By the end of next year I hope to purchase a retirement home. I am not interested in a total and expensive kitchen rehab, but I would like to make a gift or two to myself, such as new countertops and a new sink (I find small double sinks useless). I thought I had heard that concrete counters and sinks were attractive, durable and economical. However, I recently perused a website where custom concrete counters and sinks were rather pricey. Any advice?
I haven’t heard they are inexpensive relative to granite/quartz. I have heard that it’s very important to get someone very experienced in doing concrete counters.
I think it’s porous? I don’t think it’s a bargain over quartz, granite or solid surface.
I must have mis-read the article I saw, regarding price. I always thought that granite was the most costly material. I did see that letting the concrete cure for an appropriate amount of time and applying a quality sealant is critical to its durability.
Better to go with granite/quartz over concrete. Concrete is not very food friendly.
Really look at sink options. Mine is double bowl 36 inch wide with one side smaller than the other. I’ve liked it very much for past 20 years but sometimes wonder if one big sink space would have been better. Love to hear opinions!
Get a tall faucet.
I didn’t get a stainless sink because of the cleaning–it just isn’t very forgiving in my opinion.
My new dishwasher has a stainless exterior–couldn’t find an suitable alternative. Ugh. So much more upkeep than my old DW.
Oh yes, a tall neck faucet is a priority!!! Tired of banging and squeezing pots under the short faucets I’ve had in every home I have ever lived in!!! By the way, do you ever use the spray hose built into some faucets? My parents had bad luck with spray hoses that stopping working. Wasn’t worth calling a plumber for a fix.
My faucet height isn’t very high (I’d do it higher now) but has the spray hose. LOVE IT!.
Easy to fill pots on counter surface.
Easy to clean sink.
Gets constant use.
Been replaced once–Delta faucet with lifetime warranty. Delta actually had my records–but keep receipts–never know when you need them!
We use the spray hose every single day, if for no other reason than it makes cleaning out the sink a snap. I used it yesterday to clean out snail shells. I’m a fan of one big sink. Mine is big enough that I can keep a dishpan under the sink and put it in the sink to soak stuff on the side. I never have though! (But we do wash dishes that way in Vermont where our cabin has no dishwasher.)
If you want durability without the headaches, go with a stainless sink and a granite top that does not need sealant. Apparently, those granites exist.
I looked at concrete counters last year when we did our kitchen remodel but the cost ended up being similar to the granite that I loved so much. I do like the look of them but I wasn’t sure about the upkeep so decided to go with my maintenance free granite. We did put in a large single basin composite-granite sink by Blanco that I absolutely love. It does not show any scratches, marks or spots, and it looks beautiful. I prefer having 1 large sink over 2 smaller ones and I really, really like the composite granite.
I dislike concrete. It also really needs that sealant. What about cracking potential?
Granite or quartz was almost a tossup for me- the realtor who sold us our house said either was fine for resale value. I liked the granite patterns better five years ago even though it is a 15 years before needing sealing one. Good news/bad news with our pattern- crumbs et al do not show. I did not want the quartz that looked like it had chips in it or showed every piece of dirt/ food spot. Kept Formica when replaced kitchen counters in the old house- let the new owner choose their expensive counter. Butcher block would need sealing as well.
I like stainless steel sinks. No staining, easy to keep clean. Under mount so liquids can easily be pushed from the counter into the sink. Avoid Corian because heat can crack it- someone will pour boiling water… as happened to a neighbor.
Consumer Reports usually has a kitchen section every year with the pros and cons. You could look up recent years’ worth of info in your public library like I did.
I like soapstone - the Vermont guys seem to think you should oil it once a month for the first year, but I think I’ve done it twice in two years and it looks fine to me. I think it looks much warmer than granite. It’s never dented or chipped and I’m a real klutz. http://vermontsoapstone.com/caring-for-soapstone/
Me too! In our newly re-modeled kitchen I put in a single, cast iron under-mount white sink that is fairly deep. I love it!
In our south Florida house (where I also remodeled the kitchen) I had a double under-mount stainless sink with a small side and a big side. Didn’t like it much. Had the small side on the left (after much debate with kitchen designer) and always wished it was on the right. Much, much happier with one big, deep sink.
Not sure about the concrete counters . . . we have quartz in the current house. It’s OK. Liked my granite better but that seemed a little harder to clean and keep looking good.
I picked quartz because of the easy clean up. The sinks are Silegranit - composite granite material made by Blanco. Chose 36" 3/4 sink (smaller bowl on the right because I am right handed) and the biggest bev center sink that cabinet could handle. Also a matching Blanco from build dot com. Miss my integrated Corian sink, but Blanco seems to be a nice alternative. I do not like the look of stainless steel and the fact that some of the cheaper sinks are noisy and dent easily. With SS, you really have to know what you are buying, because there is a lot of cheaply made crap out there that dents and rusts quickly.
^^ My thoughts exactly. For my pieds-à-terre remodel I ordered a Blanco Silgranit sink and cesarstone quartz counter top. I have a heavy gauge stainless steel sink on my island at home as a prep sink. I have an enameled cast iron sink for clean ups. Will never consider a SS sink as my main sink, too noisy.
I don’t like concrete as counter top or sink.
We prefer granite countertops with a huge, single undermounted SS sink. We could was a small goat in our current kitchen sink. We have a smaller, SS undermounted prep sink in another part of the island.
I wanted concrete counters. Actually I had visions of an island with a compass rose in concrete stain. But it was no go because a. I don’t have room for an island and b. my contractor refused to use concrete in a 100 year old house because of cracking. She was right. Cracking in the backsplash grout is bad enough.
You can do granite and quartz inlays… My next project - to get rid of one such compass rose in our bathroom. 
I am the odd one out here. I put in concrete countertops 15 years ago before most had heard of it. It was impossible to find anyone to do it. They are stained to look like old plaster with an aged patina (not contemporary). But I’m always doing crazy design stuff because I’m not scared of changing things down the line.
But two mistakes I made were not knowing how important the sealant is and I installed a hand hammered giant copper single bowl under mount sink.
5 years later I was tired of the sink maintenance because it was always green! And probably not healthy. Installed a Bianco composite sink and it is the best ever. So easy to keep clean, no scratches or rusting. But you can imagine what it was like trying to install under the existing concrete countertops.
Then the original concrete sealant failed and I did a lot of research to find a new 3 part product with a matte finish. Had to mask off the whole house and grind down the concrete to remove original sealant. They have lasted 15 years. No cracks, no stains, still looking good.
But now I’m contemplating a full kitchen remodel next year and I want a lighter brighter look
With SS the gauge and underneath insulation matters. With an under mount sink 8" is plenty deep because of the added counter depth. You do not need to spend a lot- just be wary of the thinner (higher) gauge. I remember looking for 16-18 gauge and finding 18 with good sound insulation was fine. I got two equal bowls. If I had to do it all over I might have gone with a single bowl. I rinse dirty dishes (and hand wash sometimes with a soapy sponge) in the disposal side, I never do fill a sink. I have seen the small disposal sinks but dislike that concept.
Copper will not be a problem unless you are that rare person with a genetic disease where you store too much Cu.