Counter Top Peeps

[BCGPER]

I'm replacing my entire kitchen and am to the point of picking out countertops. Anyone know any quality installers?

I'm ok working with wood or steel, but I ain't going to try rock. I've narrowed it down to quartz or granite. If anyone has an opinion on either, chime in!


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[skippy]

Subscribed, I am also going to be in the market in the near future

 

[idahoyj]

I'm in Idaho, so not much help in the installation department, but I sell both quartz and granite up here. If you are thinking about quatz, I strongly recommend that you look at Cambria Quartz. In my opinion, Cambria has the best colors, best depth of color, and best designs in the quartz industry. If I were doing my counter tops today, it would be very difficult for me to choose Cambria vs. Granite. I like the natural flowing look of the granite, but don't want to seal and maintain the counters. Cambria has some colors that look very granite-ish, instead of the standard speckled quartz that most manufactures offer. Most of the better granite colors are not available at the entry level price range, and the prices quickly rise to be more than Cambria depending on the granite color you choose. Cambria is all the same price, so you are able to pick which ever color you like, without being afraid of raising the price by falling in love with an expensive color.
Also, Cambria is "the only family-owned, American made producer of natural quartz surfaces".

 

[Kiel]

love our new quartz. Just like granite, but no upkeep

 

[BCGPER]

I'm in Idaho, so not much help in the installation department, but I sell both quartz and granite up here. If you are thinking about quatz, I strongly recommend that you look at Cambria Quartz. In my opinion, Cambria has the best colors, best depth of color, and best designs in the quartz industry. If I were doing my counter tops today, it would be very difficult for me to choose Cambria vs. Granite. I like the natural flowing look of the granite, but don't want to seal and maintain the counters. Cambria has some colors that look very granite-ish, instead of the standard speckled quartz that most manufactures offer. Most of the better granite colors are not available at the entry level price range, and the prices quickly rise to be more than Cambria depending on the granite color you choose. Cambria is all the same price, so you are able to pick which ever color you like, without being afraid of raising the price by falling in love with an expensive color.
Also, Cambria is "the only family-owned, American made producer of natural quartz surfaces".

Cambria is the line I'm looking at, thanks for the verification!


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[BCGPER]

love our new quartz. Just like granite, but no upkeep

Just what I'm trying to avoid, I've got some marble and granite. Both are a manageable pain in the ass, but kitchens get abused.


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[Cascadia]

Not sure if my guy does quartz or not but we do granite in all our new homes. My guy is 33$ a sq ft installed for a few colors and after that the options and prices are endless. If you have over 50 sq ft then the under mount sink is included for free. Pm me if you want his contact.

 

[nnnnnate]

So will someone expand on the maintenance required for granite? Can't say that I was aware we needed to do anything more than use it.

 

[Kiel]

we have cambria. Doesn't look like a pattern which was a concern with going quartz over granite. Ours looks very natural

 

[idahoyj]

So will someone expand on the maintenance required for granite? Can't say that I was aware we needed to do anything more than use it.

Granite is a porous surface. It needs sealed regularly. Depending on the amount you use the counter tops and the types of cleaners you use, it will need to be sealed more or less frequently. Sealing granite isn't a hard job. Clean the counter tops, wipe on sealer, let soak in, wipe off counter tops, go back to regularly scheduled programming. I've had people come in to my store and tell me they had granite for 30 years and no one told them that they were supposed to seal it. Lighter colors of granite will show stains from coffee/wine/berries etc. Darker granite doesn't show that kind of stain as badly. Granite has a potential to absorb bacteria into the stone, but I have never personally had anyone attribute it to sickness. Some quartz manufacturers ran smear campaigns against granite when they first came out, saying all kinds of crazy stuff about the things that your granite will absorb and then spread to your family. I have even heard stories about "Pre-Historic Bacteria" being found in granite counter tops!

 

[idahoyj]

we have cambria. Doesn't look like a pattern which was a concern with going quartz over granite. Ours looks very natural

What color did you go with?

 

[idahoyj]

Not sure if my guy does quartz or not but we do granite in all our new homes. My guy is 33$ a sq ft installed for a few colors and after that the options and prices are endless. If you have over 50 sq ft then the under mount sink is included for free. Pm me if you want his contact.

$33 a square foot is a good deal even at entry level granite. I usually get $38 for fab labor/install only, plus you buy the slab. Cambria will be higher material cost. Standard size slabs of Cambria go for about $1700 each up here. Cambria is switching to "Jumbo" slabs right now. It can really help get a whole job out one slab (60sqft) depending on the layout.

 

[BCGPER]

UT410, that work looks awesome! The under mount stainless sink is what I was planning on as well. I checked out Apollo's website and it looks like they don't deal with "engineered stone", AKA quartz.

 

[idahoyj]

We bounced between both quartz and granite, too. It's been a while and I cannot remember why granite won over. Still, I've been happy with the granite. However, after looking at these old pics, I'm definitely going to polish and de-clutter my counters asap.

You went with 2cm material, and a laminated 4cm edge. All of the fabricators up here prefer 3cm material. With 3cm the material is slightly more expensive, but the labor to polish the edge is less because you dont have to cut an extra piece and laminate it to the edge. Also, with 3cm you don't need a plywood sub-top for support.