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I did quartz in my last house. It was very pretty but don't drop a glass on it... shatters in a million pieces. I had the same problem with the ceramic floor I put in that kitchen.
Do you mean that the glass shattered into a million pieces? Because I would expect that with almost any countertop.
Or do you mean that the quartz shattered into a million pieces? If that's the case, either it was a huge glass or REALLY cheap quartz. Most resins in quartz are not very brittle.
Starting over, I'd be tempted to put in Formica with a wood bullnose at the front edge, although the wood would need periodic maintenance, no doubt. It's hard to beat Formica for being dish friendly. It can be pretty durable, too, although after sixty seven years, ours look a little worn in spots.
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I chuckled when I read this. We're getting new counters in a couple of weeks. We currently have laminate/Formica with a wood edge at the front. One person I had out to do some work had the nerve to tell me it looked like 1985. Uhmmmm, no. While it might not be a popular style these days, it was in 1996 when I first had it and 2001 when I did it again. Upscale houses in 1996 all had this style unless it was granite. I laughed at the guy internally. As an fyi, the wood edge really hasn't needed much extra maintenance. I wipe it off with a microfiber cloth and soap/water. Once or twice a year I polish it. No worn areas really. Go for it.
I'd consider granite if I lived in a large enough city - in my small town there are only a couple suppliers with middling selection. You really want to be able to pick your specific slab with granite. The advantage of quartz (and corian and formica) is that it is pretty uniform across the slab and picking from samples is usually workable.
I currently have mediocre granite in this house (with pits and chips that I don't think are from abuse) and, should I get around to replacing it, it would definitely be with quartz. I had quartz in the last house and loved it.
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Wait out the 15 years or so it'll take before they need replacing.
See what's popular then.
Our formica tops are 40 years old and still in great shape. No chips, no burns, no cuts. A few scratches here and there but thats it. Oh, and they have rounded corners too. I cannot see the justification of the cost of those fancy tops. It seems that the fancier the kitchen , the less cooking that gets done.
My counter tops (8 years old) are Formica and while not unhappy with them, I want to consider other options. I am especially interested in material with rounded edges. Please offer suggestions and opinions on various materials and maybe a cost guesstimate.
Thanks
Getting new counters in 2 weeks. I wanted quartz when we built the house 17 years ago. It wasn't in the budget. It was a good thing. Quartz options are much more attractive now. Husband and I both weighed all of our options again.
Granite--we didn't want to worry about sealing it.
Wood/butcher block: wouldn't go with out cabinet style at all. Not even a consideration.
Formica: We really needed to upgrade to maintain the value in our house. Our's still looks great in most places. One seam near the sink is more visible lately. You can get different edges now with laminate.
Soapstone: a great material, but the color options are not good for our house
Quartizite: more expensive than quartz and really more problematic with stains. Lots of "fakes" out there.
Marble: no thank you, scratches and stains
Quartz: Yes, please.
Concrete: No, not us.
Cost will depend on how much you need. Some quartz is less than some granite. I did compare the cost at Menard's, Lowes and the local fabricator/installer. Menard's might have been the cheapest for quartz, BUT the options were limited, not brand names, and they didn't measure. That was important to me as we don't really have a typically shaped kitchen. Lowes actually would have cost more than the local guy. The sq. foot cost looked lower for some of the quartz, but it didn't include measuring and installation. In some cases the Lowes price was the same cost/sq foot for the same material, but again it didn't include installation.
Right now quartz is more popular then granite. Flippers never use granite. Last summer I got gray quartz and I still love it. That material is TOUGH!!! Still looks brand new! No scratches, burns visible. No sealing. Just clean with granite surface cleaner. It's about the same price as granite too
We had Formica with a cherry bullnose in our custom 1987 kitchen for 24 years.
Very happy with performance and appearance.
Sold the house.
Now have white quartz, 2011 vintage.
Very happy with performance and appearance.
I did quartz in my last house. It was very pretty but don't drop a glass on it... shatters in a million pieces. I had the same problem with the ceramic floor I put in that kitchen.
I had looked at granite and didn't choose it for 2 reasons: didn't see any patterns I liked and found out you have to periodically wipe some special "polish" on it to seal it. You don't have to do that with quartz. The only thing to avoid with quartz is bleach.
I did like the way they mounted the sink under the countertop. Made it easy to wipe the counter -- straight into the sink.
I was warned against Corian because it is softer than Formica. It will get nicks and dings and scratches if you aren't super careful whenever you put something down on it.
All 3 of these materials can be made with rounded edges. In fact, there are choices for the profile of the edges.
As to cost, I think maybe $2000+ but that was some years ago. Before you go shopping, draw a picture of the outline/shape of your counter and write down the measurements for each side/end. The salespeople should be able to give you an estimate from that.
Added: my current house has Formica with rounded edges. Should be a lot cheaper than quartz or granite.
As long as you wipe it right up, a spill of bleach will do no damage - in my experience. I think it's when you let a puddle of it sit on the counter. I've spilled bleach, and even used a bleach cleaner...no impact at all on my quartz.
Right now quartz is more popular then granite. Flippers never use granite. Last summer I got gray quartz and I still love it. That material is TOUGH!!! Still looks brand new! No scratches, burns visible. No sealing. Just clean with granite surface cleaner. It's about the same price as granite too
It's a bit pricier than most granites. But there are certainly some higher level granites and some lower-level quartzes.
Do you happen to remember the name of the company reproducing the old Formica patterns? I'd consider the white with gold or silver glitter for the next kitchen. Although the boomerang in pink would be a hoot, too. Although, I'd probably not opt for that in pink but maybe green or blue.
Wilsonart does some retro patterns, including the boomerang. We did a teacher break room with boomerang pattern topped tables and red plastic chairs. It didn't cost us any more than the usual woodgrain tops used in the classrooms, but just added a little personality and "fun" to the teacher-only spaces.
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