[Eve2278]

Originally Posted by SALYBOW

I have granite and it came pre-sealed. I do nothing extra for it. I don't do any of the things Heloise does and mine looks great. This is the second home in which I've had it. I LOVE IT!

I have had granite for 15 years, two different houses and wouldn't have anything else. You have a simple spray product that seals it every so often like spraying water on it....no big deal. I' ve used it as a cutting board, I've set hot pans on it, I've spilt wine on it... and it looks beautiful...

[Carla B]

We've had granite for 3-1/2 years. No problems at all, I guess it came pre-sealed 'cause it looks like there's an epoxy coating or something on it.

I can't bring myself to put a hot pot or pan on it. I grab the new home section from the "Daily Sun". It's nice and thick and if I get food on it I just throw it away.

[CFrance]

We've had all three--laminate, granite, and now at TV, Corian. I have to say I really miss the granite in our Michigan home. We sealed it once, in 2005. It's fabulous. We use a granite cleaner from Method that smells divine. We've never had a scratch problem or problems with liquid, wine, oil, etc. We bought a spec home here in TV, and I have two wishes: that our golden retriever will destroy the carpet in a year so that we can replace with solid tile, and that we will sell our condo in MI so I can lobby for granite counter tops! Our Corian is very, very pretty, but I can see already after a month here that it is going to scratch.

[Carla B]

May both your wishes come true, CFrance!

[l2ridehd]

Corian scratches, as will silestone. To me granite has a natural beauty that none of the others do. And granite is the most durable. Go into a home that has had granite for 10 years and it still looks new. And granite is unique, no two pieces are the same. And care is very minimal. I buy the granite wipes from Bed Bath & Beyond and use one once a week. Use soap and water in between. Have only sealed when new, but that took a total of 10 minutes and I have a lot of granite. It's a personal choice, but it is very hard to beat the look, ease of care, and durability of granite.

[getdul981]

We had quartz in our home in VA and wanted it here. The house we bought has granite and we're getting accustomed to it. The more I use it, the more I like it. I still think that if we were to build new again, we would go with quartz.

[cquick]

Originally Posted by getdul981

We had quartz in our home in VA and wanted it here. The house we bought has granite and we're getting accustomed to it. The more I use it, the more I like it. I still think that if we were to build new again, we would go with quartz.

Yes, I know you love quartz, but I wanted to let everyone know that my friend in Illinois just had quartz put in their bathroom remodel, and the countertops are changing color and getting "splotchy". Now they have to decide whether to spend the money to have it replaced or just live with it. Since it's only in one bathroom, I'd live with it!:-)

[NotGolfer]

I don't have granite. But don't sell Heloise short! I've read "care articles" before regarding granite and they seem to follow what Heloise said. I think the sealing is key to most issues. Placing hot pans on it? I have heard of an instance where someone did that and the granite cracked. I don't remember where I heard about this and the details but something to think about. Corian does require care too. I think I've read where it can be "sanded" every so often to take care of scratches. I for one think I'd do the silestone if I made a change. As with anything...ALL surfaces have some kind of care involved. Maybe the concrete countertops would be something to look into! (????)

[moongirl]

We bought a spec home in TV 5 yrs ago and it has granite counters. They gave us granite care products and we sealed the counters. I absolutely HATE these granite counters. During the first six months they started yellowing where we use them the most(ours is the brown, cream, black colors). I have tried all different kinds of cleaners (soap & water, windex, simple green, peroxide) and cannot get the yellowing out. I even tried the poultice method, it didn't work! Counters are still yellowing. There are etched spots from who knows what. If I could afford it, I would replace them in a minute! I have a friend who has the black granite and her counters always look greasy and smeared. I would go back to formica; much less expensive if something does happen to them or you want to change decor, and there are so many new beautiful designs now. JMHO

[tommy steam]

Originally Posted by BmoreGal

Hi Cquick - I opted out on granite in my past 2 homes for the reasons you stated. Granite, while not overly maintance needy, does need attention. You must seal it annually to prevent stains from seeping into it.

I have Silestone, and LOVE IT. It is maintanance free, I can sit a hot pot on it, cut on it, and it has the look and feel of granite. As it is impervious to absorbing anything, it does not hold germs, or odors...

Something to think about. Cost is about the same as Granite.

Good luck with your choices.

just saw a tv show on countertops, they also recomended Silestone over granite for the same reasons.

[coffeebean]

My concern with granite, or any hard surface, is that I would have to treat my dishes, glasses and anything breakable with kid gloves. The "clang" noise that happens when anything breakable touches the granite surface, makes me cringe.

I have Corian bathroom vanity tops and I put "bumpers" on the bottom of my tumbler to protect the tumbler from breaking. I can not imagine having to worry about all my breakables in the kitchen. I just would not feel comfortable working in my kitchen on anything other than a Formica surface. I've had Formica counter tops in my kitchens for as long as I can remember and it is so easy to work on. I have no worries about breaking anything on Formica.

[Applepie]

One of the elements making up granite is arsenic. Granite has more poisonious substances in it than any other countertop material. - per Wiki
Be very sure your countertops are sealed every year and done correctly to prevent contamination.

[jblum315]

Originally Posted by coffeebean

My concern with granite, or any hard surface, is that I would have to treat my dishes, glasses and anything breakable with kid gloves. The "clang" noise that happens when anything breakable touches the granite surface, makes me cringe.

I have Corian bathroom vanity tops and I put "bumpers" on the bottom of my tumbler to protect the tumbler from breaking. I can not imagine having to worry about all my breakables in the kitchen. I just would not feel comfortable working in my kitchen on anything other than a Formica surface. I've have Formica counter tops in my kitchens for as long as I can remember and it is so easy to work with. I have no worries about breaking anything on Formica.

I agree. I came to hate the granite in my kitchen. Almost every time I emptied the dishwasher I would break something from bumping it on the edge of the granite.
I guess granite has a lot of "snob" appeal. And it is pretty when it's freshly polished. But shows every fingerprint and smudge.
By the way, if you have good knives that you care about, don't ever do any cutting on granite. Won't harm the granite but will ruin your knives.

[coffeebean]

Originally Posted by jblum315

I agree. I came to hate the granite in my kitchen. Almost every time I emptied the dishwasher I would break something from bumping it on the edge of the granite.
I guess granite has a lot of "snob" appeal. And it is pretty when it's freshly polished. But shows every fingerprint and smudge.
By the way, if you have good knives that you care about, don't ever do any cutting on granite. Won't harm the granite but will ruin your knives.

I was beginning to feel as though I'm an alien being for not liking granite counter tops in the kitchen. Thank you for voicing your opinion and making me realize I'm not alone with the way I feel.

[coffeebean]

Originally Posted by Applepie

One of the elements making up granite is arsenic. Granite has more poisonous substances in it than any other counter top material. - per Wiki
Be very sure your counter tops are sealed every year and done correctly to prevent contamination.

Yikes! That is a greater concern than mine.