Kitchen Counter Tops

[lightman]

Not wanting to hijack the Kitchen Cabinet Thread I started this one. Our formica counter tops are getting kind of ragged and we're looking at replacing them with something new. We're looking at something like Granite, Marble, some of the man made stuff, ect. The cabinets are custom made and only the tops will be replaced. So, what do you have? What do you know about counter tops? What do you suggest? We are looking for something not only attractive but durable. This is a working kitchen as my Wife cooks a lot, and they will get stuff spilled on them. Thanks for the replys!

[Adam20]

I have granite, it is durable and low maintenance. prices are good depending on what selection you choose on colors and edge detail.
-quartz is another option and looks about the same, but more money than granite.
-Real marble kinda miserable, looks good but likes to stain and scratch a little easy.
-cultured marble is some sorta man made resin. scratches easy and dose not look real.
-soild surface is a polymer of some sort, glues up nice and sand seams out, more money than granite and quartz usually have not priced in a while. not a DYI project
- concrete is taking off also, expensive. I don't know much about it other than that.
Prices vary by locations but granite is mostly likely the best price when you step up from formica.

[rancher1913]

I had access to corian, a division of our company had a license to sell and install and I was able to buy the stuff wholesale and DIY. we went right over the old tops and it raised the counter by a half inch, did the whole job in a day

[frkelly74]

We went back in with laminate tops. They are pretty cheap and look good for quite a while. We did this because I can do the work myself and it is relatively inexpensive. When they start to look bad in 10 years or so I will replace them, if I am still here, as part of "redecorating" the Kitchen. We will be tired of the color anyway by then.

[jsizemore]

Most of the man made counter material will stain or rot. Wood moves and can be a pain to keep sealed. It's tough to beat granite. Most popular colors I see are Saint Cecilia or Uba Tuba both from Brazil with a leathered finish to hide water spots. Both are very durable and I've seen them used commercially. Stainless is pretty good too.

[William Yanda]

We cheaped out, and had the formica butcherblock counters recovered. Bad move. We should have saved the $$$$ and done a full upgrade to either granite or a man made equivalent.

[jimlj]

We had granite tops made. Something I learned the hard way.....
Make sure your sink will work with the existing plumbing. We went with an under mount sink that was about an inch deeper than the old sink. Under mount makes the bottom of the sink sit the thickness of the counter top lower to start with. Add an inch deeper sink and the drain now sits about 2" lower than the old sink. I ended up having to remove exterior siding and lower drain lines to get the sink to drain properly. If we had picked a shallower sink all would have been good.

[CastingFool]

A friend just bought a kit to refinish her formica countertops that were looking pretty old. She did the work herself, and the countertops still look good after almost two years. As I understand, you sand down the countertops, put on a special primer, when dry put on a special topcoat, then let it dry.

[LaPoint]

Within the last year we had quartz countertops installed as part of building a new kitchen in our very old home (85+ yrs old.) We looked at everything from laminate to stainless steel. We chose the quartz (Cambria) over granite because we felt it will stand up to our kitchen lifestyle. We cook an awful lot and didn't want to have to worry about burning, scratching, melting, eroding the countertops. Quartz is not absolutely impervious to everything but we felt it was better than granite for resisting stains from foods and resisting etching from acid in certain foods. Quartz is not perfect either. We were told not to use bleach based products for cleaning. Quartz is NSF approved. It is less porous than granite or marble. We have had the quartz for a year and are very happy with it. We would buy quartz again today if we had to do it over. We installed an apron front stainless steel sink but had it flush mounted as opposed to under mounted. It is a deep sink and didn't want to have to bend over any further to reach the bottom of the sink.

[Huntsman52]

We are in the process of renovating our kitchen as well. We are replacing the existing quartz counter tops with a white/marble looking quartz. The demoed existing quartz I get to use for my new reloading bench top and the remainder for a future outdoor BBQ area.

Unfortunately we require 65 sf of quartz so that make us require (2) slabs. Of the (2) slabs we will only use about 1/2 of the 2nd slab so I will have a partial slab left over. I got (4) quotes and they all where within a couple of hundred or so....still expensive stuff but I plan to not ever replace.

Take note that most granite and quartz is about 1-1/4" thick. My current CTs are 1-1/8" thick so I had to remove the tile backsplash so the new CTs will fit as they go under the tile. Fortunately I was planning on replacing the tile back splash so it was no big deal, but if you have one and was not planning on replacing, it can cause a fitment problem.

