Granite Countertops or alternatives

[Pigeon]

Completely installed, it's costing us about $39/sq. foot. My mom is looking at Corian or Staron, and I think it's actually going to cost her a bit more than that.

We redid our kitchen last summer. The custom cabinet shop we used was having a great deal on Corian. It cost about the same installed, with an integral sink as higher end laminate uninstalled with no sink. We had to pick from one of about 25 Corian patterns, which was plenty of choice for me.

We were planning on laminate to keep the costs down. I never particularly thought much of Corian, but now that I have it, I really love it. The integral sink is a breeze to keep clean. You can't set hot pans on it, but that's true of the laminate that I'd always had.

I love, love, love granite. It's so beautiful, and if it weren't going to be several thousand dollars more, I would have wanted it, but we were on a budget. I have it in a bathroom and sealing it is no big deal at all.

Quartz I don't get at all.

 

[rcraw45425]

We have an island. I think when we re-do our countertops, we are going to do granite on the island and stained concrete on the counters, or vice-versa.

I have heard if you want granite but the solid pieces are too big, the squares are a great economical option.

We have a huge kitchen, loads of counter top. several years back DH and I did all the counter tops in slate tiles with a limestone backsplash. When I decided on granite I didn't want to lose my backsplash by ripping out the tile, so we decided to extend the size of the island and just do granite there. I love it , and it's no harder to keep up than the tile or anything else. I will eventually replace the slate tiles as they are prone to cracking ( the man that installed my stove cracked one ), hope I can save the handpainted backsplash behind my stove, but if not, I"ll probably be ready for a change.

 

[disney1990]

We redid our countertops in granite last year and I wonder why I didn't do it a lot sooner. DH & I absolutely love the countertops.

 

[m&m's mom]

Granite of all types emits it. Some more than others. Why choose granite when there are so many other options that do not? You can still get a beautiful countertop. Granite will only increase value until people stop wanting granite then it will drive down the price. Its a trendy surface thus why it brings up price. 5 years it could hurt your value.

Me thinks someone works for a competing product.

We LOVE our granite. It is everything we hoped it would be. We love cutting on it, putting hots pans directly from the oven etc.

 

[Grace&Carolinesmom]

My only problem with granite is that I am SO used to putting hot pots and pans directly on the granite that I forget when taking hot pans to my table. Needless to say, the finish on my dinette table looks horendous!

Otherwise, love, love, love my granite. AND as a Realtor, I have NEVER gone into a house with granite and had my buyers dislike the counters. The same cannot be said for solid surface (like Corian), Silestone, and marble.

 

[rie'smom]

We have Brazilian cherry countertops and a granite island.
Our cabinets are granny apple green but this is what the countertops look like. I oil them once a week with olive oil because we chose to have them unsealed.

This is the stone we have, Juparana Crema Bordeaux. I went to choose my own slab which I recommend to anyone who is buying veined granite. It is can vary wildly from one slab to another or even in the same slab. Ours is a little redder than this picture and blends beautifully with the wooden counter tops.

 

[littleteapot]

We have granite and love it. It is beautiful. We also put in a tile backsplash. I do not regret getting granite.

Ditto!

One year with granite....will never go back . I love this stuff...I don't think it will go out of fashion any time soon because it is truly wonderful.

I've resealed it twice, just because our family uses the kitchen constantly. I've had ZERO problems and sealing was easy. Ours is saphire brown.

 

[sharonW]

I have granite, when redoing our kitchen we were told
its the rolls- royce in counter tops. I do like it, although
I have dark green so it does show any and every water
spot and other food messes as well. Also, beware! if
you drop a dish or glass it SHATTERS Never
had any burns. We haven't had it resealed but its probably
best if you do.

 

[Lanshark]

Just redid our kitchen with granite and a tile backsplash. It is beautiful and easy to clean. We looked at all of the alternatives and liked the looks of granite the best.

 

[golfgal]

We redid our kitchen last summer. The custom cabinet shop we used was having a great deal on Corian. It cost about the same installed, with an integral sink as higher end laminate uninstalled with no sink. We had to pick from one of about 25 Corian patterns, which was plenty of choice for me.

We were planning on laminate to keep the costs down. I never particularly thought much of Corian, but now that I have it, I really love it. The integral sink is a breeze to keep clean. You can't set hot pans on it, but that's true of the laminate that I'd always had.

I love, love, love granite. It's so beautiful, and if it weren't going to be several thousand dollars more, I would have wanted it, but we were on a budget. I have it in a bathroom and sealing it is no big deal at all.

Quartz I don't get at all.

Quartz looks and acts like granite but you don't have to seal it. It is also manufactured so you don't get the wide variances in color, veining, etc.

