We are coming to the end of our kitchen remodel, and looking into countertops? I am torn if I should get granite or not? Anyone have issues with granite when baking like staining from any oils,etc

Any info helps
thanks!

I love my granite. The color we picked (browns/golds/cream) makes it hard to know when it's clean. It just doesn't show anything. A mixed blessing I guess.

I have granite in my bathroom and if we put something wet on it there is a "stain" of sorts. Like under the pump hand soap. I would check with other people to see if they have this same problem with water stains. Also, see how often you have to reseal it, and how much it costs.

I love the thought of Silestone or a similar product . . . looks like granite (though you do have "seams") but it's virtually no-maintenance and is pretty durable.

We put in granite countertops and it was one of the best investments, IMHO! We used "Luna Pearl" which is a multi colored granite. Not only does it not show any marks or stains, you can take a pot right off the stove (or out of the oven) and sit it right on top of the granite. You can also do away with your cutting board, if you choose, because you can cut right on the granite!

What I want is granite with a butcher block island.

Well, that and a house to put them in, so we're waiting LOL. Good luck in finding what works for you!

We had Corian in a previous house, and granite in this one. I love the granite, but you really can't beat Corian-type countertops for ease of care. The granite has small voids in it (due to it being a natural product) that bother me, because I'm not sure if there is dirt in the voids. Even with our granite counters here, we have a Corian farm sink, and it's wonderfully easy to keep clean and stain-free. Seams in Corian aren't a problem as they can be chemically sealed together so that the seams don't show, as in our previous house. Seams in granite can't be hidden, so be aware of that if that bothers you. We're planning a move to another state in a year and a half, and are planning to go back to Corian.

Deanna

Granite is awesome.

Get it! Working with dough on the island is the best! And all the room, and it keeps cold so decoration is not a problem. Highly recommend it!

How exciting! I can't wait to redo my kitchen *sigh* It will have to wait, though.

I had put granite in my previous kitchen and really miss it. It is durable and easy maintenance. I had a brown, cream, black (w/a litlle gold fleck) combo. Wonderful for not showing any mess. I use 409 on my work surfaces (cuts through grease) and follow up with Clorox clean up (disinfects), so I never worried about any of the 'voids' that others have mentioned. But I use that on whatever surface I'm working on to be sure it's clean as even butcher block, fiberglass and plastic have some porosity.

My mother has had granite in her kitchen for nearly 20 years now and has never sealed it. It looks as good as the day it was installed. And she uses her kitchen a lot and does not pamper the counter. It is used as a cutting surface and for cooling pots.

For me, the bonus is as a surface for working pie doughs and pastries. Except for marble (which is not a good counter top), it is one of the best surfaces for pastry dough.

Good luck and enjoy!

I have granite (large tiles) in my kitchen, I love granite. You can't damage it at all and it is a wonderful surface for working pie doughs, rolling out fondant or anything else! However, I would strongly recommend not going with a dark color (I did, a darker green with specks of black, with a black grout) and while it looks beautiful, it is very hard to see on, so when you think you have a clean countertop, all of a sudden you run your hand over, and its "not" clean. Or the light comes in just right on your "clean" countertops and you realize you missed areas. Gross! I really like to know my counters are clean! I wonder what is wrong with having marble countertops? Can someone tell me who has had those?

We just remodeled my boyfriend's kitchen and put in granite counter tops. He loves them; I like them. They do have to be re-sealed every so many years, but I don't know yet how much that might cost. Like someone else mentioned, we do notice darker spots when we set something wet on the counter (we've noticed it most with a rinced coffee pot that's still a little bit warm, and with a lid from a pot - say if we've been simmering something on the stove - so there's hot condensation on there), but the spot goes away after a while. I think if we had it to do over again, I would try harder to talk him into Silestone.

I agree w/sweetcakes about the dark color - we went with a dark burgandy/black with a few flecks of gold, and it's so hard to see spots unless you try looking at the counters from different angles or run your hands all over them to feel for things you've missed.

