This is not a serious issue, just an attempt to get suggestions from people who have done this. I recently bought a house, and have been working on making improvements to it. I had the bathroom redone completely before I moved in, and had the wood floors stripped and refinished. Since I have moved in, I have had a new electric service put in (the poor house was only running everything off a 100 amp service) and had the whole house repiped. I've done all the little things like small repairs, patching old holes and painting, new blinds throughout, landscaping, tree trimming and all that. So that leaves me with one major thing left to do-my kitchen. The house was built in 1958 and aside from the appliances, the kitchen still looks like it did then. Blue formica countertop, crappy floor, cabinets that MAY have been replaced in the 70's, they're pretty bad. I know I want to pull up the floor and replace it with tile, replace the cabinets, and eliminate the soffet if I can. Here is the question-if you have done a kitchen remodel or are considering one, would you tile over the existing countertop, or would you bite the bullet and just go granite? Subquestion-what color did you/are you considering for your walls? Being a guy, I have no eye for this sort of thing and could use suggestions. The cabinets I want are fawn maple, the refrigerator, stove, and dishwasher are white but the over the stove microwave is black, and the tile is going to be kind of a rust color. Any and all suggestions are appreciated.
For what its worth. We just moved and our new house indeed has Granite Countertops. The Pro-s and Con-s to date. Huge PRO. When you take something out of the Oven...you can litterally sit it directly on the Countertop. No worries what-so-ever. No scratching, de-laminating or grout issues.....ever. Con. Make sure you spend the time and seal your granite after it has been installed for about 3 weeks to a month. One thing we were told, and I have also read, is that it absorbs liquid...and it soaks all the way through. If that liquid were say.... Grape Juice or Red Wine, you will end up with a permanent stain. We got some Sealer from Home Depot, it was a little costy, but only have to do it once every year or so. It is really easy to put on, just spray it, let it soak in for 5 mins, spray again and wipe off after about 30 mins. Other than that, I would say that if you can afford it, go with the Granite. It is BEAUTIFUL and very low maintenence. It is a pretty big cost up front, but as I mentioned, its not like its gonna break or something. From a style standpoint, no two "Digs" of Granite are the same, so its not like somebody is going to come over and say, "Hey, I have that exact same Countertop"......
Granite is always good but you might want to think about quartz. I believe the maintenance is easier on quartz.
Brother silestone is the way to go. It is better then granite and doesn't have to be sealed over and over again. I have that in my house now, and have had it for 3 years now without a problem, and looks very good. We have a very nice brown. Best of luck to you. This is the brown I was referring to. http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs...stone&langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053
Also make sure since it sounds like your getting new cabinets, make sure you reinforce them if you go quartz(silestone) or granite. Also one other option to consider is concrete. It can be acid etched in really cool ways but it does need to be sealed like granite every couple of years.
All the above options are good, if you decide to go granite make sure to choose one with a low grade of porosity, like Absolute black, Blue pearl, Emerald pearl or others in the same family. I would not consider granite with a high grade of absorbency like Cashmere White, which is pretty but high maintenance. The cost depends from area by area. Good luck bro.
Warm colors are great in a kitchen. My colors of choice are wine varities, with some gold are red oriental varities. These colors are warm and inviting. They will go great with fawn maple cabinets. They will also go great with the cabinets, lightening them just a touch so the space isn't dark and dreary. As far as the granite goes, do you cook a lot? Or do you do mostly takeout? How much of your entertainment is focused in the kitchen? If this is a very high-traffic, collective gathering place, then I would go with the great look of granite. If not, you may be able to save your budget and go with the faux-granite look. Talk to someone at Home Depot (my store of choice) for ideas on what to do with your countertops. Either way, good luck! I would love to see pictures when you are finished!
This is very helpful-thank you. I've been thinking of a reddish color for the walls. I don't do a lot of entertaining, usually just a friend or two for a game. And as for cooking, I don't do a lot of exotic stuff, usually pretty simple since it's just me. Your faux granite suggestion may just be the ticket. And believe me, I know from Home Depot-my entire bathroom is from the Depot, except the light fixture. I should own stock, I swear.
If you like the light gold color granite with some wine color garnet I will suggest you to take a look at "Santa Cecilia" which price wise is affordable, between $38 to $45 per s/f installed with standard edges. In case you like the green color look at "verde butterfly" or "verde ubatuba" the price is similar at the above one.
F&G.. are you a fabricator? Blue pearl royal is my favorite granite, I also like Galaxy.. the sparkly version of Absolute. I used emerald pearl and absolute in the upper body and bill of a sailfish I made. Used Cystalline with a suble iron stain for the lower body, with lapis lazuli stripes. The sail is a dyed cystalline and I used roho for the gills which cannot be seen from the front, you have to get an oblique view as they a lapped. Slash Cosmic... I am a natural stone kinna guy but the resin based quartz top can be quite pretty and they are not susceptable to staining or etching from acids.. like granite they can be repolished in situ as it dulls up over the years. I must say though, that there is a freedom from fear of hot pots and pans.. they can be set down on granite with impunity.
Its funny, as I no longer have to look where or what I set a hot Cookie pan, Pan with soup or anything on. I just simply set it on the counter top . I do fear if I ever go away from the Granite as I know it will be instantanious circle-burns in the counter top. Beautiful work Mr Marteen....very very impressive big-guy.
