Pros and Cons of different Kitchen Counter tops (budget and durability)

[Taja]

I haven't researched recently, but when I was considering replacing my old countertops I narrowed it to composite stone, solid surface, such as Corian, or laminate with the colour going all the way through it. Sorry! Can't remember the name!

Regardless of what is trendy, I want something that will look good and function for at least 20 years--and fit in my budget! I know I don't want natural stone--too much work for someone who already works 60 to 80 hours weekly!

 

[DebMcDonald]

I haven't researched recently, but when I was considering replacing my old countertops I narrowed it to composite stone, solid surface, such as Corian, or laminate with the colour going all the way through it. Sorry! Can't remember the name!

Regardless of what is trendy, I want something that will look good and function for at least 20 years--and fit in my budget! I know I don't want natural stone--too much work for someone who already works 60 to 80 hours weekly!

I had corian in my last house and I LOVED it. We just built and I could not afford granite at the time as I have alot of counter space so we went with laminate, it's OK, but when we are ready I'm going to do corian again. I like granite in other peoples house, but it's just not for me.

 

[Pigeon]

We're in the midst of a DIY kitchen remodel. I don't think there is one perfect countertop. They all have their issues, and you have to decide what works for you.

I would have loved natural stone, but it was out of our price range, so I was planning on doing a nicer Wilsonart granite-look laminate. I've always had laminate, and it's been OK, but I've never had one of the nicer laminate patterns.

The kitchen designer at the independently owned place where we ordered our cabinets told me that they were having a great special on Corian. I couldn't pick any Corian--it had to be their A or B price lines, but that still was probably 20 or so different colors/patterns. That was plenty for me to chose from, but I'm not totally kitchen obsessed.

The Wilsonart laminate with a beveled edge would have been $2200 without a sink. The Corian, with an integral sink, installed, was $2400. That was a no-brainer for me.

I since saw another kitchen place around town with a similar special, so it's probably a deal from DuPont. If you are interested, it might be with checking with local kitchen places.

 

[estherhead]

Just wanted to mention that when we redid our kitchen last year we were told by several experts that if your house isn't worth $250,000 or above it's hard to get your money back out of granite or the more expensive countertops when you resell. Our house is worth around $200,000 or less so we went with a new kind of laminate. We've been really happy with our decision. It looks just as gorgeous now as it did last year.

 

[rockyroad]

We are in the planning stages of a kitchen redo.

Currently I am leaning toward silestone.
If not that then probably a laminate.
Concrete can apparently crack and is not repairable.
Glass is very expensive.

In the area I live in the houses were all built one at a time by different builders, so I don't think that the material of the counter tops will make any difference in the saleability of my house if I ever have to sell it. I want the kitchen redone to make things nicer for us.

When I found out that vinegar, among other things, would mess up a granite countertop, I realized that I don't want to have to guard my countertops when my semi-grown kids or guests are in the house.

I have always loved those beautiful enamel kitchen sinks, but I am planning to go with stainless because I don't want to have to guard those either.

 

[EMom]

We put in granite and if I bought another house, it would have to have granite or that would be first on my list to add. I love natural stone. I wanted something that looked unlike anyone else's kitchen and we are fortunate to live where granite yards are plentiful. I love slab shopping! You will never see another slab (2 slabs, actually) like mine because it's a very erratic flow pattern. In fact, go one foot down the counter and it looks nothing like it did the foot before. But that's what we wanted. A lot of flow. It's gorgeous and I pet it. It makes me happy. And I don't baby it.

That being said.....Put in whatever makes YOU happy, not what is trendy or what HGTV says will help sell your house in a few years. I got granite because I loved it, not because it was the fashion of the day. You've got to look at those counters for a loooooong time. Make sure they make you smile.

 

[Laura24]

We are in the planning stages of a kitchen redo.

Currently I am leaning toward silestone.

When I found out that vinegar, among other things, would mess up a granite countertop, I realized that I don't want to have to guard my countertops when my semi-grown kids or guests are in the house.

Check out the granite brand of Stonemark by Innovative Stone. What I've read seems to alleviate the fears of staining and resealing.

 

[jodifla]

Those beveled edges are the thing I wish I hadn't chosen! Our countertops were only a week old when we went away for a long weekend, leaving a not-too-new tomato near the edge. While we were gone, the tomato rotted and "oozed" a bit; the liquid caused the "edge" to split, exposing the inner core of the countertop. Fortunately, it was on a short section, but we had to pay for that repair.

Now in the spot just above the dishwasher, the seam is coming apart -- the heat and steam from the dishwasher is the culprit.

Hmmm. I wonder if they put yours together right! We've had ours a couple years and are having no trouble with the edges, even above the dishwasher.

