kitchen countertop- concrete, Corian, other?

[Sccritterkiller]

We did granite in 2010ish...my buddy owns a granite shop so got to pick the 3 slabs that were needed to do our kitchen. 13 years later it's held up fine no issues...thats says a lot considering I currently have teenage boys...

 

[chaser_2332]

We have marble in the kitchen and granite everywhere else including the outdoor kitchen. Both have been great, went with marble in kitchen strickly for the pattern that slab had. I wouldn’t change any of our selections

 

[Backyard]

Highly recommend a tinted quartz countertop. Granite and others need much more regular maintenance and show signs of use way sooner than quartz.

What kind of regular maintenance am I supposed to be doing to my granite other than sealing it once a year? Which takes all of about 2 hrs.
My granite wasn’t expensive, looks great, and I can put a pan on it right off the stove or out of the oven with no worries.


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[Burnsie]

I love our quartz -sure you can't set hot skillets directly on it, but I couldn't do that with the old formica before our kitchen remodel either. It does not require any annual sealing or maintenance. No stains. They have also improved the manufacturing process with quartz where you can get some real nice patterns similar to natural stone. In the past, there would be varies colors of bits in the product, but it would be a pretty even homogenous mix. Ours has real nice veining and patterns in it.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

What kind of regular maintenance am I supposed to be doing to my granite other than sealing it once a year? Which takes all of about 2 hrs.
My granite wasn’t expensive, looks great, and I can put a pan on it right off the stove or out of the oven with no worries.


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Clean and seal WAY more often than once a year.

 

[Gseith]

Clean and seal WAY more often than once a year.

I had 100sq ft. of granite installed 13 years ago. Unless I got bad advise, but all my information from the installer says don’t seal it for 20 years. They apply some special sealer. It came with a 20 year warranty.
13 years later, all we do is clean it with windex per their instructions.
We like ours, no complaints at all.

 

[journeyman713]

What kind of regular maintenance am I supposed to be doing to my granite other than sealing it once a year? Which takes all of about 2 hrs.
My granite wasn’t expensive, looks great, and I can put a pan on it right off the stove or out of the oven with no worries.


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I only do the 2 hour sealing thing for the outside granite, for UV protection.
For the inside, use the spray-on polish (similar to furniture polish), a couple times a year, not real labor intensive.
It adds a layer of protection to the stone from acidic spills (vinegar, juice, wine), never had a problem, and we've had all of those things spilled from time to time.

 

[sbaker0029]

I did boat loads of looking and researching when I remodeled in 2016. Ultimately decided on granite.
We like not having to baby the granite with hot things, if possible we'll throw a trivet under something hot but most of the time a hot pan comes out of the oven and on to the counter. Usually the same spot and it doesn't show any wear in that area from the repeated heat and use.

Like some else mentioned above, my installers said I wouldn't have to reseal for at least ten years or longer. They also recommended a product called Rock Doctor to clean with and makes them shine and look brand new. Can't tell in picture because the camera focused on the can. Using it once or twice a week or if we have a major spill has kept them in great shape.
If you go the granite route I would highly recommend to pickup some cans.

 

[Gutshot007]

Quartz in our kitchen has been good . Im sure a guy has to sell/donate a kidney to pay for it nowadays .

 

[mplane72]

Not concrete and I had good ones that were poured in place by myself and a friend who is a pro at it. It's just not durable enough. Also has to be sealed often and can stain very easily. Only place I would consider doing concrete again is maybe on some kind of outside bar I did myself to keep cost down.

We just did Quartz, Kick in the nuts as far as cost goes but so far so good. Personally I like the look of granite better but happy wife. Just make sure you talk to the installer about seams on any solid surface.

 

[Eldoradotim]

Just finished building a house, did leathered granite in a charcoal color on back counters and a marble-look white quartz on the island. Love it... modern, looks great, practical.

 

[Backyard]

Clean and seal WAY more often than once a year.

Oh? I guess the manufacturer and the installer were both wrong then. Must have gotten lucky then, as it still looks great after 5 years. Thanks for your insight tho.


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[Wheels]

We went with granite 21 years ago when we built our house, absolutely no regrets, and still looks like the day we had it installed.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

I had 100sq ft. of granite installed 13 years ago. Unless I got bad advise, but all my information from the installer says don’t seal it for 20 years. They apply some special sealer. It came with a 20 year warranty.
13 years later, all we do is clean it with windex per their instructions.
We like ours, no complaints at all.

It depends on the granite and the type of sealer used. Don’t listen to sales guys and “installers” who just want to sell it to you and have you never call them back. You will be getting food, water, bacteria, germs, etc into your stone if you only clean with windex.

Granite is a great choice for the price no doubt and lasts a long time when taken care of properly.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

Oh? I guess the manufacturer and the installer were both wrong then. Must have gotten lucky then, as it still looks great after 5 years. Thanks for your insight tho.


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You don’t know what you don’t know. You’re welcome.

 

[RAAAR]

My wife wants new countertops in the kitchen. Anyone want to share what they went with and how they like it? Anyone wish they went a different way?

Any and all ideas welcome :0

Thanks in advance!

We just got done with our kitchen. Went with granite, called Blue Dune. Came out awesome. Easy to care for and looks good. Used to have Corian. Gross, don't use it.

 

[grfox92]

Not concrete and I had good ones that were poured in place by myself and a friend who is a pro at it. It's just not durable enough. Also has to be sealed often and can stain very easily. Only place I would consider doing concrete again is maybe on some kind of outside bar I did myself to keep cost down.

We just did Quartz, Kick in the nuts as far as cost goes but so far so good. Personally I like the look of granite better but happy wife. Just make sure you talk to the installer about seams on any solid surface.

I sealed mine with Tung Oil. Pour it on and rub it in with micro fiber towel. Once it's all absorbed do it again, and again and again until the oil just sits on top. Then it is fully absorbed all the way through the concrete.

Once you get to that point, water will bead on the surface and the concrete will be impervious to anything staining or soaking in. I needed to apply another coat once a year or every year and a half.

I had those countertops for 4 years before I sold the house and never had a stain. Tung Oil seems to fly under the radar when it comes to finishing concrete countertops. I know people who have pulled their hair out using specialty sealing products that don't seem to work for some reason.

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[mplane72]

I sealed mine with Tung Oil. Pour it on and rub it in with micro fiber towel. Once it's all absorbed do it again, and again and again until the oil just sits on top. Then it is fully absorbed all the way through the concrete.

Once you get to that point, water will bead on the surface and the concrete will be impervious to anything staining or soaking in. I needed to apply another coat once a year or every year and a half.

I had those countertops for 4 years before I sold the house and never had a stain. Tung Oil seems to fly under the radar when it comes to finishing concrete countertops. I know people who have pulled their hair out using specialty sealing products that don't seem to work for some reason.

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Those look nice. Never saw tung oil as an option. It was always specialty sealers that sucked because they had to be food safe and bees wax.

 

[jkensek]

I am building a house and went with granite. We almost switched to quartz because there was so many variations in the line of granite we chose. I don’t think they are all like that but you want to be happy with what you get. Romanix was the line we almost went with but it just wasn’t consistent.

 

[scattergun]

Granite is nice.

Maybe check out something called “compact laminate”, too; tough, low-profile, maintenance-free and has some very nice finishes available in my opinion.