[OS OK]

PM Gtrubicon...Nobody on Earth fabricates & installs finer Granite Counter Tops. He can advise you which granites to avoid also how to prep for the Granite installation.
I'm not prejudice just because he did mine...;)

[Firebricker]

I would recommend the Corian counter tops. For a couple reasons one if you do damage the surface it is easy to sand out. Two colour selection. Plus it is extremely durable. Granite is nice but a couple of the downside is it can crack and it is very heavy. I think in some cases cabinets have to be beefed up. I am not sure if they still make it but SSV was a material that just had a thin Corian type surface and rest of thickness in wood. It's only advantage was price. FB

[CastingFool]

You can cut the corian yourself with carbide tipped saws, and router bits. The backsplash on our guest bathroom counter top was a plain 3/4"x3"x60" length of white corian. All edges were square. I used a carbide cove mold router bit to dress up one edge, and had no problem whatsoever.

[MT Gianni]

Went with granite in this house after having corian in two previous houses. You cannot beat it for clean up, it is always slightly cool, no problems to set a hot pan on it as far as cracking and it looks great. Because we did our bathroom sinks were included as they were joined scraps. Disavantages to both are things break when you drop them on it.

[Bzcraig]

As a ceramic tile contractor for 30 years I have some experience and opinions. Granite is far and away the most durable and affordable upper end countertops currently available. It has always been available but was very expensive in years gone by. Many slabs now come pre-sealed and require little maintaining. Marble is very soft in comparison but offers a look completely different. The man made products are good but I think overpriced. Don't cut corners and hire a good fabricator/installer. I've always discouraged people from using trendy products unless they planned on selling soon and select finishes that will stand the test of time. But ultimately it's your money and your house. Good luck and make sure momma's happy!

[Moonie]

We had granite counter tops installed in our last house. Loved them so much we are planning on doing granite when we redo our cabinets and counter tops in the new house.

[RCE1]

Leathered granite for the counter tops and marble for the island. The granite is a textured black and the marble is carrera. We had them mitered with an edge piece 2" wide attached. Looks like he tops are 2" thick.

[MaryB]

Concrete tops can be done yourself. I helped a friend pour 20 feet of it. 1/2" ply bottom, reinforcing mesh wire held up 1/2 inch, then a lip around the edges and for the back wall we just layered up tape and poured up tight to the wall then cut off the exposed tape when it was dry. That was 10 years ago. His house is as old as mine and settles and moves and no cracking yet. Some stains now but that is a part of a concrete tops character... he reseals it once a year.

[lightman]

Thanks for the reply everyone. Planning on going to look as soon as the weather clears up. I've drawn a sketch with dimensions for pricing purposes.

[azrednek]

In one of my rental houses I have the original 1953 counter tops. I'd really like to know what material it was made with. They don't look new but whatever it was made from has definitely stood the test of time.

[Tazman1602]

Cambria just installed in wife's kitchen, indestructible compressed bonded quartz almost as hard as diamonds. We were warned even though they are food grade not to cut directly on them as they will dull your knives right now. Beautiful too.

Art

[winelover]

Tried Corion countertops, when I renovated our house in Detroit, in 1985. Back then white was the only option. Had a counter top with molded in sink, in our downstairs 1/2 bath. It got the most use. Still looked like new, when we moved in 2012. When I built the new Arkansas home, in 2011, we put Corion in two baths, the main kitchen, laundry, basement kitchen and matching window sills. That's how much I think of it. At that time, only factory certified installers could purchase the material.

Winelover

[lightman]

In one of my rental houses I have the original 1953 counter tops. I'd really like to know what material it was made with. They don't look new but whatever it was made from has definitely stood the test of time.

Thats certainly stood the test of time!

[high standard 40]

I have been using a Formica top on my loading bench for the last 30 years without any issues. The base for this top is a double layer of 3/4" BC pine plywood, glued and screwed together. Very solid and stable. I don't do any casting on this particular bench. My dedicated casting bench is also a double layer of 3/4" plywood which is simply painted with porch & deck enamel. Works fine for me.

[DocSavage]

Had to have our 1st floor apartment remodeled due to my wife is disabled,we went with Corian for countertops. Easy to repair and the cost was within our budget.
Been 5 years and still look as good as the day they were installed.

[Down South]

I went with Granite the last two times "Two Houses". My last house, the one that I live in now, I have Granite counter tops and an island out of a slab of 1-1/4" Granite.
It ain't cheap but it is permanent.