Absolute Black ( is considered a granite, but is a basalt) and Emerald pearl are great choices. I like also the black galaxy with the copper flakes, not the silver. The blue pearl is also one of my favorite, but I do prefer the Gt over the royal since is darker with more depth. The lapis lazuli is absolutely incredibly beautiful and very expensive. I'm in the fabrication and flooring installation for long time, I start after I graduate from college following the family business. I like what you did from you pic, nice job bro.
Well, with your suggestions and some looking on my own, I am leaning toward the granite. Being able to set hot things directly on it is what is putting it in the lead. The kitchen is not overly big, so hopefully it won't be too wallet killing. My friend Glenn does cabinets for a living, so he is getting me his price and installing them for free, and is looking for a piece of granite as well that he can get at his price. Luckily, I have a crew at the ready whenever I get started between myself, Glenn, my bro-in-law, and a couple of our friends-including an electrician, a plumber, and a carpenter. All of whom will do it much cheaper than if I hired them through their companies, and I've seen all their work-it's fantastic.
Very nice brother. To be honest, I ended up with granite simply cause it was already in the house we wanted. I honestly had no idea what I had been missing out on till I had it. Ours is the dark black with LOTS of copper flakes. Usually one of the first things people notice when they come to visit. Would love to see pics of whatever you end up with
ahh Galaxy eh Kenny.. a spectacular stone. Someday I'm going to do a jungle scene with a black Jaguar made from that with honey onyx eyes. Cosmic, well done brother. Having good friends to lend a hand and some skills saves a TON of dough. Among my own friends we do the same. Everyone pitches in to help each other as we can and really, it allows all of us to have things otherwise out if reach.
Hopefully I'll be able to get started next month-that's when everyone's schedule frees up. I will definitely post before and after pics once it's done.
Here is a coolest piece of stone I have ever seen.. Rufus said he HAD to have it, even mismatched his kitchen countertop stone to have a place to put it. He under-lit the feature so that it eerily glows at night. a closer look... is this awesome or what.. The stone in the rest of the kitchen, which is prolly 400+square feet with countertops around the perimeter.. sooo pretty, my pictures do not do it justice my installation of some pain in the fanny to cut tile. The tile has a lip, they filled it with colored glass and fired it, then covered it in clear and fired again getting an interesting crackle effect.. it's not grouted yet close up.. Master bath I love stone and I hope I didn't bore you with my pictures.
I've done Dolphins, and a lot of other things but all my digital photos were lost a long time ago to a puter crash and I never redid them. The sun ring in the logo would be a beatch. Here is a little better picture of Slash that shows the lapis stripes; Here is a poor picture of an American Egret done in cyrstalline which is VERY sparkly and detailed that the photo doesn't show;
Thanks for the kind words. I used to do art shows but the stress wore me out. I had to mount everything and it stayed up for the duration.. one thunderstorm at night could cost me three years work and security although present, wasn't guaranteed and no claims are accepted. My work is very tactile.. it begs to be touched and I was a crowd favorite because I encouraged touching.. with clean hands, no cotton candy hands.. : ) The most prevelant signage at an art show is DO NOT Touch. I will make it my mission over the next week or so to redigitize some photo's, the pieces are quite pretty even if you lose much in the photos.
The primary cutting tool is a wet band saw. (3/8x60 inches) It is somewhat overwhelmed as it was originally designed to cut glass for stained glass artists. Each band is 130+ bucks and every piece costs me one. I had one clownfish (3 inches long!!! )cost me three, did I mention I am stubborn : ) What I call "exploratory art" is expensive. They have improved on this, and if i were to get serious again would probably upgrade. They have made serious improvements to the blades too so cost per piece would drop significantly. I have diamond coated bits for my dremel amd makita grinders in many shapes. I have a complete selection of papers, and wet polishing tools up to 15000 grit. Clear resins for adhesive and custom mixed grouts finish it up.
Does the blade run through the body housing like a traditional band saw? It must have some amazing flex to get through that "C" shape. Could you use something like a scroll saw with a multi-directional blade or would that generate too much heat? Nah, I would have never guessed you to be stubborn . Next piece you do you should take a progressive photo sequence to show us your steps.
Yes, and it's stainless steel. I was so frustrated I could not find a local shop to reweld them. Hell, I've made wood band blades before, my buddies shop had the welder, but the stainless is tough. I REALLY overwork it going through 3/8 inch granite on what is sometimes a very tight cut, the learning curve was steep but I can do some pretty amazing things given the right material. I tried attaching a diamond "rod" blade for a hacksaw into a scroll saw but the vibration made it unusable for me. I love stone with sparkles and that stuff fractures along faults easy. I learned to be tender but lose many pieces to shaping and finishing anyway. Sometimes there isn't any more of the material to remake something and it becomes a stepping stone.. I have some very nice stepping stones. T
I had not thought of how rough a scroll saw operates compared to the relative smoothness of a bandsaw. Does heat play a role in the fracture point at all? I figure you can learn as much from mistakes as you can from a success. I used to enjoy wood working. I wish I could get back into it but I have neither the time or the space right now.