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[Reever]

I'd buy what YOU like? Don't worry about trends, fads and what the neighbor next door has.

[nw614]

Above all, know your dimension and figure out your own square footage. We recently purchased granite countertops and went to at least 6 of the most well known and frequented businesses in our area. Several touted the lowest price per sq. foot but when they came back with a quote, their sq. footage was clearly a way to make more money. I confronted one individual about the discrepancy and she walked away embarrassed and came back only 2 sq foot less. I purchased from the company that was honest from the get go. And God help you if you purchase from Lowes or Home Depot. They farm everything out and sell off your financing (credit purchases) and you start making monthly payments before you get anything and can't refuse to pay or you go to collections. They are horrible to deal with, even store manager or corporate. Google everything on the applications you're interested in....granite needs sealed yearly, marble is VERY porous and stains easily, etc... GOOD LUCK.

P.S. When taking recommendations from friends, ask them questions,like did they know their sq footage, etc or did they just depend on a contractor or fabricator.

[jlkz]

Granite does chip and crack--it's stone! Just let a glass or dish slip out of your hands and drop onto it: CHIP or CRACKs can happen. You can be very careful but accidents happen. And for the one poster, neither myself nor DH has neither sat on nor slept on the granite countertops!!!!

[raining_1]

On 1/22/2015 pattyb1954 said:

There are a lot of options. Laminate (formica) , Granite ,Corian , concrete, stainless steel. The list goes on but the least expensive by far is going to be laminate. It is easy to care for but never cut on it or place a hot dish on it. It comes in so many patterns even ones that really look like granite. The rest are all very pricey. You can most likely look up the price per running foot on all of the options.. I hope this helps.

I have laminate countertops that look exactly like marble, white with beige veining. The edges are done in a cut that is used when doing granite and they really do look like a very expensive natural stone. If budget is an issue, I would look into these before you look at any granite or other stone product. The next thing I would look at is corian.Also very pretty - very easy to care for and no where near as pricey as granite. certainly we would all love to have granite or quartz or marble but that is not practical in everyone's budget.You can have a good time shopping at places like Lowes or Home Depot to learn about all the options before you make any decisions.

[raining_1]

On 4/25/2015 jlkz said: Granite does chip and crack--it's stone! Just let a glass or dish slip out of your hands and drop onto it: CHIP or CRACKs can happen. You can be very careful but accidents happen. And for the one poster, neither myself nor DH has neither sat on nor slept on the granite countertops!!!!

It certainly does crack. I have worked in hospitals all through my career and they would have granite counters that were all chipped and cracked sometimes right in half. And no one even cooked in those kitchens, just got out snacks and drinks for the patients. Now , have they been there for decades? Probably, but eventually, they do chip and break.

[RedTop]

I am in the planning stages of a kitchen remodel right now, and have chosen to go with laminate countertops again. My current laminate countertops were put in when we built this house 33 years ago, and they still look good for their age.

[raining_1]

On 4/25/2015 RedTop said: I am in the planning stages of a kitchen remodel right now, and have chosen to go with laminate countertops again. My current laminate countertops were put in when we built this house 33 years ago, and they still look good for their age.

They can make the new ones so beautiful! They do the edges just like granite and the designs are so close to natural stone you can't see the difference.

Personally, I just can't see paying the thousands of dollars for granite , quartz or marble. It is just not in my genes to spend money like that.

[lizzief]

For us, Corian was the way to go for the kitchen countertops. It looks the same as it did seven years ago when we redid our kitchen, wears like iron, no staining, cracking, etc. I didn't want granite, it's pretty but it's high maintenance. And as a consideration, when you remodel, I believe you should always think about resale and if you're adding or detracting value from the home. In other words, why spend the money if you're not adding value to the home? I don't mean to offend, but laminate isn't a modern choice, and most folks looking to buy a home these days want something more updated. And it's silly, it's actually just a perception, because those same people could turn around and rip out whatever you put in there anyway. Remodeling is difficult, we just finished the rest of the house, and choosing paint colors, bathroom cabinets, fixtures, tile, etc. is overwhelming! My best advice is to not rush into anything, spend lots of time looking at alternatives from different vendors. Lowes and HD are actually a good place to shop for comparison pricing. We had HD do the bathroom cabinets and Quartz countertops with no problem. Make sure you get everything in writing, and don't pay anyone 100% upfront, and don't pay in full until you are entirely satisfied. And have a lot of patience!

[JeanLouiseFinch]

We're in the middle of a modest kitchen updating project right now. A couple of years ago we had new floor tiles installed. This year it's a new countertop, sink, and wall tiles between the underside of the upper cabinets and the countertop. We will not be replacing and cabinetry. In choosing the countertop material, we went back and forth between quartz and acrylic solid surface. The solid surface looked nice, but it will burn and melt if a hot pan is accidentally, or in an emergency, placed on the counter. We opted for quartz and feel good about the decision.

If you don't want to invest the money in a new countertop, there are some other options out there. I think it's Rustoleum that has a product/system that can be applied to an existing laminate countertop to make it look like granite. There's also a method of putting a cap or cover over laminate to give the appearance. The first can be a DIY for the right person and the second is a professional installation.