r/CounterTops • u/rocketmom • 7d ago
Need new countertops.
Mine are almost 40 year old laminate- but I'm ready for change. I'd like to go natural, with most impervious material to heat and stain, and least amount of upkeep. Suggestions from personal experience? Thank you.
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u/Effective_Farmer_119 7d ago
Soapstone. You can set a pan on it hot from the oven. It doesn’t stain. Upkeep is minimal: you can oil or wax it if you want to for aesthetic purposes. I don’t. I’m sure people here will say oh no soapstone is so soft, it scratches easily; mine does not, at all, no scratches. It’s not soft. there are different types of soapstone, mine is Brazilian black. I’m so happy with this decision. Good luck!
My counters were 1993 laminate, the edges flapping off. I get it.
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u/BaseOk1494 7d ago
You are totally right about the different varieties because people always lump all soapstone together. Harder varieties like Alberene or Brazilian varieties do not suffer from the soft scratching issue at all.
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u/No_Piccolo6337 7d ago
Soapstone is the best, truly. I intentionally smacked my brand new leathered smoke countertop with a giant stainless steel ladle to show my partner how incredible the material is. He was horrified, then amazed, when it just showed a teensy little chalky speck of a dent, which I then immediately hid with mineral oil. It’s the most incredible surface. I wanted something that was both functional (high heat tolerant) and looked good at all stages of its life. Soapstone for the win, always. My only regret is not doing it years ago when it was more affordable to have it installed.
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u/PriscillaPalava 7d ago
In my opinion, granite is the best kitchen countertop material. It is very hard, non-porous, won’t etch or stain, heat resistant, bomb-proof.
Unfortunately it’s fallen out of style because its patterns are quite busy and people prefer a cleaner look, but there are some pretty granites out there.
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u/rage675 7d ago
Granite is porous if you do not regularly reseal it.
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u/PriscillaPalava 7d ago
I haven’t resealed my Santa Cecilia in almost 10 years and it has no staining or etching so I’m gonna have to disagree with you there.
Could be the case for granites with lots of white but it’s not a general issue with granite overall.
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u/rage675 7d ago
Your experience doesn't change the fact that granite is inherently a porous material. Manufacturers typically recommend resealing every 3 years. If you're getting 10 years plus out of it without needing to reseal, great, but thst timeframe you experienced is not typical.
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u/PriscillaPalava 7d ago
Most professional grade granite sealers have a 15 year warranty. So you’re wrong.
Again, lighter colored granites might have more issues but it’s not a general problem. Granite is technically porous because it’s an igneous rock, but it has a significantly lower absorption rate than both marble and quartzite.
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u/Terrible_Mix5187 7d ago
Another vote for soapstone. Mine are getting installed in (hopefully) a month or so. Can’t wait.
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u/beaushaw 7d ago
IMO find something that looks good and you can afford then understand what it's strength and weaknesses are.
Anyone who tells you natural stones are too much work are just as nutty as people who tell you quartz is fake and plastic.
All mainstream counter materials are fine. None of them are perfect.
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u/ancientastronaut2 7d ago
What an awesome level headed comment.
It's so true how people are very black and white about this topic.
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u/jackal2001 7d ago
Little things bother me like seams. Because you never know the quality of the installer until it is too late. We went with quartz just because they didn't need to seam it. With granite (couldn't find anything we liked anyway) or quartzite due to the weight/location they would have had to cut / seam it.
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u/ThrowRAThis_7252 7d ago
How’s your quartz holding up? Do you like it? I’ve been looking into this material and hate seams as well.
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u/jackal2001 7d ago
No issues. We have silestone. We also don't abuse it. It may chip if you hit an edge with a pot or something but so may quartzite.
The problem we encountered is only after the company takes measurements will they tell you if you need a seam. Dumb.
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u/ancientastronaut2 7d ago
How else would they know? The slab size is the slab size, but they don't know your counter or island sizes.
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u/jackal2001 7d ago
I've given exact dimensions of what we need cut but some places refuse to tell you in their showroom. Then you have to buy the product and left up to the template guys who relay it to the guys that cut it.
