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We are looking to get Granite Countertops for our kitchen and wanted to get some input from anyone that has or had Granite countertops or someone with maybe works with Granite.
Our original choice was Bianco Antico: Bianco Antico Granite Slab
but the fabricator that we went to told us this Granite chips / cracks very easy and now we are confused because I was always under the impression that Granite is strong.
We're going with Quartz countertops for our house. My Dad deals with guys in the industry and they all say Quartz is the new granite. Onyx is literally 0 maintenance where granite does have maintenance.
I hear good things about quartz but with it's price tag I am not even considering it. I got quoted $40 for square foot for granite and I can't pass on that deal.
We're going with Quartz countertops for our house. My Dad deals with guys in the industry and they all say Quartz is the new granite. Onyx is literally 0 maintenance where granite does have maintenance.
This. We went with Quartz because since it's a non-porous material it's truly no maintenance. When we were looking at counter tops we found a granite manufacturer that claimed their sealant was lifetime, but I didn't want to chance it. Besides, we liked the way quartz looked more than the granite we sampled, and it was a little cheaper.
Originally Posted by Jakes_tl
I hear good things about quartz but with it's price tag I am not even considering it. I got quoted $40 for square foot for granite and I can't pass on that deal.
Make sure you sample the slabs they order for you before they do anything to them. Our installer had us come in and inspect the Quartz slabs for our kitchen, which I appreciated. There were no issues, but it's better safe than sorry. You don't want to catch any issues with your tops post install!!
Actually i get to choose the actually slab. They have the slabs at their warehouse / yard. Just wanted to see if anyone had any issues with the lighter colors chipping / cracking or staining.
Our granite gets an hour of my time once a year. So "maintenance" doesn't add up to much.
The onyx stuff is very cool though.
What is the re-sealing process like? How soon are the counters usable after you've done what you need to do to them? What scared my wife away from granite was that multiple installers/dealers warned us that spills shouldn't be left to sit as staining can occur even when the tops are sealed (it sounded like the sealant just bought some time to clean up). My wife is notorious for being a messy cook/baker and doesn't always clean up right away, and then add two toddlers to the mix... .
Originally Posted by Jakes_tl
Actually i get to choose the actually slab. They have the slabs at their warehouse / yard. Just wanted to see if anyone had any issues with the lighter colors chipping / cracking or staining.
I know that is a great deal. Having a hard time deciding between Bianco Antico and Alaskan White.
Just pick the color you like. For the most part, granite is granite since it's a stone. Any stone can chip with the right angle and amount of force applied and generally the more intense the pattern is, the easier it is to chip since the stone will likely cleave on that pattern. This does not at all mean that it'll chip easily though. I know people with really nice, intense looking stone that have zero issues. If you aren't banging on the stone and abusing it, you'll be fine with whatever.
As far as sealing goes, just clean it off and reapply a sealer. The sealer fills in the pores of the stone and prevent spills from soaking in. If you have a good sealant then it should be just fine. FWIW, no sealer is lifetime. I would have walked after hearing that.
Also, if you want my opinion on what to get...get the Bianco. The Galaxy looks like poop when it's all over your countertop, makes the whole place look dark. It looks stellar (pun intended) for a bar top though.
Make sure you seal it. I work in a tool & die shop and the guy who resurfaces our surface plates 2X a year says he would not have the stuff in a kitchen.
Make sure you seal it. I work in a tool & die shop and the guy who resurfaces our surface plates 2X a year says he would not have the stuff in a kitchen.
It will be sealed from the installer and I will plan on resealing it at least once a year because I do not want stained Granite. Just curious why he said he would not have this stuff in his kitchen?
Makes sure you know what you're getting for $40/sq. is that installed?
Granite quality varies a lot. Is the installer reputable?
How do you tell the difference between quality of granite? I know the color and design varies because it's a natural stone but I don't think that says a lot about quality.
Make sure you seal it. I work in a tool & die shop and the guy who resurfaces our surface plates 2X a year says he would not have the stuff in a kitchen.
It's in millions of homes. It's been the "high-end" choice for decades. I think it'll be fine.
