Countertop Choice

Begger · December 2015

Soapstone is sold by the SAME guys as sell Granite. And installed by the same guys.
Thickness is the same as for the Granite slabs you see. not 4mm which is about 5/32" but rather 2, 3, or 4cm which is 3/4"+ to 1 1/2"+
with proper support, it'll work as well as granite. But with some advantages.

I typically see 1 1/4" advertised which is roughly 3.2cm = 32mm.

thetrim · December 2015

DON'T DROP THE SOAPSTONE!!!!

Lit · December 2015

Begger said:

Soapstone is sold by the SAME guys as sell Granite. And installed by the same guys.
Thickness is the same as for the Granite slabs you see. not 4mm which is about 5/32" but rather 2, 3, or 4cm which is 3/4"+ to 1 1/2"+
with proper support, it'll work as well as granite. But with some advantages.

I typically see 1 1/4" advertised which is roughly 3.2cm = 32mm.

Article makes it sound like you have to oil it all the time?

jlsm · December 2015

I have soapstone counters in the kitchen and I keep them well waxed. They are stunning; we love them. BUT they are soft. I have a few deep dings and deep scratches made before I figured out how to navigate safely. I'm not sure you can keep an outdoor slabbed oiled or waxed, meaning it will be light gray except for the spots where you spill grease. Between the dings and the splotches, I'm not sure you'll get the look you want.

tarheelmatt · December 2015

Begger said:

Lots of yelling because people won't even look at the first link and than comment on SoapStone for their application.
I didn't mean for this to spin out of control. It's really a SIMPLE question.

I think it is probably VERY suitable for outdoor use and requires a fraction of the care that Granite needs.

I didn't see a question, but if you're asking the question about this application for YOUR needs, it appears you have your mind made up chief.

tarheelmatt · December 2015

These guys... always on their SOAP box....

paqman · December 2015

We have a Caesarstone Quartz countertop and I would not go for anything else. It was more expensive than granite but well worth it. No maintenance whatsoever, does not stain and looks great.

DoubleEgger · December 2015

The sky is blue.... Let's argue about that

tarheelmatt · December 2015

DoubleEgger said:

The sky is blue.... Let's argue about that

Put something in all CAPS buddy... That way we know you're butt hurt over it.

Lit · December 2015

paqman said:

We have a Caesarstone Quartz countertop and I would not go for anything else. It was more expensive than granite but well worth it. No maintenance whatsoever, does not stain and looks great.

Exactly what we went with. Also couldn't be happier.

Lit · December 2015

Mattman3969 said:

With today's technology advancement in granite fab there should never be any surprises to customers concerning veining. With the exotic stones we send our customers a digital picture of their kitchen before we even drop a blade in the stone. It crazy the advancement our industry has made in the last 10 yrs.

The place we got ours from had us come in and approve the actual slabs we were getting before they would cut it and we got quartz.

Lit · December 2015

blasting said:

Darby_Crenshaw said:

When you get the dough, book match it

I know your joking, but we did 200k kitchens where people insisted on granite but then b1tched if it wasn't uniform. Those folks are better suited to a man made product, but they wanted granite because it was the thing to have.

We also did projects where people appreciated the varying beauty of granite. A giant vein running diagonal across a massive island is a design feature difficult to beat, imo.

The veins is what made granite a no go for us. We were trying to create a nice kitchen that would last awhile that we could use accents to make it really nice. With granite the countertops are the accent and its hard to change your look and still match the countertops. We found 1 granite that was ok but in the end it just couldn't compare with what we wanted. The sealing wasn't an issue for $250 the place we got them from said they would apply a lifetime seal to the granite.

Canugghead · December 2015

paqman said:

We have a Caesarstone Quartz countertop and I would not go for anything else. It was more expensive than granite but well worth it. No maintenance whatsoever, does not stain and looks great.

We went with no-name quartz with white background for the kitchen few years ago. No maintenance needed but we are careful.

Few days ago we tried grinding our own tumeric (extremely hard) instead of buying pre-ground powder. Tumeric (main ingredient in curry powder) is notorious for staining clothes permanently if you're not careful ... I accidentally spilled a drop of tumeric-laden water from the Vitamix on the countertop, glad swmbo noticed it few minutes later, we couldn't get rid of the stain with regular dish detergent. Fortunately we remembered the salesman telling us about Vim and it worked! I'm going to put a test drop on a scrap piece and see what happens after a week.

Legume · December 2015

Damnit @Lit, I just have yesterday's thing in my kitchen and you've gone and made me feel bad and now it's gonna cost me some money.

