Your experience with granite counters

[ChunkyNicksChunkyMom]

I made the horrible mistake of having concrete counters put in my kitchen, they have chipped, stained, cracked and are just all around nasty. Am thinking of having them overlaid with granite. Anyone have experience to share with granite counters and very messy children? Thanks for you help.

Susan

#1 Nick 11-18-04
#2 Kate 04-26-06

[nfowife]

We have granite countertops. I love them! I think one of the keys for me is having a somewhat busy pattern- you can't see anything on them dirt-wise. Literally when I leave crumbs if I forget to wipe them I sometimes can't see them unless I shine a light on the counters! I love the look and durability.

On a side note, we did stained concrete for our floors in this house and SO regret it. They do not hold up like we thought (and were led to believe) they would. If we find out we are staying for a few more years we are redoing them right away! They are the bane of my existence....

[MarisaSF]

Adding to the busy pattern suggestion, I would steer you away from very dark colors. We have granite counters that are a brown and black pattern -- looks black and shows fingerprints and crumbs a LOT. I like the more neutral brown-tans I've seen.

[new_mommy25]

Love mine!! So easy. Other than sealing them every now and again we have never had a problem. Clean ups are a breeze and they look so nice. Ours are a really dark blue.

[madelinesmom]

Also wanted to ditto the pattern suggestion. Mine is a brown base and has flecks of black, gold, silver, it is really perfect. What I love the best is that I no longer have to worry about where I put things, I take things right out of the oven and they go right on the granite. I actually have never sealed mine and they are 5 years old, I think they are still beautiful.

Jane
Madeline 1/20/03
Emily 11/29/05
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[Moneypenny]

I think they show every little speck of dust, so I agree with the PPs that you want a busy pattern that isn't too dark. Unless you dust your kitchen every day. Which I don't. But if you do, feel free to come to my house and dust my kitchen, too.


Susan
mama to my cutie pie, Avery
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[ChunkyNicksChunkyMom]

Thanks all for your replies, have any of you had any staining that you could not remove? That is my biggest concern.
Susan

#1 Nick 11-18-04
#2 Kate 04-26-06

[clc053103]

I have realto gold I think- and no staining problems! Just use the sealer at the recommended intervals (a year or two maybe).

I had concrete counters at my last house. It took forever to get them finished- and though they looked pretty cool, I don't think I would ever do it again either.

[jenmcadams]

SWITCH!!! We had concrete in our last house and I hated them. We have granite now and love them....no staining issues at all (unlike concrete)

[rgors]

If staining is your concern, granite is one of your best options. Just seal once every 1-2 years (honestly I have only sealed mine once in four years and it's fine). It's really easy to seal (and makes you clean up clutter from your countertops :)

Almost everything else stains more. Laminate doesn't, but then you have scratches and warping. Ceramic tile doesn't stain either, but the grout in between the tiles will. Wood stains of course (think of any of your cutting boards -- although wood counters are much higher quality, still...). And marble is the absolute worst choice for a kitchen in terms of staining -- it's best reserved for baking prep areas.

Manmade stone doesn't stain and often doesn't require sealing like granite. But the patterns are often quite "boring" depending on your taste. And manmade stone is marketed as cheaper than granite, but in my experience, the thickness, counter edging, and pattern make more difference in the cost, rather than natural vs manmade stone.

[Marisa6826]

Susan-

I had concrete countertops in my condo and loved them. But mine weren't cast in place and had a honed finish - they looked much more like slate with a matte top than the shiny finish you showed in one of your photos.

One thing I should mention is that you need to check and see that your cabinets can handle the weight of both concrete AND granite if you're going to do overlays.

We have ubatuba granite (kind of a dark green with black and gold specks). Definitely go with something lighter. As much as I love the look of the dark granite, it is a total PITA to keep clean.

Have you contacted the contractor that did your concrete? I'm wondering if they'd be willing to come and refinish them. Just a thought...

