Kitchen countertop suggestions
 

I'm waiting for word to come back on an offer I made on a house today and one of the things I'd definitely like to do is upgrade the kitchen countertop and take out the existing 4" tile and upgrade a much nicer/modern tile.

So far, I think I'm wanting to go with quartz and looking to get a ballpark figure of how much it's going to set me back. Does anyone have any suggestions for particular brands of quartz or any other suggestions you might have?

Thanks!

Re: Kitchen countertop suggestions
 

I would not go with tile but with a solid surface acrylic. We went with LG HI-MACS but Corian and Silestone are other good products, too.

Re: Kitchen countertop suggestions
 

Ok, thanks for the suggestions. I have ~ 58 sq ft I'd be looking at, so I'm trying to do this as reasonable as possible. Menards has Riverstone quartz currently on sale starting at $38.99/sq ft. Looks like I should be able to do all of this work myself.

BTW, the tile would be on the wall between the countertop splash and the bottom of the top cabinets, not an actual tile job like some people do.

Re: Kitchen countertop suggestions
 

I have owned many different kinds and my current home has polished granite and it is by far superior to anything else I have tried. Yes it is expensive but looks great and very durable with little maintenance.

Re: Kitchen countertop suggestions
 

In a couple of brief conversations with my realtor and brother, they seemed to discourage granite because of the potential for staining and having to seal them. On the other hand, quartz seems to be resistant to pretty much everything, except a high price tag that is. I have no idea how granite and quartz compare in price though.

Re: Kitchen countertop suggestions
 

Last Nov. we went with a solid surface acrylic called Staron® by Samsung and we're very happy with it!:tu

Re: Kitchen countertop suggestions
 

I'm reluctant to get solid surface acrylic because it's a bigger risk to stains from my brief research.

Re: Kitchen countertop suggestions
 

We put a total 35 feet of granite in our kitchen & bar top 3 years ago. We spend a lot of time in our kitchen and at the bar with no issues of staining, as for the sealing goes it's takes about an hour every six months. One of the best decisions thus far with the upgrades we've made to our home. Granite is the only way to go IMO.


:tu


Chris.....

Re: Kitchen countertop suggestions
 

:tpd:
About the same experience here, 9 years old and not a stain anywhere and we spill stuff on it all the time.

Re: Kitchen countertop suggestions
 

If you go with a quartz tile, will you have grout lines?

The reason I ask is grout will stain or discolor over time. That may be a concern if you have lighter color grout.

We currently have granite, and I love it. Stains haven't been a problem for us.

Re: Kitchen countertop suggestions
 

Have granite and love it. No recent issues with staining, though I did have one or two at the start, I think it may not have been properly sealed.
If it ever stains, it is easy to get out. Mix acetone and baking soda to the consistency of a snow cone (too Canadian a term?). Anyway, cover it with wax paper, tape the edges and leave for 24 hours. Next day, take off the wax paper. You will have dry powder with a stain-free countertop. No long term worries.

Re: Kitchen countertop suggestions
 

I like Silestone, but it's more expensive than granite. Then again, with granite at $56 a sq/ft and Silestone at $59 I guess the difference is negligible.

Re: Kitchen countertop suggestions
 

You get what you pay for in terms of beauty.
Nothing has the gloss and beauty of granite IMO.
Granite is natural, has a life of it's own. You can find VERY unique slabs but it will cost.

Quartz is not a solid surface but actually ground quartz mineral in a hardened resin . It is as hard/harder than stone and resists staining...but to me it just doesn't look as nice.

To me Silestone/quartz/Corian just look too uniform.

Re: Kitchen countertop suggestions
 

It's not quartz tile. To me, it has the same appearance qualities, but I'm thinking the quartz may be cheaper. Just a guess as I have yet to step foot in a hardware store to compare pricing and actual appearance of each next to one another.

Guess I know what the wife and I will do tomorrow afternoon.

Re: Kitchen countertop suggestions
 

I really don't know a lot about this kind of thing... but when we recently remodeled our house my wife went with Silestone. The stuff is gorgeous and we are very happy with it. I know the check I wrote for the kitchen and bathrooms was a gagger, but it sure is nice.

Re: Kitchen countertop suggestions
 

Not true.We've had ours for years,it's still beautiful.No stains.

Re: Kitchen countertop suggestions
 

+1

Re: Kitchen countertop suggestions
 

We've had our corian counters for going on 11 years. Still look like new. Don't put a hot pan directly on it (it's plastic afterall) it the only caveat.

Fully integrated sinks with no seams, lips, etc. have been an especially cool feature.

Re: Kitchen countertop suggestions
 

Ain't that the truth?!?!?!?

Re: Kitchen countertop suggestions
 

FWIW....another happy granite owner....

Think we did tile like you are saying.... This is a pic while we were putting it in.... Pre grout...
http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/981...backsplash.jpg