My wife and I are building a new house, and the kitchen is pretty large. There is at least 100 sq ft of counter space which is going to be very expensive. We were going to go with granite, but since we're on a fairly tight budget we also have been looking at the new and improved laminates countertops, mainly from Wilsonart. I was wondering if any of you have used them, or have heard any pros/cons.

TIA!

http://samples.wilsonart.com/c-86-passage.aspx

 

What's the per sq. ft cost on this stuff?

I've seen it, it looks OK. Must better than the laminate stuff.

 

They're okay. I use to build these not too long ago while I was between jobs. Stay away from any of the 'high-gloss' ones though. They show scratches and scuff marks a lot.

 

I was just coming in to ask that. My feeling is that granite is probably not much more per square foot, and when you put that into a 30-year mortgage, the difference is incredibly negligible, however, the advantage of having granite (especially for resale) is tremendous...

 

We have the Wilsonart Granite finish stuff. It looks okay. However, we have squared edges, which is the noticeable part compared to granite. They wanted to charge us $5500 to upgrade to granite. We figured it would probably cost no more than $3000 to have it done. We have a tiny kitchen.

 

Thanks for the feedback guys. I don't know what it is per square foot yet. We are going to the store today to take a look around. I'll report back what I find.

 

My guess is that the laminate will be significantly cheaper than granite for both materials and labor - maybe 1/2 the price. Still, you need to decide if the cost savings/difference is worth it, especially since you are building a new house which you will likely be in for several years at least.

Another thing is to consider what other material and appliances you are using to see that they go together. If you're putting in high end appliances, maple or cherry cabinets, etc. they the laminate counters would detract from everything else. If you're going with white cabinets and lower/mid level appliances, they the laminate counters would be just fine.

As far as quality of the material, I've seen them use it quite a bit on many of the home improvement shows. They have come a long way in recent years, so I wouldn't be too concerned with how the laminate counters will hold up. They should be fine.

Keep us updated.

 

You could always go with granite tiles vs a granite slab to save some cash as well.

 

*update* Okay we went to several stores today and looked around and got some ball park bids. The laminate is only about $8 a sq ft installed. That is a lot cheaper than I thought. The cheapest granite slab is going to be about $55+ a sq ft installed. We never considered granite tiles, but we saw some today that were really nice, and were only about $17 a sq ft installed. We are going to have SS appliances and maple cabinets so I think this is the way to go. I'll keep you posted, thanks again for the input!

 

How about concrete? Or Stainless Steel (restaurant kitchen style)?

 

It's a personal thing, but I'm not a fan of granite tiles for countertops. I like the idea of a solid, constant surface and not having to worry about grout lines. Something to consider if you haven't.

 

That's what our thoughts were as well. But today when we were at the tile store we looked at their displays and they had very large granite tiles spaced very closely together. If they are sealed correctly the grout really isn't a problem. We haven't made a firm decision but we think that's a good compromise between laminate and solid granite. We are totally down the tubes on the budget already so if we can save $4k right now that would really help.

 

We looked at concrete but there aren't many installers here and the price is pretty close to granite, and requires the same sealing etc.

 

Are you sure on the installed cost of the laminate? I knew it would be quite a bit cheaper than granite, but that seems way too low. While not the best place to shop for counters, I saw the WilsonArt HD at Lowes for $20 sf, and I don't think that included installation. If your $8/sf installed price is accurate, then I'd probably go that route and upgrade down the road. Granite tiles are also alright if you have a good installer. It's much more important and difficult to get granite tiles leveled and lined up exactly vs ceramic/pocelain tiles.

 

The price does seem low. We got a price of around $10/sq. ft for Wilsonart standard countertops, and that did not include installation. I'm assuming the Wilsonart HD is more expensive than the standard line.

 

I know I'm a little late getting in on this thread but here are my

We renovated our kitchen a few years ago and ended up going with Sile Stone counter tops and an under mounted sink. Sile Stone (man made, crushed quartz) is similar to granite but only a little more than formica. It comes in full slabs so there are no seams and it can resist hot pots & pans being set on them and don't need to be sealed yearly like granite.

Having the under mounted sink is great and makes cleaning up very simple.

 

We had Silestone in our last house and liked it. But because petroleum products have gotten so expensive in the last year it now costs about the same as granite. Silestone requires less maintenance and has built in microban, but you just can't replace the unique patterns and colors made by mother nature.

 

Very true!

 

So, have you made a decision?

 

We are going with granite. We found a place here in town that sells large slabs directly to the public that come pre-bullnosed which saves quite a bit of money. We are still framing the house, but when we finally get them in I will be sure to come back and post pics. We should move in around July 1.

Here is the website if anyone is bored.

http://www.shibumitrading.com/

 

We went with the pre-fabricated granite as well and were pretty happy with the results. Just make sure you and/or your installer take a really close look at each slab you plan on using. It is easy to miss scratches or other imperfections in the warehouse. Also, some colors are more fragile than others, which makes them prone to cracking during fabrication - Volga Blue is one of those colors.

Looking forward to updates.