burned by a contractor

We love it, no regrets.

I have a neighbor who has granite and he told us that he wishes he would have went with Corian.

Gotcha, thanks for the input and not giving me hell about it. http://www.thewarpath.net/images/icons/icon10.gif

Looks my wife wins yet again.

I have granite and love the way it looks, no complaints. But to be honest I don't really care what material it is, as long as it looks nice.

granite is expensive if you need a big piece without a seem in it, and I think health wise they aren't as good (from a bacteria stand-point, not the whole radon/gamma radiation thing).

I have corian, as do my parent's, and i'd do it again in a second. they can mold/cut it to any size and it looks great.

I didn't want to start a new thread for this.

My wife and I are buying a new home. We have already found the one we wanted and have placed an offer.

If we get this particular home we will want to redo the countertops and incorporate a bar which would T off of the breakfast bar into the kitchen nook.

I want to use granite as the surface for the counters and both bars. My wife suggested some type of "Stone something or rather" or maybe it was "Something or Rather Stone" (I only listen to half the crap she says). Anyways, whatever this material is that she is talking about is cheaper and does not require sealing.

My question is (If you know what in the hell stuff my wife is talking about) "Would you go with the granite or the other material"?


Edit: Silestone! The crap is called Silestone! Does anyone have any input on this?

The seller accepted my offer yesterday. I am psyched!

granite is expensive if you need a big piece without a seem in it, and I think health wise they aren't as good (from a bacteria stand-point, not the whole radon/gamma radiation thing).

I have corian, as do my parent's, and i'd do it again in a second. they can mold/cut it to any size and it looks great.

This is a myth propogated by the quartz industry. Studies show that the quartz product do exactly what they say...but not any better than granite.

The seller accepted my offer yesterday. I am psyched!
Glade to hear you got the deal and it is exciting time. Is this your first home and ehere is it located? I watch alot of theDIY network and hace you seen the new cement conter tops that they are now doing? Its pretty cool as they can add texture and can do alot with color. I saw one where they took broken glass of all colors and add into the cement mix wich they then buffed out and sealed. It looked pretty cool. This summer I'm going to widen my deck and to cover the current area where the railing attaches to the house we are going to build a bar with a sink. I'm gettin a kit to do a cement counter top to give it a try. I would not try this in my house but I'm sure their are a bunch of contractors now doing cement counter tops.
Concrete Countertop Photos - Live Search Images (http://search.msn.com/images/results.aspx?q=Concrete+Countertop+Photos&FORM=IGRE)#
Here is a link to see what cement counter tops look like.

The seller accepted my offer yesterday. I am psyched!

I assume you're staying in the DC area right? Whereabouts is your new place? It's a great time to buy around here. Congrats!

This is a myth propogated by the quartz industry. Studies show that the quartz product do exactly what they say...but not any better than granite.

by consumer reports?

you have to re-seal granite too.

by consumer reports?

you have to re-seal granite too.

Yeah they are relying on pop-science...basically buying into the solid-surface marketing machine. I have solid surface and it is great...but it isn't any more safe than granite. Especially if you clean your kitchen on a regular basis. And I personally think the sealing issue is way way way overblown. Buy the sealer and wipe it on twice a year. You spend like $10 and 5 minutes of your life a year on the "hassle" of sealing.

Is this your first home and where is it located? .

I assume you're staying in the DC area right? Whereabouts is your new place? It's a great time to buy around here. Congrats!


Thanks!
I am moving from Kensington to Silver Spring. It's only about 8 miles away but this place will be my own, and yes I am a first time buyer. I have waited 2 1/2 years for this (since getting out of the Army).