Granite Counter Tops - Advantages / Disavantages?

I prefer silestone to granite. It has all the advantages (cool to the touch, can set a hot dish on it, etc) and none of the disadvantages (has to be sealed, can break, etc). I believe it's a quartz compound.

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There are many options other than granite or tile. Explore them. Granite can look great, but it is very expensive and kind of a fad right now. It will not be popular forever, so it doesn't guarantee adding value to your home, especially for the cost.

Research all your options. You will be surprised at the range of things available, and many of them are have smooth, uniform surfaces that don't involve grout.

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Personally I have found granite harder to clean. Maybe it's the porous nature, but it cling to sticky stuff and I need to leave a hot wash cloth down to let it soak. And my regular "counter cleaner" seems to leave a film so I bought granite cleaner spray. If I had my choice, I would not have them.

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I HATE my granite. You have to babysit it. I understand it's the "buzz" word in new home building/remodeling but it's so not worth the hassle. I had Silestone in my last house and loved it so when I bought my new house it unfortunately came with granite:( I love Silestone so much better I had my kitchen table custome made through Thomasville furniture with a Silestone top....best purchase ever! Silestone (like already mentioned) is so much more durable and lasts forever. Plus, it's been proven that granite leaches toxic gas into your air so if it that type of stuff bothers you, go with Silestone.

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I used to have tile then had granite installed when we re-did our kitchen 7 years ago. I LOVE granite! Make sure you seal it (or have the installer seal it) before use. It's proven to be easier to care for than tile and no grout lines. You can place hot pans on it. Knives won't damage granite (they can damage tile), but granite can dull knives so I use a cutting board. Easy to clean, easy to maintain and looks great all the time.
Best decision I ever made!

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I remodeled my kitchen seven years ago. We put in granite counter tops because we hate grout. I put hot pan directly on it. Spills of all kinds (coffee, tea, spaghetti sauce, etc) wipe off easily. I have never had to reseal it. We had a custom granite installer put it in. He told us we don't ever need to reseal it. It still looks brand new. I use dish soap and water to clean it.

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we put in granite & absolutely love it....its gold, tan, black,cream & we have white cabinets........we have sealed it once in 6 yrs.......i use all kinds of cleaners on it like clorox wips, 409, etc & it still looks beautiful

the info about it being radioactive is just a hoax, my husband is a nuclear physicist, believe me there are far more radioactive things in your home

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We love our granite! Easy to clean, they say you can set hot pots right on it or cut on it with a sharp knife (no cutting board), but we have never done this.

There are different levels of granite. The lesser the quality, the lesser the price. I love our counters in our kitchen and did not pay a fortune for them. They always look shiny. We got a lesser qualtiy for our basement, but I was picking soley on color and not quality for down there. If I could do it all over, I would pick higher quality. When I clean the counter in the basement, it has a cloudy look to it.

409 makes a Granite spay that makes cleaning really simple.

I used to have granite and now I have CeaserStone. I liked both. It really depends on the style of your kitchen. I would go with granite for more traditional and with CeaserStone if you have contemporary/modern kitchen. The price is about the same but with granite there are a lot of options (where it is sourced from) and you have to be careful when picking the slabs so that pattern looks even. I remember that I spend more time shopping for granite while shopping for Ceaserstone was very easy and quick. Also, if I recall correctly granite is prone to acid etching and you have to seal granite.

I had trouble with tile.
Got wounderful silestone from Costco services.
Great product, good price, worked out fine....
(four or five years ago)

I have a stone countertop. Can't remember if it is Quartz or what. I love it.
So much cheaper, very durable and easy to clean. I got it at Lowes Home
Improvement Center (comparable to Home Depot).

I have never seen a slab of granite I liked. I dont care for the viens, swirls, or spots. Never have. I have tile and love it. Im sure with a solid surface you dont get food or stains in the grout, but I dont care. I still dont like granite. If I happen to break a tile and really need it fixed, I can have it cut out and a new tile replaced. You cant do that with a solid slab of granite.

I don't have anything to add to the comments already posted, but we are remodeling our kitchen and are considering a concrete countertop. You can get it in a variety of colors. It is more environmentally friendly than granite and less expensive. I'm just not sure if there are any disadvantages that I'm not aware of. Does anyone have experience with a concrete countertop?

Well I seem to be in the minority. I have granite in my kitchen (and I have a huge kitchen--probably 17 feet of counter space plus a 5 foot island). I love it. It is beautiful and I can set anything down on it, hot or cold. I can slice things (fruits/vegetables/cheese) directly on it with no cutting board if I want to. I did find that it works best to use a cleaner made specifically for granite, but it isn't any more expensive or troublesome than any other cleaner I would use on something else.

I have had mine for 5 years and have NO problems whatsoever. Mine is a dark green tone (that looks almost black, but not so harsh, with silvery and goldish flecks in it). You can't really tell it is "green" (so I'm not locked into that color scheme) but it isn't plain black. So it is very versatile. I don't have seams in it, so not grout issues. As long as your granite is sealed, it isn't porous like unsealed would be. Liquid sits on top, doesn't soak in.

I love it. Yes, I saw a story a while back about radioactivity seeping out of some granite, but it is well below the european standards for saftey; and it seeps out of other things in your household that you might not be aware of... depression era glass and ceramic items also emit small amounts of radiation.

I will never have a "burn" spot on my countertops. They have never scratched. They still look as beautiful as the day we moved in. They recommend re-sealing them every few years, but we have had ours for going on 6 years and haven't seen a need so far. The spray cleaner I use also aids in that. It's a combo cleaner/sealant for everyday use.

**Pros**

Can put hot things on it and it won't burn.

Will look good regardless of popular decorating trends

Ups the value of your home/kitchen

Looks really nice

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*Cons*

Expensive

Can be radioactive and a cancer hazzard
(see: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/24/garden/24granite.html )

Though very tough, it can get dull, cracked, scuffed or scratched

See: http://www.chicagohomemag.com/Chicago-Home/Summer-2006/Gr...

http://www.ehow.com/info_###-###-####_granite-scratched-d...

While not likely, if it should crack or break, may need to be replaced versus simply repaired

Might be limited to certain colors in that room based on what colors are in the granite