<p>true dmd. Clarifying…don’t like the '50s retro look in kitchens.</p>
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<p>The latest research shows that wooden cutting boards have a natural anti-bacterial action that makes them generally more sanitary than plastic ones. I agree that using a hard surface is just asking for a resharpening session. Anyone ever hit a rock or nail with a chain saw? Instant dull.</p>
<p>My aunt had a really original solution to her counter top problem. She had about 40 feet of counter in her rural farmhouse and her DH was reluctant to spend any money on those 40 feet… Anyway, she went to a local flooring co. and bought some linoleum which was overstocked or overrun, and then installed that as her countertop. It lasted for years, always looked good (no hot pots on it though). Her total cost: about $200, self-installed. This flooring product looked like green marble.</p>
<p>One stone for counters that’s no one has mentioned is slate. We built a house three years ago and used honed slate for the kitchen. The slate is from a NY/Vermont quarry and it’s a light green/gray color. If you remember, slate was used for roofing in the past and it’s also used in fireplaces. We’ve had no problems with stains or cracking. If anything scratches the surface, you can rub it out with steel wool.</p>
<p>We live a few hours from the quarry, so we went there to pick the slabs that the company fabricated. This way we were able to get colors matched. The NY slate comes in several colors of green (green with mottled purple, green/gray). You can also get black, red, and a purple color. We dealt with Sheldon Slate. (<a href=“http://www.sheldonslate.com)%5B/url%5D”>www.sheldonslate.com)</a>. I also have fabricated concrete and soapstone in another area of the house and it’s not nearly as nice as the honed slate. We liked the slate so much that we put it around a fireplace that’s outside and it’s held up well in the New England winter.</p>
<p>I told H I want cement countertops, I want to be able to cut on them.
But he also bought a wet tile cutter- cause he says we can also cut rock withit
I like tile counters too.
:)</p>
<p>I noticed on the Oprah show several days ago that Nate, the decorator, used Zinc countertops in a kitchen re-do. Supposedly they turn to a nice patina over time. However, I think that they scratch very easily-but, I also think that that is the look for that type of countertop. It was a beautiful kitchen re-do. Nate, if you read the CC forums, please come to my kitchen!!!</p>
<p>I don’t love an all granite kitchen.
When we did our kitchen I did a combo of granite, corian and tile. We have a huge island. We went to a stone yard and were able to find a huge slab so we have no seams. In 12 years I think we have sealed it twice. I have never had a problem with stains or chips. What I did do which I love is in place of the small sink I put a larger single basin sink in. I actually find we use this sink as our primary sink and our traditional double basin sits empty most of the time.
On the other countertops I used a cream corian with a liner that picked up a color out of the granite. I used a traditional white sink. I was advised to never put hot on the corian.
Behind my cooktop I used a tile backsplash with decorative tiles.
I like both my surfaces but am glad that the entire kitchen is not all one surface.
Does anyone have a solution to this problem. In one of my bathrooms that is rarely used I have a white sink and brushed nickel fixtures. We must of had a leak or someone at one point left water running but I now have a blue stain in the sink. Anyone have any idea now to remove it?</p>
<p>Mom60: blue stain is copper chloride from copper in your water. It will dissolve with a weak acid solution, but it takes times and a little scrubbing. I use Zud powder and just keep sprinkling and rinsing every time I think of it.</p>
<p>(My son just walked by and said “are you really talking about granite countertops on College Confidential? why?”)</p>
<p>dmd77- I knew I would find my answer on CC.
My family laughs at me.</p>
<p>Dmd77 tell your son that you did a huge service. The Zud worked wonders on the blue stain. I couldn’t find the powder so bought the gel. I barely had to scrub. I never thought I was going to get rid of that stain.
Thank you!</p>
<p>Mom60: Just don’t use Zud on marble unless you want to etch the finish!</p>
<p>And for the rest of you, I recently went to a friend’s house for dinner. Since she lives in Portland (OR) I hadn’t been there since their remodel, which they did themselves. The countertops were roofing copper (fairly thin and easy to bend) which they hammered into place over plywood countertops. They’d been in use about a year. They look wonderful, very warm. I did ask if they required a lot of maintenance, and I guess they rub them with half a lemon from time to time.</p>
<p>My family laughs at me too, but why should I go to sites all over the place when this one site allows me to obsess about colleges, relationships, vacuums, countertops, allergies–whatever?</p>
<p>Oooooh, hammered copper! I think I have a new wish list. I remember cleaning my mother’s copper-bottom pans with a lemon half and some salt. Not sure if the salt aided the reaction or was just abrasive, but it worked fine.</p>
<p>Hammered copper sounds gorgeous, but it sounds like high maintenance to me.</p>
<p>NEmom: yes, I thought it would be high maintenance, but my friend (whom I’ve known since high school and therefore trust) tells me they’re not–really, they just rub the counters down with a lemon. They looked gorgeous too. (I also remember scrubbing the copper bottom pans, but these counters had a nice patina and looked friendlier than that.) They did the remodel themselves, a lot of it was materials from old houses (salvage yards)–absolutely amazing. It’s an old Portland house, about a hundred years old now, and they’ve done a wonderful job of keeping it in character.</p>
<p>Oh, and when I say hammered copper–they literally hammered on it themselves.</p>
<p>Does anybody know about how much it would cost to put new floor in a kitchen? Either tile or laminate or vinyl… doesn’t have to be the most expensive stuff, and would install it yourself. the floor space in there is maybe like 8x12 or something of that nature.</p>
<p>I’ve done vinyl floor covering (VFC) in a couple of rooms. It’s been a while but if I remember correctly we did a kitchen a little bigger than 8x12 for $200-300, including all prep materials and tools. Get instructions from your local home center and go for it. It’s really easy.</p>
<p>I’ve also laid a Pergo laminate floor. You really need a miter saw (AKA "chop saw) to cut the planks to length, but other than that, if you can measure and mark accurately you can lay a snap-fit laminate floor. IIRC, it’s like $3-5 per square foot for materials. YMMV.</p>
<p>Tile can cost just about whatever you want – from cheap to wildly expensive. Of these three options, tile takes the most expertise to do well. It also offers tremendous flexibility in design. WashMom hates grout with a passion, so we aren’t really tile people.</p>
<p>Best thing about newly installed tile floors - one can add an in-floor heating system before laying the tiles… Ah-h-h, feels like walking on the sand of Kaanapali!.. And have I ever mentioned epoxy grout? ;)</p>
<p>Over the years, we’ve lived in eleven houses, with floors ranging from aged vinyl to our current Brazilian cherry. The easiest on the back was new vinyl, but it was annoying to keep clean and after a few years didn’t look very good. We moved or I would have replaced it. The hardest on the back was the Mexican tile in the first house, also annoying to keep clean and very slippery if you spilled anything. A few hours cooking on that and my legs ached, too.</p>
<p>Our Brazilian cherry is finished with oil/wax, not polyurethane, and it’s easy to clean and it’s easy to spot repair and make look like new with just a little sandpaper and some fresh wax. (The repair guy scratched the floor when he pulled out the dishwasher… no problem.) It’s not as easy on the back as vinyl but it looks nicer.</p>
<p>We have underfloor heat throughout the house. It’s lovely.</p>
<p>For the experts and silestone fans: We installed the silestone counter in the kid’s bathroom, and my niece put a hot curling iron on it and now it has marks on it. Not really burn marks, but more like yellow lines. Any ideas on how to get them off? I haven’t even tried yet because first I wanted to get over my anger, and then didn’t want to do more harm than good.</p>