My wife wants new countertops in the kitchen. Yay.

The only two I think I know anything at all about, and that's not much, are granite and quartz. Granite, I've read, has the disadvantage of relatively easily staining and, I've read, can be maintenance-intensive. A friend of the family went with granite because, she claimed, she'd read quartz can easily crack if you put too hot an item on the countertop?

I've read Corian is susceptible to scorching it you place too hot an item upon it. Don't know/haven't heard anything at all about concrete.

One thing that has occurred to me is the harder materials, such as granite or concrete, would likely lead to a lot more chipped or broken dinnerware and glasses?

What says the SF Brain Trust?

I really like my granite counters. I am more careful with glassware and haven't had an incident yet. As for staining, I'm pretty careful there too, but not particularly worried. The pattern in my granite is very abstract and I don't suspect a stain would really show that badly.

The installers treated it with silicone and said it wouldn't need another treatment for several years. So....I just keep it clean with soap and water.

Granite here, no stains then again it is a dark varied color, no chipped plates, glasses, or in the granite.

Just use the proper cleaning materials and no problemo...

Going on 10 12 years from install..

I am re-doing my kitchen and was looking at granite but am now going to install quartz

a lot of things have changed in the past 5 or 6 years with regard to these materials

I think quartz is the better choice

I have Corian in the kitchen and bath. It's kind of dated as far as material aesthetics, but it does the job well. Cleans up easy, no stains or complaints. We have several grooves routed into the area by the stove that hold stainless rods in varying lengths. This serves as a removable trivet that is easy to clean (both rods & counter). If you are into function it works awesome and there is a wide variety of colors to choose from.

Cheers~

If you like the current layout and your current counters are structurally solid, you might consider an overlay type option as well as complete replacement.

I had a friend who does a lot of home renovations who liked this approach to remodeling. One of the folks out there doing this sort of work is Granite Transformations. I haven't dealt with them so can't comment on the firm itself, but their site does show some of the approach.

quote:

Originally posted by nhtagmember:
I am re-doing my kitchen and was looking at granite but am now going to install quartz.
...
I think quartz is the better choice

That's the direction we're currently leaning.

I did some searching and found no suggestion it's prone to cracking when exposed to high heat.

quote:

Originally posted by joel9507:
If you like the current layout and your current counters are structurally solid, you might consider an overlay type option as well as complete replacement.

They are and, short of gutting and remodeling the entire kitchen, there's no other layout.

I'll look into it.

We had ours done several years ago, wife went with Granite. It still looks great, no noticeable stains and it hasn't resulted in broken plates/glasses. She had the edge left rough, live edge if it was wood, looks great gets lots of compliments.

I would do granite. Natural stone is beautiful and always great for resale, and granite is much easier to maintain than marble. Quartz has come a long way and can definitely be an option if you find one you like. I think Corian is outdated and cheap looking. I've seen nice concrete counters, but it depends on the overall style of your house. It's a very industrial look.

I've had marble or granite in all my kitchens and I don't think I've ever chipped a glass or plate on it.

25 years on our Corian and it still looks near new.

quote:

Originally posted by joel9507:
One of the folks out there doing this sort of work is Granite Transformations. I haven't dealt with them so can't comment on the firm itself, but their site does show some of the approach.

We used Granite Transformations back in 2014 when we remodeled our previous house. The process was actually quite simple. It was not inexpensive but we didn't get any quotes for natural stone at the time. It was supposed to cost about the same as a good quality granite. Our kitchen countertops, backsplash, and a new Blanco granite sink ended up around $6500 or so, IIRC. I'd have to pull the paperwork from the files to verify.

The product is ground-up stone set in a resin and polished. It is much thinner than natural stone yet apparently more durable. It never needs sealing. It is highly resistant to heat and impacts. We even used it inside of a custom walk-in shower. I can highly recommend the product. Another reason to consider using it on existing counters is that, by being thinner, it weighs much less than natural stone. The company told us that quite a few cabinets out there can't handle the extra weight of natural stone if they were set up for laminate to start with.

