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If you’re cerebration about replacing your kitchen counters, your timing couldn’t be added perfect. There has never been a bigger time to boutique for countertops. Gone consistently are the canicule back your alone choices were artificial coat or copse butcherblock. Today, there are dozens of surfaces available, alignment from accustomed bean and renewable acrylic sheets, to quartz composites and decrepit concrete. And countertops appear in dozens of colors, patterns and textures to amuse any architecture ambition alignment from adult to sassy.
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There’s no one countertop that’s ideal for every homeowner. The best actual for your kitchen will depend on several factors, including color, all-embracing style, durability, stain- and scratch-resistance, and, of course, price. As you analysis anniversary of the options listed below, accumulate in apperception that able countertop fabricators are accessible in about every town, including at best home-improvement centers.
The best accepted accustomed stones acclimated to accomplish countertops accommodate granite, soapstone and slate. Here’s a abrupt attending at anniversary material:
Granite, already begin alone in expensive, high-end kitchens, is added commonplace today and is by far the best accepted natural-stone countertop material. Granite counters are awash primarily through bounded fabricators, but they’re additionally frequently accessible at abounding home-improvement aliment and kitchen showrooms.
Granite comes in a advanced arrangement of colors, alignment from active dejection and different browns, to midnight black, abysmal red and blotchy white. It’s cut into long, blubbery slabs that crave few — if any — seams. Best fabricators commonly accomplish jumpsuit granite counters up to 10 anxiety long. Best granite counters are able to a bright sheen, but you can additionally ask for a acid finish, which is abundant beneath agleam and added of a matte sheen.
After the granite is cut and polished, it’s advised with an impregnating sealer that makes the countertop stain resistant. This analysis usually lasts about 10 years, but be abiding to use a bean cleaner — not an annoying cleanser — for accustomed cleaning.
The boundless acceptance and availability of granite has counterbalanced prices somewhat, but it’s not absolutely cheap. Expect to pay amid $100 to over $300 per aboveboard foot, depending on the granite blush and complication of the fabrication.
Soapstone and slate both appear in far beneath colors than granite. Soapstone is usually aphotic greenish-black, although lighter green-gray slabs are additionally common. Slate is an acutely close bean that comes in bristles attenuate colors: green, red, gray, amethyst and black. Hardly beneath accepted are different amethyst and blotchy amethyst slates, which accept arresting veins and shades of allegory colors. Both soapstone and slate can be bogus into sinks to bout the countertop.
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Soapstone is porous, and charge be closed with mineral oil to abate staining. Slate, on the added hand, is close and about maintenance-free. Although slate is almost soft, accessory scratches can be buffed out with animate wool.
Slate has a soft-matte sheen, but you can actualize a “wet” attending by abrading the apparent with auto oil. Slate countertops amount almost $150 to $200 per aboveboard foot, depending on the fabrication. Soapstone is priced analogously with mid-range granite: $100 to $150 per aboveboard foot.
Solid-surfacing abstracts — such as Corian, Staron and Wilsonart— are bogus of 100 percent acrylic, 100 percent polyester, or a aggregate of acrylic and poly. They’re awful stain- and scratch-resistant, and absolutely renewable and repairable. Scratches and burns can be sanded out; abysmal gouges can be filled. Seams are alloyed calm to actualize ephemeral joints. And the actual comes in actually hundreds of colors and patterns, abounding of which resemble accustomed stone. Solid-surface sinks are additionally accessible to either bout or adverse the countertop.
Detractors abolish solid-surfacing abstracts as actuality annihilation added than apery stone, which is a bit unfair. Solid-surface counters accept been about for added 50 years and accept performed admirably in bags of kitchens. A different appropriate of solid-surfacing actual is that the architecture possibilities are about limitless. From intricate inlays and custom backsplashes, to affected bend treatments and bright pin-striping, if you can dream it there’s a acceptable adventitious the architect can actualize it.
Another blazon of solid surfacing actual that’s account because is quartz composite. Additionally accepted as engineered stone, this different actual is composed of about 90 percent quartz and 10 percent acrylic or adhesive binder. DuPont Zodiaq, Formica Solid-Surfacing and Silestone are a few of the abounding quartz composites now available.
The capital differences amid engineered bean and acceptable solid-surfacing abstracts are that engineered bean is abundant harder and has a depth, accuracy and brilliance not begin in added solid surfaces. Quartz composites amount hardly added than acceptable solid surfaces, but both abstracts are commensurable to high-end granite: Expect to pay $200 to $350 per aboveboard bottom for a solid-surface counter.
Plastic laminate, which is generally referred to by the tradename, Formica — is a decidedly abiding actual that can survive abounding years in the toughest kitchens, which is absorbing back you accede that artificial coat is bogus primarily of kraft cardboard abounding with resins.
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Plastic coat is accessible in hundreds of colors, dozens of patterns and assorted textures. However, alone those with a matte or fine-matte accomplishment should be acclimated for countertops. Never use a textured coat for a kitchen counter; its aloft ridges will alpha to appearance abrasion rather quickly. Be aware, too, that there are two basal types of laminates: 1/16-inch-thick general-purpose and 1/32-inch vertical grade. Alone general-purpose coat is acceptable for countertops; vertical brand is for backsplashes, and chiffonier doors and drawer faces.
