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Granite Countertops

I used Repschlager Tile. Owner is Enis. Bosnian with broken english, but did great work.

We love ours. I would highly reccomend a multi-tonal pattern to hide spots, spills, smears. We selected our own slabs of tropical brown at Midwest Tile in Urbandale.

They even did some custom granite window sill ledge/shelf that works great over the sink. I would ask to confirm number of seams and placement, so you are aware ahead of time.

They did great work and were as economical as anyone of the 4 that I checked. I work in the construction field, so had a lot of input.
 
After remodeling our kitchen few years ago, our granite still looks great. I have no regrets choosing granite. It is really tough and can lasts forever if properly maintained. Also, Granite is easy to take care of all you have to use is wipe it clean with a stone cleaner and a piece of cloth. Once per year sealing which will bring back its original shinny look. That is all that is required to keep the granite countertop looking clean and shinning as new. We also wax it every six months depending on its usage. When sealing counters, I suggest you that call a trained professional.
 
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Granite Transformatiosn is worth a look. We installed over existing countertop and there is a lot less kitchen down time, less mess, and price is very similar, even slightly less if you are willing to do any of the basic plumbing and old backsplash removal. They are located on 104th I believe, north of Hickman on the west side of the road.
 
farrahowens88 said:
After remodeling our kitchen few years ago, our granite still looks great. I have no regrets choosing granite. It is really tough and can lasts forever if properly maintained. Also, Granite is easy to take care of all you have to use is wipe it clean with a stone cleaner and a piece of cloth. Once per year sealing which will bring back its original shinny look. That is all that is required to keep the granite countertop looking clean and shinning as new. We also wax it every six months depending on its usage. When sealing counters, I suggest you that call a trained professional.
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Holy thread resurrection...
 
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Another shout out for Granite Transformation. Since it is a manufactured granite product the surface does not require the sealing and care that granite does, plus there are few seams, if any, to deal with.

cdekovic said:
Granite Transformatiosn is worth a look. We installed over existing countertop and there is a lot less kitchen down time, less mess, and price is very similar, even slightly less if you are willing to do any of the basic plumbing and old backsplash removal. They are located on 104th I believe, north of Hickman on the west side of the road.
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kcbob79clone said:
Another shout out for Granite Transformation. Since it is a manufactured granite product the surface does not require the sealing and care that granite does, plus there are few seams, if any, to deal with.
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Any ideas on cost? I assume its less than the $50-$80 per sf at Lowe's/HD?
 
I post every time someone brings this up... I spec countertops for homes on a very regular basis as an architect.

Many granites are very specific to your own tastes. If you plan on selling at some point later, be aware that many won't find your orange and green, or red and green, or green, or etc colors/speckles as attractive as you did originally. Additionally, granite tends to become dated as it has a lot of "character." It's a personal pet peeve of mine when I go into a house and the countertops are vaunted as GRANITE, but they turn out to be orange, green, red and very speckled...

There are a few varieties of granite that are more subtle and neutral colored/speckled. If I absolutely had to get granite, I'd look at the Marron Cohiba (chocolate brown and very beautiful, might be my first choice for any countertop) or Absolute Black (simple, but more pedestrian). Both of these are tone on tone. Also, consider honing the granite to reduce the speckling effect. Polished brings out way more "character" than honing (often too much so in my opinion). If you want to spend more money you can shop miter the apron so that your ctop looks like it is a 2" slab. Ask to see examples of the stoneyard's work if you go this route as there are various degrees of skill required for this. If done correctly, it will look like one solid piece.

If you go the natural stone route, make certain that you can go into the yard and select the slabs one by one. Also, if you're buying full slabs at full price, ask for the cutoff. It comes in handy sometimes.

Finally, strongly consider quartz. Caesarstone, Cambria, Silestone, etc all make a very good product and few have many issues. Again, stick to the tone on tone stuff which can be had in white, cream, beige, various grays, black, and etc. There are very clean versions (which can look boring in large countertops) and others with very subtle veining (Misty Carrara or Ogranic White from Caesarstone are examples).

Good luck!
 
BKLYNCyclone said:
I post every time someone brings this up... I spec countertops for homes on a very regular basis as an architect.

Many granites are very specific to your own tastes. If you plan on selling at some point later, be aware that many won't find your orange and green, or red and green, or green, or etc colors/speckles as attractive as you did originally. Additionally, granite tends to become dated as it has a lot of "character." It's a personal pet peeve of mine when I go into a house and the countertops are vaunted as GRANITE, but they turn out to be orange, green, red and very speckled...

There are a few varieties of granite that are more subtle and neutral colored/speckled. If I absolutely had to get granite, I'd look at the Marron Cohiba (chocolate brown and very beautiful, might be my first choice for any countertop) or Absolute Black (simple, but more pedestrian). Both of these are tone on tone. Also, consider honing the granite to reduce the speckling effect. Polished brings out way more "character" than honing (often too much so in my opinion). If you want to spend more money you can shop miter the apron so that your ctop looks like it is a 2" slab. Ask to see examples of the stoneyard's work if you go this route as there are various degrees of skill required for this. If done correctly, it will look like one solid piece.

If you go the natural stone route, make certain that you can go into the yard and select the slabs one by one. Also, if you're buying full slabs at full price, ask for the cutoff. It comes in handy sometimes.

Finally, strongly consider quartz. Caesarstone, Cambria, Silestone, etc all make a very good product and few have many issues. Again, stick to the tone on tone stuff which can be had in white, cream, beige, various grays, black, and etc. There are very clean versions (which can look boring in large countertops) and others with very subtle veining (Misty Carrara or Ogranic White from Caesarstone are examples).

Good luck!
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This is solid advice, if you are strictly looking at your house as a very temporary spot though. We re-did our kitchen about 8 years ago and this argument was poured over me by everyone I talked to. So, here I sit 8 years later, still pisssed every morning when I walk into the kitchen that it isn't exactly what I wanted to be in there.

At the end of the day, it's your kitchen, you are the one spending the money. Yeah, Granite can be quite expensive, but look at what people spend on cars and other things that ROI sucks on. When it comes you your house, you should be the one who's happy with it. Yeah, if you are lookign at it as an upgrade to promote to potential buyers in 2-3 years when you sell your home fine, but if you look at it like me, like your home, please do yourself a favor and buy what you want.
 
cygrads said:
We are thinking about getting granite countertops for our kitchen. I was wondering if anyone has ever had granite countertops installed . Also, any drawbacks to granite countertops?

Thanks
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Have the very dark green/black granite.....I think the nickname for the granite color is Uba Tuba......

Love it.......You do see every crumb, lint, etc., which is a good thing

Make sure you seal it every year or so

DOn't leave water on the counter, or citrus (lemon/orange/juices, etc). Wipe up right away.

Use relevant granite counter cleaners/polishers. Don't use windex/409/anything with ammonia/bleach/etc
 
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