[oldtimes]

Originally Posted by yporter

If you do use Solid Stone, will be very interested to hear your opinion. Our list of projects after purchase is being slowly whittled down, and kitchen countertop replacement is rising toward the next position. Had Corian (kitchen & bath) in previous house up north for 20+ yrs w/no problems so very interested. You might check if they would make you matching cutting boards from the sink excision. My contractor did as a free bonus, and I kept them by the stove to put hot pots on and never had an issue with damage from the pot bottom. Don't know if today's Corian is made by the same process as in 1998, but that stuff was tough, beautiful, and hard to mar. - and if you managed it, buffing out worked.

We had Solid Stone and they did several custom projects for us like the window sill and the little cutout nook in our CYV. They are wonderful to work with and their work is perfect. We put in quartz in the kitchen and solid surface with the integrated sinks in the bathroom.

[TheCraigs]

Originally Posted by La lamy

Sorry to hear 6 weeks is reasonable. The problem is that I'm getting new cabinets which will be without counters for a long time. The new cabinets are not exactly the same size as the previous ones so I don't have the option of putting on the old counters on top temporarily. Especially the sink cabinet that will need a smaller sink, I know, why downsize, don't worry about it, there is a reason for it! I could put a piece of plywood in the meantime, that might be my only option.
Tinker, I have looked at the stock counters in Home Depot and Lowes and they're not what I'm looking for, but that was a good suggestion.
I've got a lot of counters to replace and since I am not planning on reselling, I'm quite content to go for the cheaper option that I wouldn't feel devastated if anyone damaged them by mistake. But maybe I will get swayed to stone so they get done faster!

If you haven't decided upon countertops yet, please send me a private message. We recently gutted and remodeled our entire kitchen. Home Depot's quote was 25% OVER our agreeded upon budget, whereas the contractor we used in nearby Orlando was 15% UNDER our budget for a fully custom kitchen! Using nearby Orlando contractors may reduce your overall cost and wait time becuase they have quartz & granite supply on-hand.

[Topspinmo]

Must be just me, I don’t replace something unless it’s broken/worn out? It just counter. About every resale I’ve notice no matter how much money was spent for upgrading for sale the new owners tore it up and put in what they like.

IMO most upgrading waste of money on resale cause the new owners may not have same taste. I watched my neighbor spent 40K plus upgrading, painting closing in Lani. Guess what the new owners tore all the upgraded out, repainted and spent another 40K plus.

[MightyDog]

Originally Posted by Topspinmo

Must be just me, I don’t replace something unless it’s broken/worn out? It just counter. About every resale I’ve notice no matter how much money was spent for upgrading for sale the new owners tore it up and put in what they like.

IMO most upgrading waste of money on resale cause the new owners may not have same taste. I watched my neighbor spent 40K plus upgrading, painting closing in Lani. Guess what the new owners tore all the upgraded out, repainted and spent another 40K plus.

If your neighbor got back what he spent on upgrading for resale and, maybe, even some on top of that in the sale price, then it was probably money well-spent. To the seller, it's irrelevant what the buyer does with the property.

This I can tell you as someone avidly watching TV real estate -- for the people who are moving from out-of-state, and all that that entails, combined with not knowing reputable contractors / handymen in the area -- the idea of buying a home that needs a lot of updating is not appealing. I'm seeing updated listings that are priced correctly go under contract more quickly than much lesser-priced homes that still have blue countertops and plenty of carpeting, etc., for example. Imo, sellers are well-advised to get sharp colors off of walls, pull-out old carpet and replace with something else plus a few other things. It WILL help them sell their home faster.

But, this is besides the point of the OP anyway. She is updating her kitchen for herself and her use while she owns the property.

[Stu from NYC]

Originally Posted by TheCraigs

If you haven't decided upon countertops yet, please send me a private message. We recently gutted and remodeled our entire kitchen. Home Depot's quote was 25% OVER our agreeded upon budget, whereas the contractor we used in nearby Orlando was 15% UNDER our budget for a fully custom kitchen! Using nearby Orlando contractors may reduce your overall cost and wait time becuase they have quartz & granite supply on-hand.

Better go direct to a good contractor. All Home Depot will do is sub it out to a contractor and mostly wash their hands on the job while collecting 25% or more.