Had them installed at the last house before we put it on the market, got UbaTuba granite, and a tiered sink (wish my new house came with this style sink). i think total we did for around $1,800, sink was Craigslist brand new in the box still, faucet was a close out at HD, and the granite was like $35/sf installed.
If we had stayed there the only thing i would have different is a different style faucet, still wish i had the sink thing was huge on the deep side.
I'm sure we will be fine. I love the look of granite. My goal is to do everything on my part to keep it from staining and chipping. I know I could go with the Black Galaxy and not have to worry about staining but the lighter colors look so much better and show the beauty of granite.
Had them installed at the last house before we put it on the market, got UbaTuba granite, and a tiered sink (wish my new house came with this style sink). i think total we did for around $1,800, sink was Craigslist brand new in the box still, faucet was a close out at HD, and the granite was like $35/sf installed.
If we had stayed there the only thing i would have different is a different style faucet, still wish i had the sink thing was huge on the deep side.
That looks great! I totally agree the sink looks awesome! My fabricator did tell me to be careful with the sink because they all say stainless steel but most are made in china and quite a bit of them rust / stain in the bottom.
We were told similar when looking at stainless sinks to be careful about quality. A friend of ours has a "cheap" stainless sink and the first time they left any dishes in it to soak it stained. They claim that they can't get the stain out...not sure what they've tried when it comes to cleaners though.
That looks great! I totally agree the sink looks awesome! My fabricator did tell me to be careful with the sink because they all say stainless steel but most are made in china and quite a bit of them rust / stain in the bottom.
Yeah we or really the new owners got lucky the sink off craigslist we got was this one, i would have bought it no matter what though for the price the guy was selling it for $50.
I don't think they sealed my countertops because I have some "white crap around the sink area."
My wife originally wanted a farmhouse sink, but I didn't want to deal with having to modify the cabinets. We're both very happy with the sink we picked, so it's all good.
It will be sealed from the installer and I will plan on resealing it at least once a year because I do not want stained Granite. Just curious why he said he would not have this stuff in his kitchen?
Porous, he likened it to an old wood breadboard. He had a crosscut section of old surface plate and you could see where the oil had soaked in about .600". I think he was a little on the paranoid side. Maybe when he comes in next time I will show him this article; Granite Countertops a Recipe for Danger?. Maybe I can push him over the edge.
I have heard that in the past that granite has / had Radon but I am not sure how much of that is true. Doesn't seem to be much of a problem because granite is a very good seller.
Anyone have a cooktop with their granite countertops? My fabricator said they will have to cut out the cooktop on site because granite can crack during transport.
Anyone have a cooktop with their granite countertops? My fabricator said they will have to cut out the cooktop on site because granite can crack during transport.
My inlaws old house did, when they came to install it the cut it out right there on site. Also, watching all these home shows that's how they do it too.
I have read online that with the lighter color granite it is a good idea to go with a 3/8" radiused edge or half bullnose to avoid chipping. We will probably go with 3/8" and thinking about doing the same thing around the sink.
From what I was told that darker granite is stronger because it's more solid - in other words lighter granite has more veins / design and that makes it more prone to chipping / cracking.
When we were at the granite shop the other week the fabricator showed me how easy Bianco Anitco chipped (whiter colored) and i was shocked. I was always under the impression that all granite was solid but boy was I wrong.
From what I was told that darker granite is stronger because it's more solid - in other words lighter granite has more veins / design and that makes it more prone to chipping / cracking.
When we were at the granite shop the other week the fabricator showed me how easy Bianco Anitco chipped (whiter colored) and i was shocked. I was always under the impression that all granite was solid but boy was I wrong.
lol, I figured granite was granite. I guess I'm not sold on how easy it is to chip it. My parents have medium (grayish) colored granite in their kitchen and it has been perfect without any chips or cracks. My mom cooks a lot with big pans so it's not exactly babied either. I plan on getting granite in my kitchen when we remodel next year.
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I totally agree the sink looks awesome! My fabricator did tell me to be careful with the sink because they all say stainless steel but most are made in china and quite a bit of them rust / stain in the bottom.
