Counter top questions. Granite??

[Biggsly]

I am looking at having my counter tops replaced. I was thinking of going with granite, but I want to know how much care they need.
Do you guys that have granite have to be careful with them?

What other counter top materials do you guys have and like, or don't like?
Thanks.

 

[Dale00]

Give some consideration to granite tiles instead of solid granite. Looks good, less cost.

 

[Buddhaman]

Pretty much the same as any counter. No cutting directly on it and no hot pans on it. Otherwise my wife has a soapy water mixture she wipes it down with to keep it shiny. Small kitchen remodel meant cheaper counter (~$1300 from Home Depot). We had a few quotes that ranged from the low ($1300) to the high ($2500). Went with Home Depot who contracted the guys who gave us the high price. Mildly amusing.

 

[OKCShooter]

Pretty much the same as any counter. No cutting directly on it and no hot pans on it. Otherwise my wife has a soapy water mixture she wipes it down with to keep it shiny. Small kitchen remodel meant cheaper counter (~$1300 from Home Depot). We had a few quotes that ranged from the low ($1300) to the high ($2500). Went with Home Depot who contracted the guys who gave us the high price. Mildly amusing.

No cutting on or placing hot pans on granite? Never heard that one before...



Side note; Quartz is another option (albeit more expensive). Stay away from Marble (IMO) as they are porous and can be a real nightmare in any high traffic spots.

 

[Okiedog]

On our last two houses, we've installed concrete countertops sealed with beeswax. Wife usually sets hot items on potholders, but does know of why they couldn't be set directly on concrete. If you'd like, I can send you some pics.

 

[Shoot Summ]

Love our granite, installed in 2000, still looks great, very little care required. Wife uses a stone/granite spray polish every once in a while, spray on, wipe off.

No consideration for anything hot on it, doesn't matter, it's stone, hot doesn't hurt it.

Tiles look like $SS IMO, if you are going to do it, don't do tiles...

I have a buddy out of Anderson, MO that does concrete, some of his stuff looks really good, not sure how it holds up. Look for "Vick Concrete Counter Tops" on Facebook.

 

[MacFromOK]

Every time I see/hear granite counter tops I think of Tim Allen's famous line in Home Improvement...

"You fired the granite guy?"

We still have the formica tops we put on in '75 and they still look pretty good. Other than a few pin sized gouges where my wife thought it was a good idea to freeze a shallow aluminum pan of ice and then break it up with an ice pick...

 

[yukonjack]

If you suck at cooking granite counter tops won't make the food taste better. If you're a good at cooking granite counter tops won't make your food taste any better.

 

[AKJ20]

Spoiler alert: quartz is still king of kitchen countertops.

 

[stick4]

The Wife went a house for some church function and the kitchen counter tops were all under illuminated glass. Don't think they were as exotic as the ones in this video tough.