Upgrading Kitchen countertop

[icanluv2]

Any tips or sites on installing silestone, granite, etc. for kitchen? I am wanting to upgrade my kitchen countertop and willing to try to do this myself. Is there a relatively inexpensive place to buy silestone besides going to Home Depot or Lowes? Thanks.

Edited January 18, 2007 by icanluv2

[CDeb]

Any tips or sites on installing silestone, granite, etc. for kitchen? I am wanting to upgrade my kitchen countertop and willing to try to do this myself. Is there a relatively inexpensive place to buy silestone besides going to Home Depot or Lowes? Thanks.

When I installed Silestone, HD wouldn't just sell it to me and let me do the installation, I had to get it installed by them. However, HD usually runs a big sale on Silestone once a year, and combine that with opening a new HD credit card and making that your first purchase (another 10% off) makes it more affordable.

[RedScare]

Installing the countertops is pretty easy. Just apply globs of glue to the plywood counter and place the countertop on top of it. The hard part is making the countertop fit. The sawblades and grinding wheels required to cut granite are pretty expensive. You'll also need to polish the edges where you cut. I found granite to be cheaper to install than silestone, etc. Prices can run from $30 per sf to $50 per sf installed. The granite itself can be purchased for $8-15 per sf.

The granite sellers often have precut slabs, if you have standard size countertops. Buying precut slabs lowers your cost substantially, and it is easier to install, since you do not need to cut and polish. Check out some of the granite suppliers. There are several around Hempstead Highway.

[Parrothead]

We opted for WilsonArt laminate for two reasons:

1. We're selling our condo and didn't want to put 3K into our countertops. We wanted something obviously better than what we had, and something that looked nice and neutral with our new floor tile. We found a beige granite-look and went with it.

2. It was $460.00 to order custom-cut pieces for about 12' worth of countertop and one 3' island. We installed it ourselves.

Pic:

Closeup of sample:

If we were staying here for another few years, I would have gone with granite from Shenoy Stone on Westview.

Good luck!

[icanluv2]

We opted for WilsonArt laminate for two reasons:

1. We're selling our condo and didn't want to put 3K into our countertops. We wanted something obviously better than what we had, and something that looked nice and neutral with our new floor tile. We found a beige granite-look and went with it.

2. It was $460.00 to order custom-cut pieces for about 12' worth of countertop and one 3' island. We installed it ourselves.

Pic:

Closeup of sample:

If we were staying here for another few years, I would have gone with granite from Shenoy Stone on Westview.

Good luck!

Looks nice. It kinda looks like granite with the style you chose.

Installing the countertops is pretty easy. Just apply globs of glue to the plywood counter and place the countertop on top of it. The hard part is making the countertop fit. The sawblades and grinding wheels required to cut granite are pretty expensive. You'll also need to polish the edges where you cut. I found granite to be cheaper to install than silestone, etc. Prices can run from $30 per sf to $50 per sf installed. The granite itself can be purchased for $8-15 per sf.

The granite sellers often have precut slabs, if you have standard size countertops. Buying precut slabs lowers your cost substantially, and it is easier to install, since you do not need to cut and polish. Check out some of the granite suppliers. There are several around Hempstead Highway.

I thought granite would be more expensive than silestone. Don't you have to seal the granite since it is extremely porous, thus more of a maintenance hassle vs. silestone?

Buying precut slabs sounds more logical for me and probably saves a bunch of time. I guess the difficult part is getting a precise measurement so it will fit. Thanks.

[CDeb]

I thought granite would be more expensive than silestone.

Depends on who you buy it from, I suppose. Typically it is.

Don't you have to seal the granite since it is extremely porous, thus more of a maintenance hassle vs. silestone?

Yes, you have to seal granite, which you do not have to do with Silestone.

[dalparadise]

Sealing granite is not really that big a deal, but yes, Silesone is non-porous and doesn't require sealing. Cost-wise, granite and Silestone are pretty equal, actually. Sometimes, Silestone is a bit more.

Part of the value of Silestone is that it is installed only by certified Silestone installers. This is your assurance of a very custom, perfect fit. The pieces are custom cut to your exact specs. You have more edge-cut options and can do somre really custom things. Sink mounts are also very custom-looking and offer many options, as opposed to other countertop materials. It's a good thing. It also means you get a 10-year warranty against scratching, cracking, fading, thermal reaction, etc. It's a very good warranty.

