Or not? I have to decide, and soon. And if the answer is "not" then what do I get? I've been settled on Soap Stone for a while, but I'm getting some really high quotes from the fabricators. Phooey.
The Verde Meritaka looks great, but I can't really, really see it enough to compare it to the soapstone. Sorry I'm not much of a help. I can see why the granite would be all wrong though!
Yeah well see ... that's the problem! The Verde Meritaka IS a granite. It just looks more shiny in the second picture than in the first.
It's really a crap shoot - you just don't know what you're going to get. You can go look at the stone before they install it, but you've got to expect some natural variations.
The guy showed me some quartz stuff, too. It's pretty, but it's got too much depth to it. For it to look "period" it hast to be pretty flat.
Is that granite cheaper? I think the soapstone is definitely the right look and my favorite for your kitchen. If you go with granite, definitely go with a honed finished versus polished shown in that last photo.
Yeah, I think I agree with both of you. I took a look at the granite quote, and it is still $200.00 more than the lowest Soapstone quote (from someone esle.) I really want to use the guy that was here last night, but he wants nearly $4,000.00 for an "L" shaped counter that is only 9ft in one direction, and 4ft in another! That's nearly 2x as much as everyone else - I suspect his granite price is high, too, but I really am leaning towards the soapstone. Even if I find the granite at a lower price, the difference over the number of years we'll be living here is not worth it.
I like soapstone, but was unable to find any online pricing when I was looking at it, and I never did call anyone to get a quote. Isn't it a tad bit soft? In case it matters.
Is it more expensive than granite?!? Wow. I had no idea; I thought it would be less. Don't know why...just what I thought. :p Maybe I completely made up that opinion based upon nothing. :D
Also, you should be able to go to the warehouse from which your fabricator buys and pick out what you want. If not, I think I'd get a different fabricator. But that's just me, and I feel like I'm sounding bossy even though I am NOT telling you what to do. Do what you want. See if I care.
Oh, what a doughhead...I forgot to mention that I agree that the last picture may not look quite right for your timeperiod. The flat look definately fits my impression of what a counter of that time period might look like--but do I know what I'm talking about? :D
Granite has come way down in price, because it's trendy, and there's a lot of competition for business. Soapstone is still not as sought after.
You're right about it being soft, but here's the difference: Granite, Quartz, and other stones are supposed to look pristine forever, so when they get banged up they look bad. But Soapstone (and butcher block which I'm using on the island) improve with age and use. They develop a patina over time. And they're somewhat renewable by sanding and oiling.
The guy that was here last night left me a small sample of soapstone, and I took screwdriver to it. Then I sanded it out and oiled it, and you can't tell.
It's way too hot to work on the kitchen floor today (the original plan) so I've been sitting here looking for nearby quarries where I can see actual slabs. After looking all over Massachusetts and RI (a lot of websites say that they do soapstone counters, but they don't) I found one 15 min. from here! So I'm off … I'll post pictures later. ;).
Looks like I missed this whole conversation, but I'm really glad you're going with soapstone. It was out of budget for my kitchen, but I went with faux soapstone matte Formica and I really love it. I'm sure the real deal will look that much better. ;)
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It's really a crap shoot - you just don't know what you're going to get. You can go look at the stone before they install it, but you've got to expect some natural variations.
The guy showed me some quartz stuff, too. It's pretty, but it's got too much depth to it. For it to look "period" it hast to be pretty flat.
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Is it more expensive than granite?!? Wow. I had no idea; I thought it would be less. Don't know why...just what I thought. :p Maybe I completely made up that opinion based upon nothing. :D
Also, you should be able to go to the warehouse from which your fabricator buys and pick out what you want. If not, I think I'd get a different fabricator. But that's just me, and I feel like I'm sounding bossy even though I am NOT telling you what to do. Do what you want. See if I care.
:D Hee hee.
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You're right about it being soft, but here's the difference: Granite, Quartz, and other stones are supposed to look pristine forever, so when they get banged up they look bad. But Soapstone (and butcher block which I'm using on the island) improve with age and use. They develop a patina over time. And they're somewhat renewable by sanding and oiling.
The guy that was here last night left me a small sample of soapstone, and I took screwdriver to it. Then I sanded it out and oiled it, and you can't tell.
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That is incredible!
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It's way too hot to work on the kitchen floor today (the original plan) so I've been sitting here looking for nearby quarries where I can see actual slabs. After looking all over Massachusetts and RI (a lot of websites say that they do soapstone counters, but they don't) I found one 15 min. from here! So I'm off … I'll post pictures later. ;).
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