Ceasarstone, Silestone, or Granite?

[Normy]

Me and the other are about to commit to a new kitchen.

-the budget: $30,000. So far, we are at at $29,000 for everything, but today the architects drawings of our kitchen [why this is needed, at $500 is beyond me] had all the electricals WRONG.

I'm ripping the kitchen down to the bare walls. All the current appliances have been sold on Craigslist for $600, to be picked up next month. The 'frige is a GE unit that has a low-mount freezer, with "French doors" above, since my back isn't my best feature anymore. The slide-in range, wall-mount oven, over-the-range microwave and the [worthless] dishwasher are all from the same company: Frigidaire "Professional Series". That just means that they all have the same handles. It looks cool in the end. These are all "clean steel", meaning that they are clear-coated so that you don't see every fingerprint on the stainless.

AFTER months of consternation...I took black granite over the quartz composite materials from Silestone and Ceasarstone, a DuPont product. Why? Because the granite in question had glimmers of gold mica within, and none of the Quartz matched. Quartz is the surface that you encounter when you walk into Burger King these days. That doesn't make it less valuable, it emphasizes its value: This stuff, in the right color, can grace a $60,000 kitchen. It can also grace a Burger King because it can be made in bright green and will last longer than the cinderblocks that were used to build the place!

I suspect that other Porsche owners have learned or know something about kitchen countertops. And I'm probably not the only person on here who's putting money into their kitchen.

Suggestions?

N!

[LWJ]

Granite. Silestone looks fake. Granite is the "ticket" when it comes to resale. If you are on a budget, we have VERY cheap granite in the Portland, Oregon area that looks pretty good. My house has the expensive stuff but 98% of consumers would never know the difference. My kitchen was about 7500 for the counters if I recollect. The cheap stuff runs about 1500 I think.
Good luck.
Have fun.
Larry

[Shuie]

We did this last year. Granite countertops with Travertine backsplash was what we ended up going with. The huge granite composite singlebowl undermount sink is my favorite part of the kitchen. My wife would bludgeon me, but I think I could clean a 911 engine case in that sink

[Dottore]

Originally Posted by Shuie

We did this last year. Granite countertops with Travertine backsplash was what we ended up going with.

Ditto and very pleased.

[cantdrv55]

Have had silestone in my kitchen for almost 10 years. I heard it was less porous than granite which needs sealing every so often? Silestone needs no maintenance and still looks like a million bucks. Very happy with it. I found other ways to spend my kitchen remodeling budget.

[porsche4life]

Just make sure you seal all of those properly.

[jyl]

I am starting to think about a kitchen remodel so this thread (and Z's) is timely.

What are the downsides of granite for countertops? I haven't heard of any, except expense.

[look 171]

There isn't much to maintain, really in Granite. Seal it and forget about it. It takes less then 1/2 hour of your life every year or two. I still like Granite and have it at my house. I put in a kitchen 4 years ago. dark green/ gray stone without vains and Vertical Fir cabinets. Around here, people are talking about new materials and seem like granite it is on its way out. I have more request for Quartz stone by various companies then Granite. My advice is to stay away from pre fab slabs. I push for sq edges. One major winner for the quartz stone is that the color is controled. Unlike a slab of natural stone, you get dark spots and irregular vains.

I did not seal my stone for 2 years after the installation. Did the kitchen and had our first child 6 months afterward. so, we used our kitchen and beat up the counter.

BTW, Black Glaxy is a nice color. I just put in a full kitchen with Black Glaxy for my buddy, a fellow Porsche nut at Road and Race.

[DanielDudley]

Lots of chices in look with granite. A good yard will have a large selection.

[jjwood]

What are the per sq ft prices on granite, silestone, caesarstone in your neck of the woods?
We're in final stages of bidding out our floor plan. Boy evrything is expensive. I was hoping the economic situation would affect $ing, but apparently not.

thanks.

[David]

Granite here. We choose green peacock to match the cherry cabinets, but the granite guy screwed up and brought green butterfly. I'm much happier with the green butterfly and the discount from the screw up, but my wife may never get over it

I got a few quotes at $55/sqft for our 91 sqft, but then we found it for $33/sqft! Except for the issue above, I think he did a better job than most other granite I've seen.

[MOMO3.2]

+1 on being very happy withe Granite counter tops and Travertive back splash. We love it and would certainly never use tile again.

Mike

[mikester]

We did Ceasarstone a few years ago - looks great, holds up great - I didn't care for the look of the granite that was in our price range. Ceasar stone wasn't cheaper (at least not by much) so go with what you like.

[Rot 911]

I wonder if 20 years from now people will look at granite countertops and wonder what people were thinking?

[Racerbvd]

Originally Posted by Kurt V

I wonder if 20 years from now people will look at granite countertops and wonder what people were thinking?

Like avocoto green bathroom fixtures.......

[chapo]

As a contractor I recommend granite for most, but if you don't like the "movement" in the stone or the variance, get the ceasarstone. It is very cosistent, very contemporary look. Price is roughly equal.

[JavaBrewer]

Generic (earth tones) colored granite. Just like travertine it never goes out of style and goes with everything. There are no negatives in this decision.

[look 171]

Originally Posted by Kurt V

I wonder if 20 years from now people will look at granite countertops and wonder what people were thinking?

It already started. But, they have been insatlling granite tops for 50 years now.

[HardDrive]

We just put in fantastic granite counter tops. I will get you a photo tomorrow. Dark grey with nice veins of rust and lighter grays.

We saw ZERO reason to go with the newfangle materials, especially when some are more expensive than granite. They look so uniform and boring. With granite, you get a unique organic look (the skys the limit on choices), and its a really tough material.

My only suggestion? Get 3cm, not 2cm counter tops. Much more substantial looking, and less fragile.

Our complete install was about $7k, and that included at about 18(+-) linear feet of counter and an 8 foot long bar top. A bit of backsplash(behind the stove) in there as a well.

[jyl]

Anyone do metal counter tops at home?