[lightman]

Thanks Guys! I failed to mention that I'm looking for good, durable or permeant. I'm not planning to do this ever again, at least not at this location.

[popper]

Corian all the way.
17 yrs and a wife that cooks a lot, no scratches, dings, etc. Also I put in a double sink (replaced the cheap SS one the builder put in) that is cast man made stuff I got at home depot (black iron stone or something like that), heavy as coated cast iron but no scratches on it either.

[Edward]

Granite in the 2 houses I have built and permanent like the wife :bigsmyl2:

[mold maker]

Yeah, I'm frugal. I helped my Dad build the kitchen cabinets and install Formica tops. I don't remember exactly what the date was, but I was around 30. I'm still using those Formica tops and the aluminum edging is the only thing needing attention. If it ain't broken, don't fix it. As long as what you have can be sanitary and functions, why " improve" (throw money at it). I don't have any thought of keeping up with the Jones unless their paying.
The memories of Mom, my Wife, my Daughter, and now my Granddaughters preparing my meals on that stone patterned Formica are precious. Not to mention the memories of a project completed with Dad who left this life in "99.

[Geezer in NH]

Next counter tops will be Granite from Mount Dessert Island ME .
Sweet pink speckled my DW loves and will have. Mama gets what Mama wants eventually.

[dbosman]

Corian scratches, shows heat rings from pots fresh off the stove, cracks if the corners are not round, and cracks at the drains if one doesn't know not to tighten them when you change the garbage disposer.
A random orbit sander and very fine sand "paper" followed by polishing and it looks like new. Except the cracks around the disposal drain.
If we were doing it now, I'd encourage my wife to look at the man made bonded glass tops.

[bfuller14]

Granite is a rock...Always gritty.
I have had them in the last two houses and will install
quarts in the next. Compare them and see.

[white eagle]

Granite.... its costly but very,very nice natural product
definitely not a do it yourself operation unless you are in the
countertop business yourself and do granite
I know of no grit unless you didn't have it finished and are eating on the
mountain it came from

[bfuller14]

No not on a mountain, I have it through out my house......
I answered the OP.... Thank you

[Grmps]

I used to install fabricate and install Corian many years ago. Countertops, tub surrounds shower walls......
It has a high acid resistance, the bonded sink is a joy with no lip to wipe things over, scratches can be easily sanded/polished out. A good installer can do a practically invisible patch to any serious damage that might occur by routing out the dammage and replacing with a piece left by the installer ( we would leave several large hot plates / cutting boards cut out of the sink hole cutout or scrap from the job for this purpose. The only time I had to do this on site (we practiced thisin the shop) was when a finish charpenter "accidently" discharged his nail gun into the top. the civit was to big to sand/polish so I routed a hole, mad a plug with matching material and "glued" the plug in with the proper colored 2 part epoxy resin. After routing the patch close to level and sanding it smooth and polishing it to match the rest of the top the patch was invisible.

[lightman]

Well, we did a little shopping today and got to look at some different material. We're really liking the Quartz. Going to look at some more places tomorrow. Thanks for the replys so far.

[Battis]

Unless I missed it, I haven't seen soapstone mentioned. It's something we're considering.

[lightman]

Went and looked at a few more places yesterday. Suppost to have someone come out Friday to measure and give us a price. We're starting to lean towards the quartz. We are also thinking about new cabinets. This project is starting to get expensive! Oh well, Happy Wife Happy Life! We plan to live here for several more years and we will still have a lot less in the house than its appraised at.

[Skunk1]

Concrete tops can be done yourself. I helped a friend pour 20 feet of it. 1/2" ply bottom, reinforcing mesh wire held up 1/2 inch, then a lip around the edges and for the back wall we just layered up tape and poured up tight to the wall then cut off the exposed tape when it was dry. That was 10 years ago. His house is as old as mine and settles and moves and no cracking yet. Some stains now but that is a part of a concrete tops character... he reseals it once a year.

That’s something I always wanted to do. What did he use for concrete and sealer?

[MaryB]

They sell a concrete counter top mix https://www.menards.com/main/building-materials/concrete-cement-masonry/bagged-concrete-cement-mortar/concrete-countertop-mix/p-1444445323295-c-5648.htm?tid=-1344337201673750332&ipos=19

And sealer is available (couldn't find the Menards link for what he used in a quick search) https://www.vseal.com/shop-all/products/stonelok-e3-2k2-countertop-kits


That’s something I always wanted to do. What did he use for concrete and sealer?