchen! I really love it!

 

[floridafam]

I really love those copper countertops. My parents have stainless steel countertops in their kitchen.

Thank you for posting pictures. It really helps to see it.

Also, do your cabinets sit off the floor? I like that. Are you happy with it?

 

[beachgrl001]

If its done the way you describe it probley is not being done correctly. Think of it more like putting a sealer on instead of furntiure polish. Eveything must be sealed. If you do it correctly no big deal. The problem is some people do a bad job or do not do it at all.

The Dupont Certified Granite is real granite with DuPont sealer. It comes with a life time warranity. This is BRAND NEW. We will not get it until next month in the PA area. It is out in some parts of the country.

Hi MAKmom, I noticed you're from delaware co. PA My dh works at a cabinet shop in delaware co. small world huh?

 

[Mishetta]

Thanks! Are you referring to Peacock Green, maybe?

No.....I'm thinking verdi somthing (obviously, "verdi" means green) or maybe it's "something verdi?" Oh boy.....and can't think of the name of my powder room bathroom counter either! It's a sage green color (love, love, love it!) The green upstairs is more of a jade green color. I'm a 'green' person, what can I say?

Your house looks like it was professionally decorated! Are you for hire?? Just love the french touch in the bathroom.

 

[Cindyluwho]

I really love those copper countertops. My parents have stainless steel countertops in their kitchen.

Thank you for posting pictures. It really helps to see it.

Also, do your cabinets sit off the floor? I like that. Are you happy with it?

The cabinets do sit off the floor on stainless legs. Our home is a mid-century so we felt it was important to keep as much of the original feel/style as we could. The original cabinets were vertical grain fir but the previous owners painted them battleship gray. In fact, the walls, floor, carpets, etc were all battleship gray. Lovely with the Seattle weather We kept the original cabs but had them refaced by New Face Kitchens in Bellevue. Their prices were less than Sears but just about the same as Home Depot for the refacing. I think it was $6400 for all of the cabinets, that included new drawer fronts and cab doors and the refacing of all the boxes. The kitchen flooring was our most expensive purchase. 800 sq ft of slate, 18" squares, yeesh!

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

No.....I'm thinking verdi somthing (obviously, "verdi" means green) or maybe it's "something verdi?" Oh boy.....and can't think of the name of my powder room bathroom counter either! It's a sage green color (love, love, love it!) The green upstairs is more of a jade green color. I'm a 'green' person, what can I say?

I know what you're talking about. It is very close to Uba Tuba. I'm a green person too!

See? ----->

Your house looks like it was professionally decorated! Are you for hire?? Just love the french touch in the bathroom.

I had soooo much fun decorating that bathroom! I had to force myself to stop buying things for it, but of course I still run across them.

The vanity is what made me decide to do a Parisian theme. You can't see all of it in the picture, but it sits on furniture-style legs and is Country French in style. Once I saw it, I just "knew".

And yes, you can hire me! I LOVE to spend other people's money!

 

[Mickeyfaniam]

very interesting thread.
I too, am shopping around for a new countertop and cannot decide what to go with. I was really leaning toward Zodiac Quartz until I stopped into a granite place and saw some of the slabs in their yard. OMG!!! I absolutey fell in love with the blue pearl/blue opal.
I DID NOT LIKE THE THOUGHT OF SEALING all the time so I DID NOT WANT granite... but now that I saw this.... NOTHING I see excites me the way that granite did!! So I asked about the maintenance and they said they seal it at the factory with something that "impregnates" the granite and that I will NOT need to seal it for 10 or 15 years.
We walked away "skeptical" but hoping to learn that this is true.
So we have been shopping around and EVERY single other granite place I have gone to says you need to seal them once or twice a year

So we went back to the first place that said we don't have to seal it all the time and we told him we have been everywhere and that nobody else says the same thing.... they all say you have to seal them periodically. He said that his is different... he applies a silicone impregnator. It soaks into the stone and will protect it for 10-15 years as long as no harsh chemicals or abrasives are used. Has anyone here ever heard of this??? His estimate is about $1000.00 more than the others.

We haven't made any decisions yet still doing our homework. But I'm enjoying reading all of your thoughts!

Oh and I saw another beautiful new color last night "dakota mohogany" beautiful...just beautiful!!

 

[Muffy]

I love granite in the kitchen! I have here at home and it is also going into our home in Celebration. It is easy to maintain and beautiful for life. A real plus is how it increases the value of your home. You rerally do get it back in spades when you put your money into your kitchen. Good luck to you!

 

[Dee & Greg]

We have swanstone www.swanstone.com it is solid surface, like Corian, but about 1/3 to 1/2 the price. Our kitchen sink and the countertops are all one piece. It is beautiful. You can also put hot pans on it, and pour boiling water in the sink without cracking.

We have "Bermuda Sand" color

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

I DID NOT LIKE THE THOUGHT OF SEALING all the time so I DID NOT WANT granite... but now that I saw this.... NOTHING I see excites me the way that granite did!! So I asked about the maintenance and they said they seal it at the factory with something that "impregnates" the granite and that I will NOT need to seal it for 10 or 15 years.
We walked away "skeptical" but hoping to learn that this is true.
So we have been shopping around and EVERY single other granite place I have gone to says you need to seal them once or twice a year

Everyone that thinks sealing is such a pain, realizes how wrong they were once they get granite. If you can spray on windex, let it sit a certain amount of time, and then wipe it back off, you're capable of sealing.

I use Stonetech and it's as simple as that. It did leave a haze, which Uba Tuba is known for, but all I had to do was wipe on some goo-gone and boom, the haze was gone.

I have to seal mine again in June and I dread it about as much as I dread cleaning my counters tonight after I cook. It's really no big deal. It's just another granite myth, IMO.

 

[PlutoPony]

I absolutey fell in love with the blue pearl/blue opal.

Oh yeah - that is a BEAUTIFUL granite! I fell in love with it also (and it was on sale to boot) but it just didn't go with my cabinets at all. Otherwise that would be in my kitchen how .
Ok, I've mentioned this before but I don't get the big aversion to sealing. It isn't hard to do and doesn't take much time. It's part of maintaining a house like cleaning your windows, spray washing siding or sidewalk, sealing the grout in tile bathrooms and floors, etc. You spray or wipe the sealant on, let it sit, and wipe it off. I have 50 ft. of granite and it's maybe a half hour job. Some granites truly don't need sealing regularly (usually dark colors) but unless you have a very light color that's really porous, doing it every 1-2 years should be fine. Keep in mind that sealing is $$ so some fabricators may have an ulterior motive for encouraging people to use these products regularly (not to accuse anyone on here of being that way!!).
Bottom line - I would get the surface that I REALLY LIKE THE LOOKS OF! If it's Swanstone, fine. Granite - fine too.
BTW, if you're looking at new sinks (regardless of the counter) look at Silgranite by Blanco. ABSOLUTELY gorgeous, no maintenance, no staining, no scratching, etc. The black is to die for! And a little cheaper than good quality stainless. I cannot recommend this enough!

 

[dg39]

Plutopony, I agree with everything you said. Resealing the granite is no big deal. And as far as the Blanco Silgranite, well, I'm alittle bias towards it. We just had 2 of them installed. One kitchen sink and 1 prep sink. There absolutely beautiful. I love them. The black goes so well with my kitchen and gives it kind of a formal look.