I have a solid surface material ( Like corian, but another brand) and I am very pleased with it. Easy to clean, no visible seams, and the sink is installed without seams also. The installer made a finished board of the same material set it beside the stove and told me to put my hot pans on that - just in case. He also gave me the largish scrap piece, told me to keep it in the back of the sink cabinet so that if something horrible happened like a chunk getting knocked out of the edge he could repair and have the material match. After two years it does have fine hairline scratches that I can see if I peer at the surface in the right light. However if they become noticeable or annoying to me, I can hire the installer to re-polish the surface. He said that very few women wanted the counter re-polished before 5 years, if then. I have had people drop lit cigarettes on it and it has caused no damage.

Regarding the comment on marble. I have never had marble, but was advised against it as it is soft and porous - not as durable as granite. Here is a link that gives a bit more technical info about the differences of marble and granite.

http://jersey.uoregon.edu/~mstrick/AskGeoMan/geoQuerry47.html

hth

When I was looking for the info - had a good laugh. This Old House had a little tidbit about how the only choice we used to have was what color laminate to choose. Now there are so many choice (hurray)!

This is another good link.

http://interiordec.about.com/od/kitchencounters/tp/tp_countertops.htm

Great link, Zmama!

Granite tops for sure.
Just use a hot wet cloth to wipe clean and it's as good as new again. I must say though that I personally would not put any hot stuff on there or even roll and cut dough on it.....but then again that's just me.

I have corian, and i love it. I do have a granite island though, so i guess i have the best of both worlds. We decided against the whole kitchen in granite cause of the seems that we would have had. And we really wanted that seamless look, with a seamless sink.

The only thing i think we all agree on is to stay away from trendy colors (unless you can afford to redo when they go out of style) And the dark colors are a chore to keep clean. I have black with gray specks and it looks great when all cleaned up nice, but in all honesty with a growing family there are always spots on the countertop.

I'm without a kitchen right now (very hard with the holidays not being able to bake!). We're going with granite countertops. We won't have seams because of our layout and I can't wait to roll fondant out flat on the counter top! We had tile before which was awesome for everything except for rolling out fondant - I had to put a board under the mat or i'd get the tile squares in the fondant. As for the sink - we're going with an undermount sink so we'll be able to wipe the counter right into the sink. Everyone I know that has granite loves it!

Debbie

When I get to redo my kitchen, I'm going with silestone. I can't afford granite and honestly I think you can get the same benefits from silestone!

We considered silestone. It looks like a good product. We didn't like that it didn't look as natural as the granite.

Debbie

We are about four months away from our new house... when it came time to pick out countertops, I thought I wanted granite.... I love some of the granite colors. BUT... at our builder's design center they didn't recommend it for kitchens (even though it's popular).

They said that granite was one of the few countertop surfaces that is not FDA approved for food prep (i.e. food directly on the counter). Not that I go spilling gobs of raw chicken juice on the counter or anything... BUT........

I know plenty of people have it and love it, and I'm sure it's perfectly fine. The sealers that are applied to the granite are FDA approved... but that's assuming that the sealer is applied correctly, evenly and re-applied according to directions (some are every year, etc)

I really preferred the natural look of the Granite overall... but they had a quartz alternative that was close enough for me (Corian has it's Zodiaq line, and then there is Silestone - basically both the same). Quartz is pretty much maintenance free... so that's what we went with.

HTH!
Denise

There's so many options to choose from now - and most of them good choices - just a matter of preference. I even saw some laminate countertops that looked great! It's amazing what's out there when you start looking.

Debbie

AGreat topic for me. Will be getting new countertops in a few weeks and was wondering about staining . Like using an airbrush or if you spill some food coloring gel on it !! Any help which countertops will not stain??? :-) [

AIm one of the few people it seems that thoroughly dislike granite. We installed quartz. Easy to clean, heat resistant and perfectly smooth for rolling fondant. Naturally cool for pastry work. No sealing or other maintenance. And best of all everyone doesn't choose it.

I'm with you leah_s. I greatly prefer quartz over granite because of easier upkeep (and I have yet to see a granite in colors I like).

I have yet to be able to choose what our counter tops are made of, but I would like to say something about cutting on granite, and other hard surfaces. When you have two materials, one is softer than the other. The reason your knives leave marks on your cutting board is because the cutting board is softer than your knife. Granite is harder than your knife. If the contact between knife and counter top isn't marring the counter, guess which material is getting damaged? Your knife. That is why glass cutting boards aren't a smart idea, either. Looks pretty...eats up your tools.