How to Choose a Countertop Surface
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- čas přidán 25. 07. 2023
- With so many options for countertops, how do you choose the right one? I this live stream we break down some of the choices you'll be faced with and why you should consider each one.
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I was happy to see a respectable evaluation of laminate counter tops. Products, ranging from Corian, through Quartz and Granite are very expensive in Canada, ranging from $250 to $350 per linear foot, based on a standard 24" counter depth, for material only, before labor. I've had laminate throughout the kitchen for 25 years and it made it through raising a family and is still in very good shape with no scratches, burns or delamination. I'd like to replace the counters, only to update the color and pattern. Our kitchen is a separate utilitarian space and not an entertainment center of the home. I hesitate to do laminate, only because it has gained a reputation as been cheap. We've seen home buyers here reject buying a home because it had laminate counter tops.
As a senior now, I don't want to spend the price of a car to update my kitchen counter tops. lol.
Any installer worth his salt will put whatever color laminate directly over and in contact with your existing tops. If someone passes over your house because you don't have solid surface they don't deserve it anyway. Ignoramuses 😂.
I'm laughing so hard "Granite has speckles that my brain cannot stand." I've been struggling to figure out why I absolutely detest my granite counters. U nailed it! 😂
Too funny. I think of grey speckled granite commonly see in our mountains. If I could only use granite I think the grey with minimal graining would stand the test of time in the PNW.
Thank you for talking about some choices besides stone countertops. I want corian or laminate. I don't care if it is not trendy.
100% agree with you on the choice of local cabinets over something 4hrs away. If you have a renter with an emergency, you want to be able to get what you need and get it fixed ASAP. Don't doubt yourself 💜
the kitchen that was in my house has been there so long before we are getting around to renovating that Quartz came along, became fashionable and apparantly became unfashionable again. Its so complicated! :)
There is a ban on quartz coming to Australia in 2024.
"Direct heat" was the only one you mentioned about quartz. Then, after a long pause, you threw in staining. Use trivets. The heat problem is solved.
I have laminate and I like it. It is so durable. I’m probably the only one on the planet who likes it. I’ve had mine for 20 years!!!
I have laminate too.
I would get laminate if my wife would let me... Cost and utility can hardly be better, and price is also great.
But it just doesn't have that romantic appeal of stone or wood I guess 🤷
We have wood countertops and I have mixed feelings. Looking to change to something a little more water/heat proof and low maintenance.
My last kitchen had laminate tops which still looked good after 25 years. My new kitchen has got it again so I’m hoping it will last as well as before.
@@krjohnson29 What is it that you don't like? Do you have it sealed? I have so many questions.
@@barbaraeaton9266 I don't think our wood countertops were done in the greatest way. I think a house flipper did it himself. So it probably isn't the greatest example. It is sealed somehow, but I'm not exactly sure with what.
But yeah, what I am not liking is all around the sink area it's gotten black stains. And a couple of places where a too hot item has been mistakenly placed it has burned rings. We tried just sanding the marred sections them off and re-sealing but it doesn't look the same. I probably need to do the whole thing but that seems like an enormous amount of work.
I think it would definitely be better if they were not around the sink. And I've seen examples of ones that look a lot more natural (ours looks like it was sealed with polyurethane or something like you'd seal a deck). Those strike me as possibly easier to maintain.
We're looking currently at quartz or granite on the island with the sink and wood the rest of the kitchen. Deliberations are ongoing though.
Thanks for the education. Much appreciated.
Thank you for the content and enjoy your vacation. 😊
Thanks so much!
I really want soapstone for my new kitchen with white cabinets. I want something that can handle heat that is timeless. I think its beautiful.
Hi Mark, just recently found your channel and have been enjoying your content. I’m just about to start on a total kitchen Reno and have already made all my design decisions so I’m a little late to put any of your advice into my project but I hope it all works out. No OTR microwave, lol, so I agree with you there. Mostly because I am on the short side and always considered it a hazard taking hot liquids out of an appliance above my head. I’m looking forward to following your B&B project.