 

[Stitch And Friends]

We put corian in when we built our house and I am very unhappy with it. No one warned me about how easily it scratches. Had I known I probably would have put in the standard laminate the builder was offering and upgraded it later (the only other option was granite, but the builder wanted a lot more to put it in than if we did it ourselves later - corian was about the same price as doing it ourselves). I feel like I have to be extremely careful with what I put on it and no matter what I do I keep seeing more scratches. I know they can be buffed out but I wasn't expecting the countertop to need anymore maintenance then normal cleaning.

 

[knovak]

We just finished our kitchen, I wanted corian until I saw the price, I went with high definition laminate from wilson art. I can replace my counter tops 3 times for the price of corian and yes colors change over the years. Everyone that look at my countertops says is that granite? We also don't plan on staying in the house for more than 5 years.

We used the same product and did the Beveled Edge. Everyone does think it's granite and was quite a bit cheaper. We also used the same brand in our bathroom. We love it!!!

 

[alexedan]

We redid our kitchen and enlarged it last year and put in granite countertops (8,000$ worth) which we adore! I have kids and we chose a granite with sand and brown colors (Saint Cecilia) and it shows NOTHING! It's scary sometimes because it can look perfect and you run your hand over it and feel crumbs and things you can't even see! I cook alot and love that I can rest hot pans on it without damage. I think ours may need to be sealed once a year but it's cleaned only with soap and water (gotta check on that sealing thing!). We also did both of our bath countertops also in granite. Don't know much about quartz but we love our granite! One poster said her black granite always looked dirty...well it's the same with black cars! Get what suits you best. For us the money is well worth it! (That was for L shaped counter, plus 8 foot island, no seams, plus 10 foot buffet)

 

[MrsPete]

Just wanted to mention that when we redid our kitchen last year we were told by several experts that if your house isn't worth $250,000 or above it's hard to get your money back out of granite or the more expensive countertops when you resell. Our house is worth around $200,000 or less so we went with a new kind of laminate. We've been really happy with our decision. It looks just as gorgeous now as it did last year.

Of course, that'd vary depending upon your area, but I think you're right. You don't want to "over-improve" your house; if you do, you'll never get that money back when you sell.

My house is an all-brick 70s ranch house. We have engineered wooden flooring, etc. Laminate or Corian is the right "level" of cabinet for this house. If I put in granite (because this isn't the house in which I plan to live for the rest of my life), I'd end up losing money.

Hmmm. I wonder if they put yours together right! We've had ours a couple years and are having no trouble with the edges, even above the dishwasher.

It's entirely possible. Home Depot did our countertops, and I was very unhappy with the experience. They were quick to take my money, but they weren't particularly interested in hurrying up to do the job for me. I will never use them again for anything.

 

[kldmom2000]

It's entirely possible. Home Depot did our countertops, and I was very unhappy with the experience. They were quick to take my money, but they weren't particularly interested in hurrying up to do the job for me. I will never use them again for anything.

My husband hears this all the time about Lowe's and Home Depot. He owns a small solid-surface countertop company dealing with all the stones and man-made solid-surfaces (no formica/laminates-just the good stuff ) He refuses to sign on with the big home improvement stores because of the way they low-ball their sub-contractors and found it comical how they were exposed last year as having documents describing in detail to all their sub-contractors on how to cover up their shoddy work... such as, "Make sure you go above and beyond to clean up your work area thoroughly after finishing a job so the customer won't notice the mistakes..."

DH has built an incredible reputation and when a customer of the big DIY stores has a horrid experience, DH gets the call to fix it because a customer got his name through word of mouth...

He recommends people go to the smaller mom and pop kitchen dealers as they generally choose solid surface companies with a better reputation that are not producing mill-work type countertops to do the job. Home Depot and Lowe's will run promotions such as "20% off your countertops if you buy cabinets too".... little hidden secret is that the 20% is not in fact coming off the countertops, it's coming out of the very cheaply made cabinets shipped in from China and hiked up in price.

Shop around.... don't just go with Home Depot/Lowe's because they're the cheapest.... long story short-you get what you pay for.

Oh and to the poster asking about the crock pot on corian.... I have a corian countertop (obviously ) and I use my crock pot all the time. DH said as long as I don't put it directly over a seam, there's no problem (And with corian, the seams should not be visible, so ask the installer where it is after installation so you don't put anything hot over it)

 

[SarahKate]

We watched a show a few months ago (yes, it WAS on one of the home channels!) where they compared all the different surfaces....quartz, granite, marble, and the new composite materials. They dropped the countertops from windows, used VERY HIGH heating elements, etc.

It ended up being between granite & one of the composites.

It was a really interesting show - I wouldn't have thought that the composite material could hold up to so much abuse!