-m

[jadamom]

Yes, we have really a dark granite. Near the sink are hard water stains that are light in color and impossible to get rid of!

[mum1day]

I wouldn't have anything else in my kitchen, except marble!

LOVE them! I have uba tuba (dark green with gold flecks) and think it's a great color!

[almostamom]

Lydia, we have a fairly dark granite with hard water residue around the sink. I bought Weiman Granite Cleaner and Polish (at Target, I'm pretty sure) a few weeks ago. Once a week for the last three weeks I've put a little on a soft cloth and polished the area. This week all of the hard water spots are GONE! I'm really happy with the results - the area looks great again!

HTH,
Linda

[firstbaby]

We have the new venetian gold granite and we love love love it! It has great movement in it and the colors are very neutral. It also hides dirt, food, etc really well :) so I sometimes have to look closely or bend down to look in the light to tell how dirty or clean the counters are. We have had no problems with staining although if something greasy spills on the counter there will be a stain until it dries out. This happened once with salad dressing and it was gone the next morning. We have cider colored cherry cabinets, gunstock oak floors and stainless steel appliances if that helps at all....Also, I pull things right out of the oven or off the stove and place right on the granite. VERY convenient for cooking.

[marinkitty]

I love mine. We have the blue pearl granite and although it it fairly dark, it has enough going on that it does not show dust or minor crumbs/spills (and I should know - they are not exactly cleaned daily around here). I have never sealed mine either - and in seven years we don't have a single stain. I even have cut directly on mine and I put very hot cookware on them all the time and they still look perfect. This stuff is pretty indestructible.

Holly
Mom to Mia (3.03), Jack (3.05) and another arrival expected this fall!

[shilo]

well, i don't have it yet, but i've been reading a ton on garden web in the last week since someone here pointed me in that direction in my remodel questions thread. there are several lengthy posts over there about the 'stainability' (is that a word?) of different strains of granite, how to test for it, and how best to seal those that do so that they don't anymore - if that was coherent :).

anyway, here's a link to one of the many helpful threads about granite, stainability, porosity, water spots, etc. from over at garden web.

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg0313505427265.html

also, fwiw, my mom's new kitchen has jupanara ivory gold - lots and lots of "movement" (what they call granite with large swaths and swirls of color, rather than the little fleck type granites). it's gorgeous, and definitely one where you _cannot_ tell when it's dirty unless you run your hand across it. they have really hard water and the pattern/movement totally camoflages the hard water spots and crumbs to the point of having to search them out when cleaning up. they just resealed for the first time after 2 years.

hth, lori
Sam 5/19/05 How lucky I am that you chose me.

[jadamom]

Thanks, Linda! I'll go check it out. :)

[kimbe]

Sorry to hijack Susan! How messy is it when you install granite? I have heard that you have to seal off the kitchen because the dust is awful, but I have also heard it isn't that bad. I would love to hear some experiences! What about the overlaying --- is that cleaner/messier/same? TIA!

[table4three]

>Sorry to hijack Susan! How messy is it when you install
>granite? I have heard that you have to seal off the kitchen
>because the dust is awful, but I have also heard it isn't that
>bad. I would love to hear some experiences! What about the
>overlaying --- is that cleaner/messier/same? TIA!

We had granite installed a couple of weeks ago to replace old laminate countertops. The only dust we had was inside the cabinets/drawers under where they were pulling off the laminate, etc.

It did stink pretty bad for a few days while the adhesive odor wore off, but that's about it. I would just empty out all the drawers and cabinets before they come and then just vacuum and clean them out when they are done. It wasn't a big deal, really.


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[QueenBee]

We have granite counters in our home. I too was worried about them getting stained. I buy the clear vinyl by the yard at the fabric store (on a huge roll where they sell the plastic table cloth stuff). I cut it to fit the top of the counter and you can hardly tell it's there. I replace it every few months (after awhile the clearners turn it a bit opaque). It costs just a few dollars and has saved my counters and my sanity.

Beth