Boy it is really hard to pick one. What brand of countertop would u go with and why? My wife likes those Meganite Acrylic Solid Surface. She wanted dark color to go with my cabinets that I made out of oak and stained it to tan color. She likes those no line sink and thinks it is cleaner than the old one we have with the band. Guy says be careful with dark colors as it shows scathes easy. I thought light colors but she says too much lights. NorthStar has nice ones but pretty costly one. Guy says take stone as it is pretty hard and nicer looking. I thought stone was way too costly than the two? He says not really it is almost the same as the first one she liked. I did like to hear what good marks about one thing from the others and which one did you think sold the most and why that brand? Here’s two websites for those: www.meganite.com and www.nssurfaces.com I don’t have one for the stones but I don’t know where to look those up yet. Thank u for your ideas!
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As a solid surface fabricatior, I will lay my bias for all to see.
I have had Avonite Kalidescope countertops and just built my wife a Meganite Granite Euphoria dining room table with matching sideboard. We love them. Your wife is right about the seamless and sanitary sinks, although I've seen the engineered stone guys (Zodiaq, Silestone,etc.) do the same recently.
I've got a dark red Zodiaq in my house right now and while it's beautiful when it's clean, every little toast crumb looks like Mount Everest with the glossy finish. Same with granite. You're getting good advice about the costs and colors. If you're a very fussy cleaner, get the gloss if you like, if not, stick with a light color matte finish solid surface.
I'll be happy to quote you a price if you're within four hours of Detroit, Michigan or so.
Go with natural stone.....no matter how "nice" any of the knockoffs look, they`re still that.....knockoffs.
Sorry Kowboy....personal opinion is all.
J. D. Reynolds
Home Improvements
Well countertops is a very opinionated subject. One thing I always tell people they all have ups & downs. Look on how you are going to use or abuse your counter.
Me & my wife discussed "argued" this for several months before settling on one type.
We went with soapstone from M. Teixeira Soapstone http://www.soapstones.com/index.php?page=home
For a couple of reasons 1 can't stain it 2 can't burn it 3 flat finish doesn't show water stains like polished surface & 4 if you damage it is easily repairable.
Here are some pics of it
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/plumbinwa/detail?.dir=cd07&.dnm=974c.jpg&.src=ph
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/plumbinwa/detail?.dir=cd07&.dnm=3011.jpg&.src=ph
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/plumbinwa/album?.dir=1453&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/plumbinwa/my_photos
not completely finished yet but getting close.
& for those on dial up (like me) sorry bout the size of pics I'm not savy enough yet to make them smaller.
Soapstones... I remember those back in high school. I made a copy of everyone's idea and going to show my wife. Any more idea please send them on! Thanks for your ideas and many more if they do come in!
I'm probably not the only one with this question - what is soapstone?
Advocate
Natural stone......if you attended high school in the seventies, or prior, there`s a good chance your chem. lab counters were soapstone.
J. D. Reynolds
Home Improvements
What if you attended but were not paying attention!
Doug
well soapstone is a pretty loose term the one in my pics is called --- steatite
it has soapstone in it.
Soapstone is a metamorphic rock made up mostly of talc
if you got to http://www.soapstones.com it has a real good explanation of what it is.
http://www.soapstones.com/index.php?page=whatissoapstone
Edited 10/3/2005 11:10 pm ET by plumbbill
Soapstone and Slate are great choices, but you need to be wary of where they come from. The best soapstone and slate come from VT, ME and NY. They are non-porous (bacteria can't grow), non-staining, dense, and maintenance free. It is great stuff and will last a lifetime. My two cents for what it is worth.
Thanks; sounds like soapstone has all the same qualities as granite?
Advocate
Soapstone and slate do have similar properties to granite, but are overall a better product for the following reasons:
1. Less likely to break, crack or fissure
2. Are sanitary whereas granite will allow bacteria to grow (slate and soapstone do not since they are extremely dense - don't confuse density to hardness). This is the reason there were used in Chemistry labs forever.
3. Do not absorb and stain whereas granite will
4. Surfaces can be repaired whereas granite cannot
5. surface is room temperature whereas granite is always stone cold
6. etc....
Just some more information - there is a ton of mis-information on slate and soapstone...
I was thinking that there are two types of soapstone, and the softer one will stain? But maybe I'm wrong about that.Anyway, we looked at another stone, just called Greenstone, that we really like. Haven't installed it, so I have no idea about it's actually functionality, and I'm not sure who else has it. We looked at a counter speciality place called counterculture in Columbus, Ohio.
Like most natural products, it matters where it comes from. The soapstone from VT, NY and ME are totally different than the soapstone from Brazil or Italy or other places. It is important to be educated on the type of soapstone or slate you are purchasing. Not all soapstone or slate is the same.
Anyone know of a soapstone dealer around Tinley Park, Illinois? I want to see a sample.
Tinley Park? I've seen a couple of great Buffett concerts there.
I'm sure there are many many suppliers in the Chicago area to suit your needs.
Now on to my personal bias.
I have a two sided view of natural stone countertops;
If I was doing a spec house or anything that I just wanted to sell, I would definitely install granite or something of that ilk. That is the latest "must have" chic, trendy, "everybody's doing it", yuppy fad in homes. And it will most certainly make a house more appealing to those with their checkbooks out.
However, in my own home, I wouldn't have that junk if you paid me to take it. A stone countertop in essence turns your kitchen into an unusable space, unless all you have is plastic tableware and glasses. All you have to do is set a glass or plate down just kinda hard and it's gonna shatter. And forget about crystal wine flutes! This is the most extreme case of form over function that I have seen in the homebuilding industry yet.
The house I'm in now has granite countertops, and I'm literally counting the days until I can get the heck out of here." If I were a carpenter"
go to http://www.soapstones.com they will send you a sample of whatever type you want usually a 6" x 6" x 1 1/4"
Tinely Park hunh?
My grandmother lives there.
I'll throw my bias towards the engineered stones like Silestone, Cambria, or Zodiaq.
I like the engineered stone because, I think it looks good, it is Zero maintainece, and it's harder then most granites.
Zodiaq cost more then the other two, but that could be a local thing?
Silestone also come's with a chemical called "microban" which prevents bacteria from growing on it, and it's the only engineered stone with that feature.
On the other hand, the beauty of a nice slab of granite is hard to match IMO, and I can get them with an epoxy coating on the top with eliminates stains on the surface, as of now I still can not get the edge treatments coated so they are still susceptible to stains.
I don't like the solid surface's like corian because they scratch etc, and I don't like their general appearance, but that's personal..
If you want to see what Silestone etc look like, go to HD they have them on display, but do NOT let HD install them for you, a professional will cost a little more but well worth it. Find a local fabricator/installer