Advise requested, thinking of remodeling our kitchen

[usregimechange]

What kind of counter top should we get? Experiences? Thoughts?

[bluesbassman]

1. A flat level one.

Oranges will roll off the other kind. :P

[femmocrat]

2. We re-did our kitchen last year and got granite.

We love it. Home Depot had the best prices in our area.

[OriginalGeek]

11. Amen to that

I looked at a LOT of counter tops when we did our house remodel about 5 years ago. 5 years later the granite counter top and kitchen cabinets are the only part of the house remodel that I am still completely satisfied with. I love the way it looks, the way it feels, the way it didn't fall apart like the all the crap done by the other contractor.

We had a general contractor add a bathroom, back porch, do some new wiring and painting and gut the kitchen but we had the Lowes people do the actual cabinets and counter top. (Lowes won out by a few dollars over Home Depot but I bet I would have been just as happy with HD). Lowes just hires sub-contractors for that stuff I'm sure but they were professional, expeditious, and did beautiful work.

If Original Geek ever finds that other contractor OG is gonna have to strangle a mofo.

But the granite is just so cool it almost makes me forget the multitude of fuck ups by the other guy.


Now I am stressing about moving - I probably can't take my granite top with me and I'm gonna miss it.


But the new place will get a kitchen remodel very shortly after we get there and I'm calling the same people to do it. I mean the granite people and the Lowes people.

That other guy can fall brown-eye down on a bottle of Axe for all I care.

[Major Nikon]

3. There are advantages and disadvantages to all of them

What is most important?

Ease of maintenance?

Cost?

Durability?

Style?

Utilitarian?

[usregimechange]

4. Increasing resale value and durability

[Major Nikon]

6. It's hard to get back what you put into a kitchen remodel

Unless your kitchen is in really bad shape relative to the rest of the house, your chances of recouping your investment aren't good, but the good news is you'll probably lose less on a kitchen remodel than other things, like a pool for instance. Assuming the kitchen is in need of remodeling, if you plan on selling in the short term, I would try to get out as cheap as you can while staying consistent with the price level of the home. If the kitchen doesn't really need remodeling, you might be better off increasing the curb appeal of the home. If you think you might keep the home for a decade or more, I'd put in what I really wanted and wouldn't worry too much about the effect on resale.

For the ultimate in durability, consider stainless steel.

[Major Nikon]

7. dupe

[Gidney N Cloyd]

5. From what I've heard, getting a divorce upfront is probably cheaper.

[Major Nikon]

8. Not as cheap as a hunting trip gone awry

Just sayin'

[csziggy]

9. I lusted after soapstone counters but they are too expensive

And these days as with most stone, they are being imported from various countries. The names of stone counters may have nothing to do with the actual mineral content - they call it whatever it looks most like. So a Brazilian "soapstone" or granite may not actually be those stones, have the characteristics of real soapstone or granite, or have anything to do with the real stone in any way other than somewhat resembling them.

I considered a phenolic counter (I think that was the name) - they are the soapstone substitute now used in most labs these days and are fairly cheap. You usually cannot get them from kitchen counter places but can order them online from companies that supply them to schools and laboratories. They have a lot of the characteristics of soapstone - don't react to acids or bases, scratches can be buffed out, and are pretty indestructible. The logistics just didn't work out for me.

I ended up with porcelain tile counters in a very dark blue black that at a glance resembles soapstone but cost a fraction of what the real thing would have cost. Even the building inspector thought they were real stone when he came for the final inspection. We used 18" tiles with a wide edge that has a bullnose. Since the tiles are perfectly square, the tile guy used very small grout lines and we chose the darkest blue/purple/black grout available. I knead bread and roll out pastry right on the counter and have not problems with crap getting into the grout.

The tile is Crossville Color Blox Two "I've Got the Blues". Here is one of the bathroom cabinets with the same tile:

[Ineeda]

10. For a green countertop

and for style, I'd choose Vetrazzo http://www.vetrazzo.com/eng which is recycled glass, or Cambria http://www.cambriausa.com/ which is quartz. Both are made in the US. Maybe I'd go for stained concrete. I don't know how any of these options compare, pricewise, but I like the eco-friendly and US made aspects, in addition to the look.