Hey! Thanks so much for watching my content. I hope your project goes awesome for you. I started the reno on the rental, so stay tuned!!
I had a laminate that was very cheaply made and falling apart. With my current renovation (still going on) I am getting a solid surface (Corian type, but different brand) because I happen to like the look of those, and I am the only human in my house. (My dog doesn't care. She's just happy she now gets her own cabinet for food and treats.)
was in a showroom a few days ago and the laminate mostly felt like what I’m familiar with - slightly rough to the touch feel which is one of the reasons I’m considering something else. But I found a countertop that felt smooth and a little cooler to the touch but the assistant said it was ‘luxury’ laminate. I have no idea what that means but it felt great and looked great so I’ll be exploring that a little more if it means more cost effective but doesn’t feel like laminate. I’d be having an overmount sink so no biggie there
Im always suspicious of words like "luxury", however, I've personally ordered high gloss laminates that look every bit like a stone top. They are easy to clean but also easy to scratch. There are newer laminate products on the market now that are more durable and manufactured with out the particle board substrate. This is probably what they were showing you. Very nice indeed. Luxury even. lol
I hated granite when it came out, I hate it still. Granite has speckles that my brain cannot stand. We are building a house right now and this is timely because I am currently nailing down my counter choice. If I had the unlimited budget of my dreams I would put soapstone on every counter. Because I actually have a budget I am deciding between porcelain, quartz and quartzite.
Well, those are all great choices. I'm thinking quartz will be the least and porcelain the most.
Hi Sherri - I'm with you on the speckled granite, it boggles my brain! Silestone and Caesarstone both have quartz countertop options that look like soapstone. I haven't decided which one I'm putting in my kitchen remodel yet, but the honed finish on the Silestone version is REALLY hard to tell that it's not real soapstone. Check them out, and good luck with the kitchen design on your new home build!
Honed Nero mist granite looks just like soapstone.
44:20 Some custom wood slab counter tops can run into several hundred dollars a square foot.
The raw slabs of some trees can cost as much or more than high end marble, and require a very high amount of labor and materials to turn into a functional countertop.
Thank you for all your knowledge you are sharing. Can you please address options for rental properties and the pros and cons. I am starting a Reno of my ground floor to put in a two bedroom granny flat very soon. Thanks! ❤
This is a great video idea. Thank you.
What about poured concrete - you can do some very interesting things with dye pigment -adding crushed glass etc
Yeah. I should dedicate a video to that. Thanks for the idea.
Nice video! Missed your opinion on stainless steel countertops and back drop. I had a very old stainless steel countertop and it was looking quite fine, at my rental. Felt safer using it than the new "fake Formica" they installed. Had different marble and granite countertops and sinks before and I feel stainless was the best material from a usability perspective (and with a reasonable cost). Is there any development on new designs that make them less dated (and cheap looking)?
I just found your videos and really like your channel. Already learning a lot in prep for a big kitchen renovation sometime in the next several years. FWIW it seems really stupid to me to surround a sink with solid wood.
Hey! Thanks for watching! And yes, sinks and wood are going to get moldy.
@@MTKDofficial we had wood counters in our old house. My grandparents had them on their farm. It's not for perfectionists but I've never seen issues with mold. If you leave water on your countertops long enough to cause mold, you're not keeping a hygienic kitchen.
The benefit was my countertops were my chopping boards (except meats, that's best chopped on a stone chopping board) with the expectation of replacing the counters every ten years. We oiled every 6 months. If you want absolutely no staining or cut marks or burn marks, it's not for you. You do wood wanting those marks.
13:47 haha, i got something like this but more red and black streaks. Looks awful and now any change feels like a downgrade. Im not sure what to do as i want light, neutral colours than 90s red brown darks. Not sure what to do. Laminex until it is in trend again?
Having a hard time finding high definition laminate, which I've bought multiple times and found it to be extremely scratch and heat resistant. Pots directly out of the oven no problem. Cutting directly on the counter top no problems. I want to say the sales pitch was that it was up to 550 degree ok but I can't find that information any more. Never had problems with it. I don't like cold stone.
Who makes it? Formica? Arborite?