Silestone is 93% quartz and is much harder, scratch-resistant and chip-resistant than granite (40-60% quartz, I believe). It's also scorch resistant, which is where granite often shows a weakness. Properly cared for, though, granite is usually much more beautiful and just as strong in normal use.

The only real performance advantage of Silestone is that it offers antimicrobial properties. If you're a germophobe, that may interest you.

My personal take would be that if you like a Silestone color that is not a granite-like or natural stone color, it's a great choice. You can make some pretty wild statements with the wild colors and the cool edge designs afforded by the hardness of the product and the way it stands up to cutting and shaping.

If you want a strictly natural look, Silestone will only loosely approximate granite and the performance factors of the product don't measure up to the drop-dead look of granite.

Edited January 24, 2007 by dalparadise

[debi]

Sealing granite is not really that big a deal, but yes, Silesone is non-porous and doesn't require sealing. Cost-wise, granite and Silestone are pretty equal, actually. Sometimes, Silestone is a bit more.

Part of the value of Silestone is that it is installed only by certified Silestone installers. This is your assurance of a very custom, perfect fit. The pieces are custom cut to your exact specs. You have more edge-cut options and can do somre really custom things. Sink mounts are also very custom-looking and offer many options, as opposed to other countertop materials. It's a good thing. It also means you get a 10-year warranty against scratching, cracking, fading, thermal reaction, etc. It's a very good warranty.

Silestone is 93% quartz and is much harder, scratch-resistant and chip-resistant than granite (40-60% quartz, I believe). It's also scorch resistant, which is where granite often shows a weakness. Properly cared for, though, granite is usually much more beautiful and just as strong in normal use.

The only real performance advantage of Silestone is that it offers antimicrobial properties. If you're a germophobe, that may interest you.

My personal take would be that if you like a Silestone color that is not a granite-like or natural stone color, it's a great choice. You can make some pretty wild statements with the wild colors and the cool edge designs afforded by the hardness of the product and the way it stands up to cutting and shaping.

If you want a strictly natural look, Silestone will only loosely approximate granite and the performance factors of the product don't measure up to the drop-dead look of granite.

[debi]

Sealing granite is not really that big a deal, but yes, Silesone is non-porous and doesn't require sealing. Cost-wise, granite and Silestone are pretty equal, actually. Sometimes, Silestone is a bit more.

Part of the value of Silestone is that it is installed only by certified Silestone installers. This is your assurance of a very custom, perfect fit. The pieces are custom cut to your exact specs. You have more edge-cut options and can do somre really custom things. Sink mounts are also very custom-looking and offer many options, as opposed to other countertop materials. It's a good thing. It also means you get a 10-year warranty against scratching, cracking, fading, thermal reaction, etc. It's a very good warranty.

Silestone is 93% quartz and is much harder, scratch-resistant and chip-resistant than granite (40-60% quartz, I believe). It's also scorch resistant, which is where granite often shows a weakness. Properly cared for, though, granite is usually much more beautiful and just as strong in normal use.

The only real performance advantage of Silestone is that it offers antimicrobial properties. If you're a germophobe, that may interest you.

My personal take would be that if you like a Silestone color that is not a granite-like or natural stone color, it's a great choice. You can make some pretty wild statements with the wild colors and the cool edge designs afforded by the hardness of the product and the way it stands up to cutting and shaping.

If you want a strictly natural look, Silestone will only loosely approximate granite and the performance factors of the product don't measure up to the drop-dead look of granite.

Can anyone give me the name of a silestone dealer besides HD and Lowes?

[debi]

Any tips or sites on installing silestone, granite, etc. for kitchen? I am wanting to upgrade my kitchen countertop and willing to try to do this myself. Is there a relatively inexpensive place to buy silestone besides going to Home Depot or Lowes? Thanks.

Yes, I have the same question. Any info on Silestone dealers??

[ijaxon]

Yes, I have the same question. Any info on Silestone dealers??

i use several dealers, but i am not sure if I can post them on here or not.