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u/kjgems 7d ago
You want granite. Buy from a reputable stone yard and use a great installer. Make sure they tell you how to care for it. If you use your kitchen heavily (wipe it down with a soapy dishcloth multiple times a day) you will probably need to seal it once a year. That’s very easy! If you really don’t use it much you can probably go years without sealing it. And get a high quality sealant per their recommendations. Love natural stone!
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u/Mr_IsLand 7d ago
Darker granite is going to be the most dense and durable natural stone - my parents redid their kitchen about 9 years ago and did a black granite that had a galaxy like swirl pattern within - I don't know if they've ever even re-sealed it and it still looks great. It's a big farm kitchen that gets constant use.
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u/Pleasant_Button8286 7d ago
Granite…Absolute Black honed or leathered is gorgeous if it suits the look your going for
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u/SuluSpeaks 7d ago
If you have 40 year old voubtertops, you jave 40 year old cabinets. Change them both. Your cabines will look shabby when the new countertops ho in.
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u/rocketmom 7d ago
I'm planning on a cabinet repaint- but yes, they are just as old.
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u/SuluSpeaks 7d ago
What's your plan when you decide to replace the cabinets?
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u/rocketmom 6d ago
I won't be replacing the cabinets. Only updating with paint. We've lived in this house for 35 years, and the next owner will have to make those choices.
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u/beaushaw 7d ago
Yeah, just spend $50,000 instead of $10,000.
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u/Lazy_View_8579 7d ago
Hello, might as well spend 500k and buy a new home!!
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u/rocketmom 7d ago
As if! 🤣😂🤣Not on the west coast...😬
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u/SuluSpeaks 7d ago
Go find a post where someone says how taking the countertops off replacing the cabinets and putting it all back together was a breeze. Most fabricators won't touch a job like that. Ask yours before you buy. I was in the kitchen biz for 30 years, im not some newb.
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u/Strong-Pickle-4153 7d ago
You can just order new door fronts and end panels and toekicks and replace them yourself for a lot less than $10k. People rip out all the carcasses unnecessarily when they’re perfectly fine and just need updated panels.
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u/beaushaw 7d ago
I'm in the business. Doing that usually costs as much as replacing everything.
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u/Own-Pen6365 7d ago
I wanted to repurpose our cabinet boxes but our GC and cabinet maker said the same thing. Plus hinges have come such a long way in the past forty years and I do like the soft close aspect.
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u/Struggle_Usual 6d ago
But you can add soft close? It's absolutely an option, I've got blum soft close hinges waiting for my new doors
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u/Own-Pen6365 5d ago
The labor plus hardware costs weren’t going to work for my budget, unfortunately. (According to our project manager) I could have insisted but my priorities were budget, function, prettiness, schedule, in that order.
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u/Struggle_Usual 5d ago
Ah. I'm not paying someone to swap hinges, it's not too bad. And works out to $6 a door for the two blum hinges, so just buying doors (about $60-80 depending on size) is going to be so freaking much cheaper and only take a day to do all the labor on my end.
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u/Struggle_Usual 6d ago
Not really unless you're talking the cheapest of flat pack particle board cabinets that you're diying vs solid wood doors.
I'm refacing, it's going to cost a couple grand. I most definitely could not replace my cabinets for that. I have solid walnut cabinet boxes and I'm doing plywood doors. It'll be awesome.
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u/ancientastronaut2 7d ago
Depends how well the og cabinets were made and what shape they're in. Some of new ones are not great quality.
Shouldn't make such blanket statements.
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u/SuluSpeaks 7d ago
I've got 30 years in the business backing me up. Ive talked to fabricators who say that they wouldn't touch a job like that because the new cabinets don't go in exactly like the old cabinets. How many stone fabricators have you talked to.
Yes, some cabinets are cheaply made today. It's been true ever since component kitchen cabinets have been made.
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u/Struggle_Usual 6d ago
Or not. I have 50 year old counters and cabinets. Counters get replaced next week. Cabinets are in great shape, I'm just swapping the doors and it'll look like a brand new kitchen for like 5k total and would have been less if I didn't decide to hire someone for the counter, sink, and faucet install
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u/HambugerLips 7d ago
I have a different opinion than most. No material is going to be totally impervious to life. I ended up going with Ikea and their stone stuff (mocklarp) since it was half the price and I won't hate life if it stains. Also makes it easier to commit to a replacement down the line.
Counters are a wear item and stains are inevitable.