Kitchen countertop selection process

I would call Anthony from Stone Works. 973-214-6963.

He is a great guy and will come to your apt, take a template, fabricate and install the countertop

I paid a small Chinatown place $5kish for full height backsplash & about 18 feet of countertop - regular Carrera. But they also did all the vanity counters.

I hear classic tile (classictileny) is very competitive.

Green depot 220 bowery.
You Pick
They come and make a template
Cut and install
You cook dinner

I just ordered ceaserstone...apple martini...talk about being brave!

I would stay away from Carrara for a kitchen counter...

It's fine. I think Carrera is a very classic look.

Builtin,

Why would you not use Carrera?

carrera is prone to staining, no? or is that just a myth?

falcogold, what color is the rest of the kitchen? it's always sold as a very modern option. not that you're asking for opinions, but first time i saw that color in some ad, i thought it would look really cool in classic all white kitchen, cabinets, floor, and a tile backsplash of 2x2 white tiles, with same size tiles in coral or red thrown in randomly.

You need to be willing to live with some staining and etching if you go with marble. We put a three inch thich slab of calcatta marble on the island of our weekend house, and soapstone on the perimiters. You don't even want to know what that slab cost, but it looks great. The soapstone is from Tiexera in NJ, the marble from Hindustan on long island, which has a huge warehouse of slabs of all sorts and is a good place to look at options.

great vba! very well played.

Falco - did you end up buying?

Primer, printer, like nyc_sport says, Carrara and most marbles are prone to staining and scratching as well. They do look great, but I never recommend marble without a huge disclaimer to the client.

Reviving an old thread as I am currently in the process of selecting a kitchen countertop. Any recent experience or recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks.

Be careful getting anything too "interesting" because you will love it for the first few months and then wonder why you got it.

Is it for someone else's home (brand name) or your own home (price/practicality)?

If it's for a house of ill repute you can't go wrong with:
http://www.caesarstone.com.au/colour/8551-amethyst

I recently heard about a new counter material: neolith . Apparently it's a type of sintered porcelain that can look exactly like marble. Does anyone have any experience with it? http://www.thesize.es/neolith/en/

You have to be careful with Neolith. It is a beautiful product but it is not as durable as other countertops and if it chips or cracks there is no good way to repair it. Love it for a backsplash

Soapstone. It's gorgeous, different, and durable. You chip it, you can sand it and reoil it. Done. Use mineral oil to turn it from.orig gray to black. Just my two cents. Biased cause I got it and love it

some discussion on marble: http://streeteasy.com/talk/discussion/40204

Thanks all. On a related note, how do people get long countertops into their apartment in one piece if it doesn't fit in the elevator? I guess you can use a crane and bring it into the apartment through windows (very expensive?) or have it hauled up the stairs (moderate upcharge?) Has anyone had a 1.25" thick stone countertop hauled up the stairs and if so additional cost associated with it? Thanks in advance

I believe they usually poke the top of the slab into the (opened) emergency escape door on the cab's ceiling. No?

Jukim39,

Sometimes a large slab will not fit and you have to have a seam, it is possible to bring it up the stairs but they will charge for it, could be $100 per flight.

has anyone had experience with matte,tempered glass counters. They can be back painted in various colors