School me on countertops. Granite, Corion, Laminate, ???

Im trying to do some brainstorming for renovations to a house i just bought.. the kitchen has about 7 feet of countertop. im going crazy trying to decide. laminate just seems like the 80's.. of course granite is more expensive, tile too. but what choices am i leaving out // ive scowered lowes, home depot and those places just seeem to fall short. what do you folks have in your homes ??

 

Don't rule out Silestone

 

Corian all the way man. Love it never had any problems

 

Corian here, but like granite also.

 

Some modern type folks do polished concrete countertops. Also soapstone is in with the kids these days. My Buckhead Betty sister has black soapstone in her kitchen and it looks great.

You can get the concrete tops in different colors, patterns, with fiber optic lighting imbeded, etc. Pretty much anything you can think of you can do with concrete.

 

Granite is what my wife is using in most of the higer end houses she is doing these days.

They are actually making concrete coutertops these days (linky) that look pretty nice.

 

That stuff is probably pretty expensive huh? Sorry dude.

 

you suck!

 

shit's badass.

 

I worked for a guy that used marble one time. It looked great until the first time the acid from the lime in his gin and tonic hit the surface.

 

That's just funny.

 

would that be the same granite as your head? part of the stone mountain chain?

 

I've been told my head is full of rocks.

 

If I didn't say then I atleast thought it.

 

The list is long and undistinguished.

 

granite and quartz are going to run about the same cost. Corian is a name brand, many, many other manufacturers out there, which means more color choices. look for a local supplier other than the lowe's and depot's. someone who specializes in stone and/or manufactured materials for tops. shop your prices also, you'd be VERY surprised.

 

I fabricate and install custom granite and marble counter tops. I also from time to time fabricate man made stones(corion, silestone, ceaser stone....).

Laminate like you said is the cheap version of a countertop. If you want enexpensive go with this. It will be the least attractive. Also, it will give you the lowest resale value.

Man made stone (ceaser stone, stilestone, corion), Most man made stones are very similar to each other as far as the pro's and con's. They are much better than the laminate. Better resale value, more durable, more attractive. Man made countertops can be effected by heat and they CAN fade in sunlight. Man made tops are going to be more consistant with pattern and will be more chip resistant than granite.

Granite, Will not fade and is not effected by heat, more vibrante colors, and more selection. Will give you the best resale on your house. You do have to seal it about every 2 to 4 years but that is very simple and inexpensive.


I have been in this business for about 2 1/2 years. I would suggest granite. It will be more expensive than laminate and depending on the granite that you pic it can be more or less than man made stones. I would stay away from Lowes or any superstores. Shop around and find a couple local fabricators and price match. They will be less expensive than Lowes. Lowes sub's out there work for local fabricators (I know I am one of them). Also, if you deal with the fabricator pesonally you can usually pic out the slabs that you wan't and go over it with the "cut man" on how he lays out the cutting of the slab. Make sure if you get a quote that you get the bottom line. Fabricators can come up with hidden cost. I don't do that but some of my compitition does.

 

I'm gonna pour mine in about 3-4 weeks, let you know how it turns out. Inexpensive (to do yourself), great looking, tough, all positives. And if it doesn't turn out you just break out the sledgehammer and start over.

 

silstone, granite or concrete.. I use to sell a lot of Corion - its way overpriced for what you get, and it will scratch and stain..

 

Similar to Corian, there is also Formica Solid Surface (not the laminate) and Wilsonart. Between the three, you should be able to find a color you like. Granite is hard to beat, but requires periodic maintenence (sealing, etc). Concrete is getting popular around here also, but I think it would have the same downsides as granite (sealing off porosity). The solid surfaces mentioned above can be bought in the $11-20 a linear foot range and self installation is possible if you have basic wood working tools with the right type of blades and the instructions on how to make the joints (ask a local distributor for an installation guide and see if it's within your skill set). Granite, etc run in the $40 a linear foot range to start and self installation is much more unlikely than with the composites, IMHO.

I did tumbled marble countertops and they looked great, but grount lines in a counter top are a mistake I will not make again, stains and more stains even with a good sealer applied regularly.