Why no real discussion of soapstone. Have loved it since college science labs
Great idea. I do plan to talk a little more about some of the less popular countertop options.
Should of spent more time on stainless, in the right space it's beautiful.
Have a fun vacation.
Can I get my Matt laminate changed to gloss?
You can order gloss laminate. This is usually a special order and will cost a little extra, but it is available. In my last house I ordered mine with a gloss finish. It came from Arbotire. But many of the laminate makers have them.
Will there be the standard replay still be available?video
Should be.
Origin of species for granite. Who writes this stuff?
What about polish stainless steel countertop to a mirror finish?
Is that possible?
@@MTKDofficial yea just go through all the grits of sandpaper and polish it. Aluminum and copper are more reflective but i'm not sure about durability
FYI The largest granite quarry in the world is in North Carolina, USA.
What would you put around the sink if you did have a wood countertop? I thought maybe a SS with a drain board. Does Decton only come in dark or black. So Decton is really expensive like quartz or quartzite? I always have questions.😊
haha. no worries! Dekton comes in lots of colours and patterns (white to black). If you have wood make sure to seal it underneath and the cut out too. Just to help protect it. But don't seal the top obviously.
Home Depot! Ikea ... I'm not a fan. House I bought has an IKEA stove, big, ugly, only one burner works, oven just stopped working also. Ikea cupboards which are all glass even the shelves. It's horrible. So hard it's brutal.
Can quartz have a drain board?
I'm thinking it can. But I can't recall if I've ever seen it.
Hi, Mark. I found another CZcams video from Canadian House and Home where they show the cabinet drawers and doors all connected by one trim detail that runs from top to bottom (minute 6:35).
czcams.com/video/SKr0p2OwUFo/video.html
This detail seems to becoming a big trend. Also, at minute 7:05, have a look at the upper cabinets door hardware detail. On a set of double doors they mounted the door handles in a horizontal fashion right next to each other so that they look exactly like the single handle that’s on the base cabinet drawers. Very nice!
Thanks for sharing that link. That is a really nice detail. We are seeing that more and more. Definitely screams custom!
If you are even a little bit klutzy, reconsider marble. It's incredibly slick, so you go to pick up your beautiful coffee cup, or a vase, whatever, it can shoot away from u and land violently elsewhere. Or u can do what I did and knocked over my glass pitcher and cracked the handle. Actually I did that with my hideous speckled granite, also very slick. And I stayed in a hotel with a marble floor in the bathroom, I fell so suddenly and unexpectedly and hit my head pretty hard. These very hard polished surfaces are horrid.
Great input about Marble. Thanks for sharing and watching!
Have 1929 teakwood
What about stainless steel countertops?
Excellent choice. Very durable. Just not very popular.
Building a house, using granite for counters🙂
What about Soapstone?
Check this one czcams.com/video/07ibSPA1oPY/video.html
No mention of nanoglass?
Seems pretty niche?
@@MTKDofficial We bought it for its high durability, and it was marketed to us by our local countertop vendor as superior granite, quartz, quartzite, marble (basically it's like marble but with superior durability and low maintenance), for less than marble's cost. It is also forged, which we thought was pretty cool.
We installed it in our workshop sink, but now are trying to decide whether to stick with it again for our main kitchen.
What I heard is that it's supposedly one of the newer options, not yet as popular.
Pros and con soapstone
I'm getting more and more requests for this. It's on the short list for sure.
No soapstone?
czcams.com/video/07ibSPA1oPY/video.html
czcams.com/video/07ibSPA1oPY/video.html
Why are we so hoidy toidy that we reject laminate out of hand? Laminates are so much better looking and much better quality from when they were introduced.
I'm loving your background paint color, a smoky navy? What is the name? Also that the overhead beams are painted same color, it looks high end. Ceiling too, or is that a little darker navy? Love your content, big fan, saving up for a kitchen consult with u. So glad you're offering the service. 🛟❤️🙃
Hey thanks so much! The paint is called Midnight something...lol. The name escapes me.
What did people ever see in concrete countertops?
What a fad
What a disaster
It's in the past. lol