We replaced the super thin pre-corian in our kitchen with granite when we bought our house 13+ years ago. It's all in great shape and I don't do anything to it other than clean it with windex or some other thing I'm told I'm not supposed to use. Someday we'll redo it or move, not sure which. I still have no idea what I want as a table top for next to my egg, but with Texas summer sun, it won't be stainless and won't be anything I have to spend much effort maintaining. I may just go rough cedar and let it collect stains and scars, er, I mean character. I can always setup an area for granite tiles or fire bricks or something to set a hot ceramic on.

Lit · December 2015

@legume if we had granite existing I never would have replaced it. A lot of people are still getting granite I just don't think it is like it used to be where people just said I want granite and that's my only option. We had one granite that we considered as a strong option but it was just too busy for us.

DoubleEgger · December 2015

saluki2007 · December 2015

I agree quartz is the way to go. We just built a new home and that's what we used. Ours are mostly white and one of my wife's friend spilt some red wine on them and didn't clean it up. Noticed it the next morning and a little soft scrub and it was gone.

tarheelmatt · December 2015

Sweet kitchen man.

Legume · December 2015

@Lit I was told it was my turn to give you shjt. I'm fine with what I have.

badass kitchen @saluki2007

jeroldharter · December 2015

jlsm said:

I have soapstone counters in the kitchen and I keep them well waxed. They are stunning; we love them. BUT they are soft. I have a few deep dings and deep scratches made before I figured out how to navigate safely. I'm not sure you can keep an outdoor slabbed oiled or waxed, meaning it will be light gray except for the spots where you spill grease. Between the dings and the splotches, I'm not sure you'll get the look you want.

Soapstone stains easily. Just pour some red wine on the soapstone and see for yourself. It is also very soft. Dinging cast iron pans around with give you a nice patina of dents or chips. Any it is very heavy, so heavy that you need to be careful about the supporting structure and the potential for sagging which will crack the soapstone.

You also have to decide whether to seal it. Sealing helps maintain a glossy, stain free surface but you lose the "soapy" appearance in exchange for a dark, shiny look. Also, it is usually shorter meaning that the slabs are not as long as granite because it is so heavy and brittle. Therefore, you tend to have more seams. Also keep in mind cleaning. My counters are always getting grimy with pine pollen and cooking stuff.

We had soapstone in our kitchen and I liked it. But outdoors I would prefer granite or stainless steel.

piney · December 2015

@saluki2007 I love the kitchen...and the dog!

saluki2007 · December 2015

@tarheelmatt @Legume Thanks guys
@piney thanks. She's a blue weimaraner.

It's very open with lots of counter space. I love having the big farmer's sink. Haven't had anything that I can't fit in it yet.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00084RRKO?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

tarheelmatt · December 2015

That kitchen makes me want to go home and take the sledge hammer to my stuff...

You know, I was good for most of this thread with the granite, quartz, Dial, and Irish Spring stuff. Heck, I have cheap formica counters that you just clean with some Clorox Cleanup. I was good with that. Then, @saluki2007 goes and posts that. FML...

Canugghead · December 2015

tarheelmatt said:

... FML...

LMFao

Begger · December 2015

tarheelmatt said:

That kitchen makes me want to go home and take the sledge hammer to my stuff...

You know, I was good for most of this thread with the granite, quartz, Dial, and Irish Spring stuff. Heck, I have cheap formica counters that you just clean with some Clorox Cleanup. I was good with that. Then, @saluki2007 goes and posts that. FML...

Don't feel bad. My kitchen is 25+ years old and needs a renovation almost as bad as my 63+ year old bones. Counter tops? Cabinets? Sink? ALL should be changed. 2 or 3 years ago, I changed the undersink plumbing while putting in a new disposer. So at least THAT'S ok.

I can afford soap, but NOT Soapstone.

DoubleEgger · December 2015

@tarheelmatt you can always run a pot roast down the disposal and flood your kitchen like I did...

Spaightlabs · December 2015

DoubleEgger said:

@tarheelmatt you can always run a pot roast down the disposal and flood your kitchen like I did...

I'd like to see the video of you trying to jam pot roast down the disposal!

tarheelmatt · December 2015

DoubleEgger said:

@tarheelmatt you can always run a pot roast down the disposal and flood your kitchen like I did...

Ouch! Did that just happen?

DoubleEgger · December 2015

@tarheelmatt No, it was 3 years ago. Here's the after pic. We went with granite.

tarheelmatt · December 2015

DoubleEgger said:

@tarheelmatt No, it was 3 years ago. Here's the after pic. We went with granite.

Ahh.. okay, thankfully not now.

Digging your color combos!

Countertop Choice

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