# Kitchen counters



## harleysilo (Jun 19, 2006)

I suggest you figure out the square feet of your current counter tops, and then go to H.D. or Lowe's and price out the granite or whatever type you are interested in, and see if you can afford it cause it's not inexpensive.


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## J187 (May 19, 2006)

If you are talking RELATIVELY inexpensive, you will be pretty much limtted to formica and other laminates. If you are talking about actual inexpensive, you are going to be limited to In-stock laminates at the local Home IMprovement store.

Granite, is REALLY expensive. Seriously, up to $100 or so PER SQUARE FOOT! Other natural stones like Corian etc, are right on it's coat tails.


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## ><(((jan(((D> (Aug 28, 2006)

laminates have come a long way though, there are definilty some that look like granite, which is what i'm doing in my house. stone is really nice but rediculously expensive. sometimes you can find "scrap" slabs if you dont have much to cover for a smaller price.


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## jerome8283 (Apr 14, 2006)

Hey guys,

I'm back to upgrading my countertops. I'm also going to be replacing my appliances. Do I replace the appliances first or do the counters? If you view the pictures above, the range and refrigerator are the two appliances where countertop meets appliance. The refrigerator is next to the range between a small counter space which can be partly seen in the picture. Would it really matter if I replaced the appliances first or do the countertops? I'm not planning to change the layout at all.


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## Termite (Apr 13, 2008)

harleysilo said:


> I suggest you figure out the square feet of your current counter tops, and then go to H.D. or Lowe's and price out the granite or whatever type you are interested in, and see if you can afford it cause it's not inexpensive.


Home Depot and Lowes are the_ last_ two places you'd ever want to buy granite or solid surface countertops, unless you have a money tree in the back yard. 

They're considerably higher than nearly all other sources. For example, I recently sought bids for a 29"x96" granite countertop with two undermount sinks and polished bullnose edges. I emailed my price request (with dimensional specifics as well as the type of granite) to about a dozen suppliers, as well as visiting a few. Home Depot and Lowes were both about $2300. The rest of the quotes ranged from $950 to $1850 FOR THE EXACT SAME COUNTERTOP, including installation. I went with the low bidder and couldn't be happier with the overall experience and the product they produced. 

The box stores' special order and installation services my be convenient, but they're geared towards folks that want one-stop shopping and very little involvement in the process of having something installed.


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## Termite (Apr 13, 2008)

jerome8283 said:


> Hey guys,
> 
> I'm back to upgrading my countertops. I'm also going to be replacing my appliances. Do I replace the appliances first or do the counters? If you view the pictures above, the range and refrigerator are the two appliances where countertop meets appliance. The refrigerator is next to the range between a small counter space which can be partly seen in the picture. Would it really matter if I replaced the appliances first or do the countertops? I'm not planning to change the layout at all.


Unless you're wanting to change the cabinets or the sizes of the appliances, which you do first is up to you. If the appliances' dimensions will change, do them first, then the countertops.


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## jerome8283 (Apr 14, 2006)

thekctermite said:


> Unless you're wanting to change the cabinets or the sizes of the appliances, which you do first is up to you. If the appliances' dimensions will change, do them first, then the countertops.


I'm not planning to change cabinets or appliance size, I hope.


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## jerome8283 (Apr 14, 2006)

thekctermite said:


> Home Depot and Lowes are the_ last_ two places you'd ever want to buy granite or solid surface countertops, unless you have a money tree in the back yard.
> 
> They're considerably higher than nearly all other sources. For example, I recently sought bids for a 29"x96" granite countertop with two undermount sinks and polished bullnose edges. I emailed my price request (with dimensional specifics as well as the type of granite) to about a dozen suppliers, as well as visiting a few. Home Depot and Lowes were both about $2300. The rest of the quotes ranged from $950 to $1850 FOR THE EXACT SAME COUNTERTOP, including installation. I went with the low bidder and couldn't be happier with the overall experience and the product they produced.
> 
> The box stores' special order and installation services my be convenient, but they're geared towards folks that want one-stop shopping and very little involvement in the process of having something installed.


This is what I've heard as well.


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## mgsproperties (Jul 20, 2008)

if u want to install granite on a low budget try pre-fab granite. you can purchase 8' for as low as $175


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## Mickey53 (Aug 12, 2008)

I just went through the quote process on replacing counter tops in our kitchen. About 49 Suare Feet with a full bullnose edge. HD was about $3K with sink, Lowes about $3.5K with sink and the "countertop" store was about $6300. All quoting Corian and the same sink.
The "countertop" store may have been cheaper if I wanted Granite or Marble. I chose the Corian over Granite, Marble and Quartz because of durability and the reduced amount of maintenance.
May be different in other places - but this was my experience from last week.


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## mgsproperties (Jul 20, 2008)

Please don't use HD or Lowe's for countertops installs, they are horrible. They sub out and they don’t care for the product at all. 49 SF of Corian should cost you around 3000-3500 not 6300. But as far as material goes Ceaser stone is a much better product if you want man made, or granite if you don’t.


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## baksdak (Mar 6, 2008)

I recently remodeled our kitchen. Major changes being the countertop and backsplash.

Before pics can be seen here
http://www.diychatroom.com/showthread.php?t=21622

After pics here
http://www.diychatroom.com/showthread.php?t=23612

The granite tile was about 12 bucks a sq ft, and the edging was about 40 bucks a linear ft.


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## 47_47 (Sep 11, 2007)

mgsproperties said:


> But as far as material goes Ceaser stone is a much better product if you want man made, or granite if you don’t.


What is Ceasar stone?


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## EdinDesign (Jul 29, 2008)

CeasarStone is quartz - a manmade stone countertop. Other names/brands for this type of counter you may have heard: SileStone or HanStone. This a great counter surface because it doesn't require the care that a granite or marble counter would, yet it has all the benefits (i.e., can safetly place a hot pot on it without concern, solid surface).

Here is a photo of a kitchen I designed/remodeled - I used a SileStone on the counter that looked a great deal like Brazilian Brown granite:


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## 47_47 (Sep 11, 2007)

Thanks, Ed. I plan to redo my kitchen next year and will keep this product in mind.


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## mgsproperties (Jul 20, 2008)

Nice pictures, great work edin design.


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## modgup73 (Nov 16, 2010)

*Hanstone Quartz Countertop Bad Experience*

Be careful if you want to use Hanstone quartz for your contertops because the slabs sold to your installer do not match the samples they advertise. I had my countertops made from Autumn Leaf and the aggregate size supplied was smaller than what was in both of the samples I looked at. Smaller aggregate size it cheaper. They are cheating consumers. I took my complaint all the way to the Hanstone and they simple said "get over it". I'll never buy Hanstone again.


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