 

[wall*e2008]

We did ours with Vetrazzo. http://www.vetrazzo.com/products_intro.html

It's environmentally friendly (and gorgeous) recycled glass with granite-like properties. It's very cutting-edge, and if your house is in any way modern or loft-like, your future real estate agent will dance with joy when she finds out you have it. It looks incredible (they have tons of colors), very strong and shiny and dimensional in the light. We love it.

That is gorgeous.

Green counters - glass, concrete etc. are now in. Granite is not green and will date a home to the mid-2000s.

 

[minniecarousel]

Dana - any idea what the cost of the Vetrazzo is compared to granite?

Your countertop is gorgeous.

 

[raysnkaysmom]

We did ours with Vetrazzo. http://www.vetrazzo.com/products_intro.html

It's environmentally friendly (and gorgeous) recycled glass with granite-like properties. It's very cutting-edge, and if your house is in any way modern or loft-like, your future real estate agent will dance with joy when she finds out you have it. It looks incredible (they have tons of colors), very strong and shiny and dimensional in the light. We love it.

Just wanted to say I love the look you have in your kitchen!

Although I like the look of granite, there are others that are just as pretty and less expensive that will probably go with that.....

 

[K and K's Mommy]

We too are remodeling our kitchen this summer! After starting the process in October, actual work should begin this week!

Every kitchen person I talked to told me granite. We still haven't picked ours out yet because we are having a wall torn out and everything gutted. It will be a couple of months, at least, before we need it. I can't wait!!

One of the kitchen designers I talked to said she didn't think granite would go out of style.

 

[java]

That is gorgeous.

Green counters - glass, concrete etc. are now in. Granite is not green and will date a home to the mid-2000s.

Sorry but we had our granite put in our old home in the 90's. It is what sold our last house.

We have it in our new house and I love it. I bake and love being able to cool down the granite with some ice- I can make a great crust with it.

I actually think that the concrete will be the one that screams 2000s. I like it too but don't think it will work for everyone.

I also don't think a contertop willl make or break a house sale. It's an easy switch for anyone that has done it before.

 

[DeluxePrincess]

Quartz I don't get at all.

We went with quartz because to the untrained eye, it looks just like granite, but is a bit sturdier. I don't need to seal it. Most of my guests think my countertops are granite unitl I tell them otherwise.

 

[aprilgail2]

Have you had any staining or burn problems??? How do you seal it??? How often??

I did a lot of research prior to putting in all our granite countertops and every place I talked to recommends not sealing them- it realy is not needed.
As far as burn problems? Just the opposite, you can put hot pots on them no problem. The same can't be said for corian, that stuff melts like styrofoam. My friend had to get a whole section of hers cut out and a piece patched in from putting a hot pan on it. Also some of the corian I had looked at had a built in sink of the same material which looked REALLY crappy.

 

[lsyorke]

We put in granite last summer....I love it! We have a great granite store close by that ended up costing us about half of what Corian would have cost. Shop around and you can find some really good deals.

 

[Disney Doll]

We did granite with a tumbled marble backsplash when we redid the kitchen. Looks nice.

I also liked the look of Silestione.

Friends of ours did quartz which I also think looks nice. The Vetrazzo that a PP posted looks similar to the quartz our friends put in.

I think that any stone-looking product (granite, quartz, marble, vetrazzo) will be OK from a resale standpoint. I think the things that are going to be "dated" in the future in a kitchen counter will be your Corian or Swanstone type products. I think that they will be more relegated to use in bathrooms.

I do agree with a PP who said that a counter would not be a "make or break" when it comes to the sale of your house. It's a relatively cheap and easy fix. There's nothing to say that a house would have a granite counter that the next buyer would like. Everyone's taste is different. If I was house-hunting and the house was otherwise perfect, I'd have no qualms about saying "The house is perfect but we need to change the counter top" no matter what the countertop was made of.

 

[allison443]

We redid our kitchen last summer. The custom cabinet shop we used was having a great deal on Corian. It cost about the same installed, with an integral sink as higher end laminate uninstalled with no sink. We had to pick from one of about 25 Corian patterns, which was plenty of choice for me.

We were planning on laminate to keep the costs down. I never particularly thought much of Corian, but now that I have it, I really love it. The integral sink is a breeze to keep clean. You can't set hot pans on it, but that's true of the laminate that I'd always had.

I love, love, love granite. It's so beautiful, and if it weren't going to be several thousand dollars more, I would have wanted it, but we were on a budget. I have it in a bathroom and sealing it is no big deal at all.

Quartz I don't get at all.

What's not to get? I have quartz counters-the brand is Silestone-that we put in 5 years ago. I absolutely love them! Indestructible! Doesn't scratch at all, which I have heard Corian does. My dh tends to cut things on the counter and this doesn't leave a mark. No sealing is necessary for the silestone. Nothing stains it.
One of the best decisions I have made in my remodel.
It all depends what look/function you are going for.
Good luck OP-lots of good choices out there!