It seems that you are not a great fan of granite countertops. I, too, am not sold on all the hype and glad yovu confirmed my suspicions about its durability. With 4 children, my current countertops take abuse. There’s stone, concrete, tile, Corian, etc. So may I ask, what surface would you recommend?
— Patrice W.
Dear Patrice,
You’re not the only one who wanted to know the answer to that question. Another reader, Edda B, wrote to say she is updating her kitchen in 2009 and would also like to find something low maintenance, durable and stylish. Add to that affordable.
With good planning and preparation this is a job you can do yourself.
New tiles can be laid over the old as long as the underlying tiles are intact and treated with a solution to rough up the surface to allow adhesive to firmly grip your new tiles.
However, installing over an existing counter also will raise the height of the counter.
I recommend removing the old countertop and replacing it with a foundation of 5/8 inch thick MDF board or plywood. You also will need cement board and thin set to glue the board to the base. Cement board is needed since the counter will be coming in frequent contact with water.
When you go out to select your tiles at the home store, be sure to tell the clerk how you plan to use them. You may be pleasantly surprise by material options you never thought of.
To the point, few things ever look as good as they did when they were brand new. Any hard surface, whether granite, marble, concrete or wood, is going to sustain some type of damage over time particularly if it is used carelessly. Some materials are more rugged than others but not many can put up with scorching hot pots, knife slashes and other harsh abuses.
The three thoughts to noodle when considering the right countertop for you are:
1. What price for beauty?
2. How much wear can beauty take?
3. How much damage can the wallet sustain to acquire beauty?
On the affordability side, really sensitive budgets will resonate to tiled counter tops. The tiles come in a multitude of colors and materials, several sizes and allow for creative patterns. I tiled my kitchen counter in one of my past residences with great success. It looked upscale and lasted.
Meanwhile, if you have a strong budget I recommend a concrete countertop. It’s low maintenance, kid-friendly and rates high on the wow-o-meter. It comes in many colors and some styles are created with built-in drain boards and other custom features that you determine. When ground and buffed and sealed, concrete is a show stopper. The countertops can be built on site at your home or pre-cast in a shop where the fabricator can control conditions.
Concrete is not cheap though the material is. The cost comes in the designing, crafting, installation and otherwise handling. Concrete is blended with additives and aggregates and typically is priced from about $65 to $125 per square foot, which covers its pouring and crafting. Installation ranges around an additional $50 per hour per person.
In terms of sustaining beauty and wear, over time concrete is subject to surface hairline cracks. Nothing structural. The industry heralds these thin surface breaches as aging character lines that add to the stone’s beauty.