Plastic coat comes in bedding alignment from 2×4 anxiety to 4×8 ft. Best and added bedding can be appropriate ordered. Prices ambit from about $2 to over $3 per aboveboard foot, depending on the laminate’s blush and pattern. If you appoint a cabinetmaker to custom-build a counter, prices will ambit from about $20 to over $50 per aboveboard foot, depending aloft the coat chosen, complication of the bend analysis and admeasurement of the backsplash.
Another plastic-laminate advantage is the post-formed variety. Accessible at assertive lumberyards and home centers, ready-to-install post-formed coat counters accept the advanced edge, countertop apparent and backsplash all bogus and formed into one seamless slab. Prices alter widely, but a solid blush 8-foot-long post-formed countertop costs amid $90 and $130.
The trend in kitchen architecture for the accomplished decade or so has confused against low-maintenance, seamless counters. As a result, beneath countertops are covered with bowl or ceramics tile. However, that doesn’t beggarly you should absolutely abatement asphalt for your kitchen. Asphalt is an accomplished best for backsplashes, or for accessory assignment surfaces, such as islands, eat-at counters, peninsulas, wet confined or butler’s pantries. Aloof be abiding to use tiles rated for use on floors or countertops. Never use bank asphalt on a counter. It’s too attenuate and will calmly crack.
Tile is generally activated to a plywood substrate or anon over absolute artificial coat countertops. However, to ensure a rock-solid, abiding installation, it’s best to use 3/4-inch-thick plywood topped with 1/2-inch-thick adhesive backerboard.
It’s difficult to appraisal the amount of a asphalt countertop back abundant depends on the asphalt called and complication of the installation. Simple solid-color tiles amount as little as $1 per aboveboard foot, but the boilerplate amount is added in the $5 to $10 per aboveboard bottom range. A pro accession about costs amid $30 and $50 per aboveboard foot, additional the amount of the tile.
Courtesy Home Depot
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Wood is addition acceptable countertop actual that has absent bulge over the years due to the boundless acceptance of granite and solid surfaces. And again, the acumen is maintenance. It’s adamantine to exhausted the accustomed adorableness and amore of wood, but advancement the apparent requires added of a charge than best active homeowners are accommodating to make. But, aloof like bowl tile, there are accessory surfaces breadth application copse makes sense, such as a baker’s basic area, eat-at adverse and aliment chopping block. In fact, copse is the alone countertop actual recommended for cutting, slicing, and chopping.
Wood counters are about bogus from maple, an acutely dense, albino hardwood, but teak, walnut, cherry, besom and oak are additionally used. There are three means that copse countertops are fabricated: bend grain, end grain, and advanced plank. Edge-grain counters are bogus up of long, blubbery strips of copse that are alert calm with the bend atom adverse up. End-grain counters (butcherblocks) are complete of almost short, aboveboard sticks of copse that are abutting calm with the boxy end atom adverse up. These counters are usually 4 to 12 inches thick. Wide-plank counters are bogus by edge-gluing calm advanced boards. This is the best admirable and acceptable appearance of copse counter, but it’s additionally the blazon that’s best affected to arise and warping, if it’s not anxiously maintained.
Wood counters are generally accomplished with mineral oil, adorn or marine-oil finish. Prefab slabs of edge-grain counters can be appropriate ordered at best home advance stores, and through online wood-counter dealers. A accepted 1½ x 25-inch-wide adverse is about accessible in 8-foot and 12-foot lengths; best lengths can be appropriate ordered. Expect to pay about $200 to $300 for an 8-foot maple counter; the aforementioned admeasurement in blooming is afterpiece to $350. Best home-improvement aliment advertise 8-foot-long besom countertops for about $300.
End-grain and wide-plank counters charge be custom bogus by a cabinetmaker that specializes in copse counters. Prices alter depending on the copse breed used, but on boilerplate they’re commensurable with affection granite counters: $100 to $250 per aboveboard foot.
Concrete counters, which carefully resemble slabs of accustomed stone, are acceptable added added popular. Unlike the accurate counters of the late-1980s, which were messily caked aloft the cabinets, today’s fabricators action pre-cast counters that are bogus in a branch and delivered—fully convalescent and finished—to the jobsite.
Pre-cast counters action abounding advantages: The molded slabs are acutely collapsed and actual smooth, as compared to hand-troweled finishes. On the added hand, caked accurate needs several weeks of abating time afore it can be abundantly sealed, which creates a huge aggravation for homeowners. And poured-in-place counters are belled for crimper up at the corners due to asperous curing.
Pre-cast accurate counters are about 1½-inch thick, and it’s accessible in slabs up to 10-feet long. A array of colors are accomplished by abacus pigments to the accurate during mixing. Already cured, the slabs are acid and closed to anticipate staining. Arise is consistently a affair with concrete, and fabricators generally use wire mesh, metal rebar, or fiberglass or stainless animate fibers to strengthen the counter.
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A high-quality pre-cast accurate adverse costs amid $100 and $150 per aboveboard foot, which isn’t outrageously big-ticket back you accede that anniversary adverse is custom bogus from scratch
Home advance able Joseph Truini writes for The Home Depot and shares his all-encompassing ability to advice homeowners accomplish the appropriate decisions on their acclimate projects. He offers tips on aggregate from how to aces the appropriate ready-to-assemble cabinets for your kitchen to how to install a asphalt floor.
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