All that said, we built our current house a little over 2 years ago and it came with granite countertops. We couldn't be happier. The builder told us to seal the granite after we moved in since they didn't do it. I did end up sealing them but I also conducted a test I saw online when reading up on the sealing process. Basically, you place water on the granite and see how long it takes to soak in. It is a test of porosity. If the water saoks in within 10 minutes, you should reseal about every six months. If it takes 20 minutes, then reseal about once a year. After 30 minutes, I gave up. The water had not soaked in which means this granite is quite dense. I still hit it with a light reseal once a year in the main parts of the kitchen, since they see the most use, but I don't worry about the bathrooms.

I don't think any single one stands head-and-shoulders above the others. I think it comes down to your preference, colors, and budget.

quote:

Originally posted by ChicagoSigMan:
I would do granite. Natural stone is beautiful and always great for resale, and granite is much easier to maintain than marble. Quartz has come a long way and can definitely be an option if you find one you like. I think Corian is outdated and cheap looking. I've seen nice concrete counters, but it depends on the overall style of your house. It's a very industrial look.

I've had marble or granite in all my kitchens and I don't think I've ever chipped a glass or plate on it.

One new 90' yacht I ran had Marble, it stained super easy and had to be polished after they had a dinner party on it and put a bunch of trays on it and one leaked. They had it polished, then the $13 million yacht sold and it happened again within a few months and the builder replaced ALL of it at probably a $20k expense under warranty with granite.

I wouldn't touch Marble. Wouldn't touch concrete either, as it absorbs everything and is just too rough etc.

My kitchen was done in 2002 with granite. I have lived in the house since 2013 and have never touched the granite, and am sure it wasn't resealed anytime recently before I bought the house, it still looks perfect, I have put hot things on it, have put everything and anything on it, and have spilled all kinds of stuff on it and nothing has stained. I simply use the Weimans granite spray or wipes to clean it and off I go. As long as it's sealed correctly, you shouldn't have any staining issues....unless you leave red wine sitting on it overnight or something really stupid. It's the solid choice, with a long track record, and best resale.

The only way I'd do quartz is if it was underlit, otherwise it just looks fake. Corian is a solid choice and can be polished by hand etc, but very dated in todays market...….

Thanks for the feedback, esp. those with experiences, guys!

We just came back from a local granite/quartz/cement countertop place. Of everything we saw, there was a white quartz with thin grey veining we liked best. (My wife and I are of a mind when it comes to decor: We like understated.) So I think that's where we're headed.

Now to choose a new sink. We both agree on that, too: We want a top flange, rather than the under-flange designs that are most popular today. Only way we'd be interested in under-flange is if we could get a farmhouse style with a short enough apron that wouldn't require replacing or heavily-modifying the under-cabinet.

About a year ago my wife and I went with brushed black granite (also sometimes referred to as leathered finish).

The best part about granite - it's a volcanic rock and highly impervious to heat (ie, you can set a hot pan on it without worry).

The really, really nice thing about the finish, smudges don't show like a polished stone does.

Regardless of what you finally decide, consider leaning away from a bullnosed edge. When liquids get close to edge, they will roll down to the bottom of the edge (that it, the part of the counter you will need to actively think about when wiping them down).

And honestly - I love the solid sound of the stone.

For your sink - get a farm sink (single bay/hole). It is easily the best when it comes to cleaning dishes.

Also keep in mind there are a million different shades/colors/etc. of Granite so if one place doesn't have what you're looking for, look at others too before making a final decision.

I just did my kitchen with quartzite.

The color is called Taj Mahal.

It comes from Brazil.

It is supposed to come from the bottom of a granite quarry.

It very is very dense.

I had it lifetime sealed.

I have nothing stain it yet.

What about butcherblock?

It's really nice looking in a kitchen especially with white or colorful cabinets:

Good choice on going granite.

We’ve installed everything possible as far as countertops are concerned in our custom homes and imho Granite is the best for the buck.

We’ve had ours for 23 years and it still looks great.

One suggestion is to pick out the actual slab your counter will be made of as each slab is unique.

I would also suggest that you reconsider going with over the counter sink...it provides a place that can get dirty and be harder to clean..

I also like butcher block, mostly because it is warm and comfortable to the touch. I am sure that over time it will show wear faster than any of the stone products.

As to Quartz, it is 93% quarts with a resin binder. Therefore it will be sensitive to very hot pots or pans, due to the resin binder.

My wife did stainless on one and granite on the other. Never again with the stainless. Sounds wonderful as it cleans easy. But you can dent them, and they get scratched up fairly fast.