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Get Corian. Looks better, cheaper, and always repairable. Granite us totally impractical. And unless it's the $150/sq ft, stuff, looks horrible - trailerpark in fact.
Get Corian. Looks better, cheaper, and always repairable. Granite us totally impractical. And unless it's the $150/sq ft, stuff, looks horrible - trailerpark in fact.
Lol at Corian, talk about cheap looking-boring, boring, boring.
we have all granite and I like love it, easy to clean and take care of. Also popular now is the Ceasarstone which we looked at when we were looking at building a house. Very nice and elegant with minimal maintenance
Thanks for all the suggestions. It does appear from the answers that marble may be a problem for some potential buyers. So, we should be prepared for that if we decide to move. The only reason we may move someday is we may decide to live someplace else interesting for a while.
I should have been more clear - we are definitely going to get marble because we decided that what we should get is the stone we want to look at every day. We don't have kids anymore. If we did, then we would surely go for something tough like the manufactured quartz such as Cambria etc.
To our eyes, the marble we picked out is gorgeous and the alternatives just aren't all that. Even though we know it'll be trouble, we're going for it.
Hey, if we were the type to say, sure that's gorgeous, but it's going to be too much trouble, none of us would have ever gotten married, lol.
On a separate note, if you're interested in granite and worried about radon, the amount you can expect in a slab of granite is largely dependent upon where it was quarried.
All radon found today comes from the radioactive decay of radium. All radium found today comes from the radioactive decay of uranium and thorium, but mostly from uranium.
Uranium and thorium are found almost everywhere and even in the soil and seawater, so every breath you take everywhere you go has some radon in it. The only question is, how much.
Granite averages about 30% more uranium than the average rock found in the crust (granite has 4 ppm to crust has 3 ppm). Granite is far from the worst. Some rocks such as volcanic rocks and shale typically have 50-200 times more uranium than granite.
But not all granite is the same, and that's the problem.
Just like rocks from one place may have more gold than rocks from other places, some places have more uranium than others. Certain limestones have such a high concentration of uranium that they are mined for their uranium for nuclear fuel, but you don't hear anyone saying "don't put limestone in your house." It just depends upon the local geology.
You can find on the internet charts of amount of radon released for the various varieties of granite used for countertops.
Most release near zero to negligible amounts, but some rare varieties release much more.
I would be fine with having almost any of the common varieties in the house, but a few varieties I certainly would not want to be around. If you were considering granite, you may wish to pay to have your slab tested before it was cut up just for the peace of mind, and also so you could tell others that you had it tested and it was safe.
Get Corian. Looks better, cheaper, and always repairable. Granite us totally impractical. And unless it's the $150/sq ft, stuff, looks horrible - trailerpark in fact.
You're either a corian salesperson, or a time traveler from the 1990's. LOL!
To the OP, as for marble, unless you never plan to cook in your kitchen, I would avoid it, resale value or no.
Granite is nice, but you have to seal it at least once a year. Some are more porous, and need sealing more often. I had crappy granite in my old home, and hated it. I would go with a better quality. Quartz is most expensive these days from what I hear, but very maintenance free.
We have Corian which was put in n '01 and , IMHO, still looks great. But now, I would go with quartz if doing a remodel. Marble is fine in a bathroom or low traffic area but still worried about stains and having to baby it.
The research I did (and you should research countertop surfaces) said that marble is softer than granite and easier to stain. It's usually also more expensive. I had a chat with my real estate agent before I redid my kitchen because I'm planning to move when I retire in a few years. She told me that in my area, granite countertops are the norm, and if you don't have them, the competition will. I also asked her advice about stainless steel appliances. I wondered whether they might be going out of style and if I got them, would the place look dated in a few years. She said, not in your area. This lady is on top of her game. She helped me buy my place, and she'll help me sell it. I had granite countertops installed. They're gorgeous, and I love them. Bought stainless steel appliances. They look great, although they show spots and fingerprints easily.
Granite countertops can be sealed. Mine don't require anything but wiping off with a damp rag. They'll need to be resealed in ten years, but I'll have moved by then.
If you're upgrading with resale in mind, talk to a real estate agent in your area for advice.
When my wife and I were looking at houses (we are on hiatus now till April) we did not care for marble at all. Our first choice would be Quartz, then Granite. Corian is so dated and scratches and burns and I do not like the look of marble. We have marble in our vacation home bathrooms (it was there when we moved in) and it got stained from some artificial flowers and took forever to remove the stain. Good luck.
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