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Interesting. All very soft choices that will scratch easily.
Limestone - very soft stone you can scratch with a fingernail
Soapstone - a little harder version. At least you need some metal to scratch it.
Stainless Steel - very easily scratched plus it water spots easily and shows fingerprints
Marble - another limestone and quite soft. Plus it stains easily
Wood - scratches easily but can be easily sanded down and re-oiled to refresh
Laminate is harder to scratch than any of these. Soapstone is used in labs because it is resistant to acids and alkalies. The other limestones are vulnerable to acids.
Limestone scratches can be sanded out, however, the overall character of limestone is based on imperfections, so a few scratches are not nearly as noticeable as with other more polished stones. It's one of my favorite things about limestone.
Marble is not used as a primary countertop, but as an accent top to wood, such as a kitchen island.
All porous stones need to be sealed in order to prevent staining. That's a given.
Stainless can also have major scratches taken out, but why would you? Again, it's a character thing. I wouldn't want to eat the food of someone who has stainless countertops without a few scratches to show they're serious cooks, LOL. Commercial kitchens have stainless countertops; there are few disadvantages in comparison to others.
Laminate may be harder to scratch, but it's the easiest to burn and it stains as well. If you put a hot pan on any of the above surfaces, you need not worry too much. We have laminate (WilsonArt) currently and unfortunately, it is starting to come up on the seam, something we're not very happy about.
Limestone scratches can be sanded out, however, the overall character of limestone is based on imperfections, so a few scratches are not nearly as noticeable as with other more polished stones. It's one of my favorite things about limestone.
Marble is not used as a primary countertop, but as an accent top to wood, such as a kitchen island.
All porous stones need to be sealed in order to prevent staining. That's a given.
Stainless can also have major scratches taken out, but why would you? Again, it's a character thing. I wouldn't want to eat the food of someone who has stainless countertops without a few scratches to show they're serious cooks, LOL. Commercial kitchens have stainless countertops; there are few disadvantages in comparison to others.
Laminate may be harder to scratch, but it's the easiest to burn and it stains as well. If you put a hot pan on any of the above surfaces, you need not worry too much. We have laminate (WilsonArt) currently and unfortunately, it is starting to come up on the seam, something we're not very happy about.
Can I ask how long you've had your WilsonArt countertop? We got our's almost a year ago, and haven't had any problems (yet). Thanks!
We've had ours for almost three years. We love the look, just not real happy about the seam coming up. I think it was Lowe's that installed it for us.
Thanks for the response! We had our's installed by a local manufacturer. Since our kitchen is small, he was able to install without any seams. Hopefully it'll hold up! We really like the look of it, and the fact that it's no-maintenance.
i havent read all the posts so i dont know if someone else said this but if you put hot glass on your cold granite it will crack your glass or shader in your hand. Not good if you have kids. but im sure you knew this already. I wouldnt put in granite unless you are planning on selling your home, otherwise i would go for whatever pleases you. I have seen some neat counters made of old doors and old farm table tops.
Tao, I will be interested to see your pics. This might sound like a dumb question, but I am curious as to how the overlay works, in terms of heighth of the countertop?
Quote:
Originally Posted by boucinaround
i havent read all the posts so i dont know if someone else said this but if you put hot glass on your cold granite it will crack your glass or shader in your hand. Not good if you have kids. but im sure you knew this already. I wouldnt put in granite unless you are planning on selling your home, otherwise i would go for whatever pleases you
What kind of hot glass? You don't mean a glass casserole right from the oven, do you? I've done that for years and years with no issues.
Quote:
. I have seen some neat counters made of old doors and old farm table tops.
Tao, I will be interested to see your pics. This might sound like a dumb question, but I am curious as to how the overlay works, in terms of heighth of the countertop?
Google the website. They have pics and show how they do it. I'd like to hear about actual people with a few years of usage with the product, but it may be too new.
I love, love, love silestone and want to never have anything else. I don't usually have strong opinions about these things, but this one I do. It is as sleek looking as granite, is cool to the touch like granite, but doesn't chip, scrathch or scuff, can handle heat, etc. I can't say enough good things about it. It's easy to clean, too, and doesn't need additional care like granite (sealing, etc)
I would not recommend a tile countertop if you do much cooking or baking because it is harder to clean the grout... little crumbs, spills, etc become a big nuisance.
We didn't get the granite overlay after all. The granite overlay quote for 65 sq. ft. of counter surface was about $4700. We can regular granite for that price. So we'll be getting a solid granite countertop as soon as we can afford it (I recently had spinal surgery so we need to pay off the hospital bills first).
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Commercial kitchens have stainless countertops; there are few disadvantages in comparison to others.
