<p>I’m starting to mull over some kitchen updates - one of which would be replacing my yucky countertops. I’m considering slate - just from what I’ve seen in magazines, on home shows, but don’t know much about it. Pros/cons you can offer in terms of cost, use, durability, etc.??? </p>
<p>Much appreciated!</p>
<p>Love, love, love my slate countertops. They are incredibly durable and look wonderful. Think about slate roofs–they last forever. A few downsides–surface scratches rub out with steel wool, but a deep scratch doesn’t. You can also nick the corners of the counter–I noticed this near my sink. Colors are limited–greens, reds, black, and green/grey. If you want highly polished/shiny counters, then you don’t want slate. Slate is probably in the same ball park as granite in terms of cost–maybe a little less. I treated my slate with a sealer the first year, but haven’t done so since. My kitchen designer said slate from the US is the highest quality and not to get slate from other countries. Don’t know if that’s true. We purchased slate from a place in upstate NY called Sheldon Slate. We went there and picked out the slabs (so we could get a more uniform pattern–we use a green slate mottled with grey). It was a fun day–we got a tour of the entire operation. If you send me a PM, I can send you photos of my kitchen and the slate counters. We also used the same slate (different color) on an outside patio and outside fireplace and they’ve stood up to the weather (I live in MA) very well and look beautiful.</p>
<p>I have had slate floors and would not put slate on countertops. Porous and a tendency to spall (flake). Maybe we were just unlucky, but the slate stained, broke, etc. I am hard on countertops though–I wouldn’t want anything but granite at this point.</p>
<p>I agree that slate nicks, chips and scratches. I’m not in love with Granite, but it’s more practical and there are some I really like. There is some marble you can use in kitchens, those are my favorites. Limestone can also be gorgeous. I also like some of the man made products, especially those that incorporate glass. Interesting kitchen stuff these days. Lots of folks going for a honed stone for the old world look.</p>
<p>I’ll have to look up some pictures of limestone…I know I’m in the minority, but am not a granite lover…what kind of abuse encourages the nicks and chips???</p>
<p>If you want some additional opinions, go to the Kitchen Forum section on Garden Web. It’s a very friendly and active site…and you will find lots of input on slate countertops.</p>
<p>[Care</a> for slate v granite - Kitchens Forum - GardenWeb](<a href=“Care for slate v granite”>Care for slate v granite)</p>
<p>we have slate tiles for our backsplash, beautiful but not what you would want in a countertop… uneven, spalls, easy to scratch or bang a bit off with a pan.
That said, some slates are much more dense and would be nice. Old lab benches had slate tops. School blackboards were slate.<br>
Limestone is very porous. Stains easily. Travertine is limestone by another name (and depositional environment).</p>
<p>We used large (19" x 19") color body porcelain tiles for our kitchen counter. It’s black, with a matte finish, and some variation in the color tones. We installed it with an epoxy grout, and the grout lines are quite narrow. Many people ask it it’s granite. It is totally impervious to everything, and is easy to clean. I had tile counter tops many years ago and didn’t like them - the grout stained easily, the tiles chipped sometimes, and crumbs got in the grout spaces. I love our new counters.</p>
<p>Aspiring, I thing you have hit on the secret. For some reason tile people want you to have a big grout line. GROUT IS WHERE THE NASTY STUFF HAPPENS! set the tiles really close, and you have a beautiful finish.</p>
<p>Wow, Aspiring, that sounds great. Do you have any pictures posted anywhere?</p>
<p>Yay! A kitchen improvement thread, finally!</p>
<p>Aspiring, I agree - epoxy grout is the way to go with tiles. It doesn’t stain! It is bomb-proof! Once you’ve tried it, you’ll never even think about the regular kind.</p>
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<p>Slate counters aren’t fabricated like the tiles you describe–the counters are honed and people purchase large slabs so that you’ve got (depending on the size of the counter) one solid piece. My slate counters are six years old and they’ve never chipped. I’ve had a few scratches that I buffed out with steel wool. There are a few nicks near the prep sink where I accidentally banged a large pot against the edge of the counter. That nick is something that no one would ever notice–I know it’s there but I doubt anyone coming into the kitchen would see it. This slate, which is from NY, isn’t porous. My H and I love to cook and we use the kitchen all the time and have spilled lots of stuff–nothing has stained.</p>
<p>When we bought this house it had solid granite counters. While they wear well, the counters are black and every little fingerprint shows up like we have a spotlight on it.</p>
<p>I would like to have granite counters again but not dark ones.</p>
<p>We were wary of slate, and advised against tiles (I even considered some stone floor tiles) so got soapstone. It’s wonderful - becomes “personal” looking, develops a patina, scratches blend in, looks beautiful.</p>
<p>^^^ I love soapstone, though we ended up with granite. A combination of soapstone and marble is gorgeous, too.</p>
<p>Although this is not directly on point, the thread provides me the opportunity to warn against dark marble (or at least black) anywhere there will be water. We used black marble in the master bath, and it is gorgeous, but it gets terrible water marks from everything from tap water to contact lens solution no matter how it is sealed. We spend about $400 every couple years to have it “restored.” The black marble is so much prettier than black granite, but it was definitely a mistake. (My H, who is a major splasher when he washes his hands or face, just keeps a towel covering the counter at all times. Not the look I wanted!)</p>