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We have granite in Tropic Brown. We absolutely LOVE it! People always mention that granite has to be sealed, and it does, but the procedure takes no time at all and only has to be done once or twice a year. That hardly makes it high maintenance.
We got the polished finished, so in the right light and at the right angle, it does show some fingerprints (not unlike mirror or glass) and streaks, but it is easily wiped off with a damp rag followed by a dry one.
We've had it for 3 years and it looks better than it did when we had it put in. It gets many rave reviews from friends, neighbors and family. I would personally recommend it if it is in your budget.
I have Granite and it is zero maintenance - I never have to seal my granite. My fabricator polishes the stone to an extremely fine surface finish, and then they use an oliophobic impregnator on the stone.
Marble Institute of America: Industry and Professional Resources - Technical Bulletins: Sealing Natural Stone (http://www.marble-institute.com/industryresources/sealing.cfm - broken link)
It seals the stone against waters and oils for 15+ years and the high surface finish prevents anything from entering the stone anyway, and does not require the maintenance that other finishes require. I think most high-end fabricators in my area do this, and ours actually uses it on all levels of their stone.
So that nullifies any comments about Granite being high maintenance for me. For us, we chose granite because we didn't think any of the man-made stones could match that exotic look of natural stone. They look nice, but none of the colors made us say "wow" like the granite did. Our kitchen is done with Volga Blue granite, and the counters look amazing - it's a black base with gray veining and iridescent blue/silver spots all over. I'm sure there are plenty of situations where quartz and silestone look great, but for us the granite look blew us away.
We saw some amazing soapstone over the weekend. It really is beautiful. It is classic and elegant. It does not detract from the cabinets. If we were to choose a new countertop it would definitely be soapstone. Unfortunately we have a lot to do before we do that. Jay
We saw some amazing soapstone over the weekend. It really is beautiful. It is classic and elegant. It does not detract from the cabinets. If we were to choose a new countertop it would definitely be soapstone. Unfortunately we have a lot to do before we do that. Jay
We recently renovated our entire kitchen, ended up choosing white maple painted cabinets and soapstone countertops. The countertops are the showpiece of the kitchen - like a work of art. We were daring with the type of veining we wanted, and it really paid off.
I've been placing pots of boiling hot water on the soapstone, no mark whatsoever. We haven't even had any scratches yet - it's not as "soft" as some people warned it might be - and we are renovating around the entire first floor (screwdrivers have been dropped on it, chisels and hammers placed on it, not a single mark). And really, it FEELS wonderful.
I wonder if I can safely roll cookie dough directly on it, it's definitely a nice cool surface...
More scare tactics from someone looking to make a buck. The amount of radiation given off in a year by a stone countertop is significantly less than the amount you exposed yourself to while typing your reply to this thread on your computer. If this worries you that much, shut off your computer and never go near it again. Jay
I wouldn't believe every single thing you read on Snopes. Granite gives off 0.0000037% (yes, that's a lot of zeroes) the concentration of radiation that is contained in regular outside air, that same air you breathe every second of your life. So if you want to start being afraid of granite due to radiation, maybe you should stop breathing as well.
Read the Technical Bulletin: Marble Institute of America: Industry and Professional Resources - Technical Bulletins: The Truth About Granite & Radon/Radiation (http://www.marble-institute.com/industryresources/techbulletin_0307truthradongranite.cfm - broken link)
Cited from a Marble Institute of America Technical Bulletin, that contains professional sources.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marble Institute of America
Q: How much radon is given off by a granite countertop, and how does this compare with other household materials? A: The average contributions of radon from various sources to indoor air are shown in the pie chart above. For this chart, the total radon is just over 2 pCi/L. Calculations show that, for an average countertop, containing an average uranium concentration of 4 ppm, the concentration of radon that is given off by the countertop into household air is 0.00000074 pCi/L, an amount that is 270,000 times less than the level of radon in outside air! The granite countertop typically emits a radiation level of 5-10 µR/hr. So the maximum contact radiation level that you would receive over one year if you were to sit on countertop all the time would be about one quarter of the annual radiation dose from all sources. If you were just a few inches away from the granite (e.g. when doing the dishes), then the dose would be too low to measure.
Q: What about food that is prepared directly on the granite surface? Is there a chance that it could absorb radioactive energy, which would later be ingested by those eating the food? A: The only way that radioactive elements such as uranium can get into the food is if they became dissolved in water and absorbed by the food. However, granite is one of the most insoluble materials known to mankind and the amount that could be dissolved is minute in comparison to the radioactive elements that are already in the food (in meat or from uptake by soil or air-borne particles during growth). Radioactive energy (α, β and γ rays) given off at the granite surface will enter food that is directly in contact with the surface but, like all energetic rays, it changes into heat and/or non-radioactive particles. For instance, microwaves and γ rays turn into heat, α and β particles become helium atoms and electrons, respectively. These processes happen quickly and so the radiation does not remain in the food.
SORRY i had it all and for me it is custom granite. We picked out a new granite that was so new on the market, luv luv luv it, it is maintaince free, does not stain, easy to take care of, and always looks good. I buy granite cleaner from lowes, and always polish my granite, even though it does not need it. I am a clean freak ok. My color is tans, beige, browns, rusts, gold, in the most beautiful pattern, nothing you see in Lowes or Home Depot has anything like my granite. Picked it from a granite yard in ORANGE COUNTY. Hate tile and grout, hated corian, it scratches, silestone is fine, but i still prefer a beautiful granite, and for resale that is a good selling point. My granite does not stain, and if you see a spot on granite it cleans up so easily, i would look at all that is out there if i was you, get samples if you can, nothing like seeing a sample in your own home. Our 18 inch full backsplash picked up 2 of the colors in the granite, and we did a horizontial tile and granite for the backsplash, husband did it and it is so beautiful, every one thinks we had it done, but hubby did the backspalsh. The 2 color tiles and the granite make the whole kitchen pop. But if you prefer a silestone there is a lot too choose from also. GOOD LUCK Hope this helps.
There is some really nice looking granite out there but because everybody has it, it's like the same ol same ol. Mustard stains on granite. So if you are using it you have to be careful. Quartz would be my choice since it's beautiful and you don't see it in every house out there.
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