Kitchen Countertop

[Laurajean1014]

We have granite and love it. Uba Tuba is the type we have in our grand kitchen.

My sister had corian in a house she bought and took it out to put in granite (just prior to moving in). I think she ordered Juniper Vernada.

You do not need any cleaning products to clean granite. I use the towels you buy in bulk at Costco (yellow or blue mechanic type) with water and it looks fabulous.

Therefore it is very inexpensive to keep clean.

 

[Disneyrsh]

My sister had corian in a house she bought and took it out to put in granite (just prior to moving in).

 

[IceQueen777]

My sister had corian in a house she bought and took it out to put in granite (just prior to moving in).

My husband's aunt and uncle did the same thing. They hated their Corian, but love their new granite.

I have granite (Giallo Ornamentale) also and love it! I would never use Corian...I don't care how expensive it is, it still looks like plastic to me.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

Lots of good information in this thread...we are redoing our kitchen counters and cabinets next year, and I am not sure of which counter surface yet. I had been leaning toward the Zodiaq.

 

[binny]

Thanks for all the info!


Ok I have a couple of quotes
Granite resurfacing = $3600 +
Corian installed = $2100. plus I get to keep my sink so that would save us a lot of money.


Still looking around but I really like the sandstone colour in the Corian.

 

[momrek06]

I would never use Corian... it looks like plastic to me.

REALLY!! Wow, I have a brand new home and with everyone that has come through it, no one (even my closest and dearest friends, as well as my family) has ever said my Corian countertops look like PLASTIC!

I am little confused at that description!

 

[momrek06]

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Still looking around but I really like the sandstone colour in the Corian.

HAVE THAT EXACT COLOR!!! You will NOT be disappointed.

 

[IceQueen777]

REALLY!! Wow, I have a brand new home and with everyone that has come through it, no one (even my closest and dearest friends, as well as my family) has ever said my Corian countertops look like PLASTIC!

I am little confused at that description!

To each their own! To me, it does have a manufactured look about it that I don't like. I prefer natural materials when possible. I love the random pattern of granite.

Thank goodness there are so many options in countertops...everyone can get what they like.

 

[Pigeon]

My last house had Corian and I hated it. I think any of the natural materials look better.

 

[allison443]

I have Silestone in a dark brown color (it's called Mahogany). Silestone is similar to Zodiaq and Caesarstone. I've had it for two years, it looks great, seems indestructible and is truly "no maintenance". A lot of people think it looks like granite but it has a more uniform color/pattern than granite.
Also I have the undermount stainless sink---love the undermount!

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

When you say resurfacing, are you referring to honed granite? I've never heard of granite being resurfaced before.

I have Uba Tuba in my kitchen and I absolutely love, love, love it!

 

[binny]

www.granitetransformations.com


This is the company I was talking about.

They just do a think granite overlay and set it on top of your current countertops.

 

[Disneyrsh]

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[MareQ]

You're looking at a counter that's higher up, for one thing. If the counter underneath is poorly built, then putting on what's basically a veneer isn't going to solve any problems.

But for me this is more personal preference, I'll always choose tearing something out and starting fresh rather than repainting or covering (look at my poor stairs, for God's sake...)

I wonder how much that would save anyway considering you'd to take out and refit your sink which would involve a plumber if it's a drop in sink since the pipes woould have to be just a little bit longer if your counter is higher - ditto for any range top - taking out and refitting and a plumber if it's a rigid gas line. If you have a freestanding stove - the counter is going to end being much higher than the sides of the stove which I think would look a bit funny myself...

If you want to save $$ I say take out your own countertop and get rid of it so all you have to do is have the company come in and do a template without having to pay for demo.

 

[Pooh's Pixie]

We have soapstone. It is the only impermeable stone. It needs no maintenance. It can be periodically oiled to maintain a uniform, dark look. It is very organic looking and there are no color choices. But it fits our renovated/restored 1920s kitchen perfectly! We had a heck of a time finding it though, most stone places don't carry it. We had to have Vermont Soapstone come and literally fabricate it in our driveway. Check out www.vermontsoapstone.com to see some samples.

 

[Mishetta]

Hi Binny

I've been wondering how your kitchen has been coming along.....any new photo's?

We also have Granite (Giallo Ornamental) in our kitchen & I just love, love, love it! We looked at Corian & almost went with Sandstone (very pretty color) but we ended up with the granite. I also have granite two of my bathrooms (verde something & the powder room is a sage color but have forgotten the name!) Almost went with uba tuba ~ loved that too!

If we ever move, I will have to have granite again. I can't have anything else, altho I really liked what ChrisNSteph have ~ that was very pretty.

Good luck on your decision. I don't know if one is better than another but you have to choose what you're going to be happy with. Oh & also, the Corian & Granite was about the same price when we priced out both. We did undermount stainless steel sink in kitchen & undermount porceline in the bathrooms ~ one sink was a special order ~ looks like a sea shell shape. I get so many compliments on that!

Good luck & post more pictures!

 

[binny]

Hi Mish, cabinets are done, have you seen it since then?

You can see more of the after shots here:

http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2104265628



I also went to the lighting store today to get ideas for lights so I can replace the *gasp* flourescent lights. I hate them! I have 4 panels of 90" flourscent lights with the old ugly panels that cover them.

So between new ( ok painted ) cabinets, new countertops, and new flooring I will have a whole new kitchen! yay. LOL

 

[Mishetta]

Oh ~ your kitchen cabinets came out really great! I love them! Sandstone will look great with your cabinets & I think Sahara might look nice too. I also think my granite counter would look great with your cabinets (Giallo Ornamental)!

You've done a great job. Have you decided what type of flooring you're doing? Wood? Tile? Very exciting to have a new kitchen, isn't it?

 

[Microcell]

I have a price for our re laminating our counters- 88 dollars!

Plust the cost of a 49 dollar router and 230 worth of tiles for backsplash.

I might prefer corain or granite, but for our purposes, we wanted to make the kitchen look nicer for next to nothing, I will try to post a picture. We need to live on a tighter budget until I can work more in two years when both kids are in school!

Before

After

 

[momrek06]

Binny: Just took a peek at your home...wow...it is beautiful!!! You must be very proud!!! Nice kitchen as well