Honed absolute black granite?
Question:We love the look of soapstone, but hear that its really hard to maintain. the salespeople recommend honed granite. i'm wondering if anyone has experience with this surface. we have an active family so i'm worried about staining and scratching.
Answers:
I think selecting granite or quartz would probably be more of a benefit to you and your family. In terms of the cost, absolute black granite is one of the most expensive choices when it comes to granite. It is a beautiful stone. On the downside, it is also very hard to keep spotless.
Also, if you do a lot of cooking, granite would probably not be the best choice because it is a very porous stone as opposed to quartz.
The cost of Silestone and granite is almost the same, but granite is still slightly more expensive.
I really don't like to hear honed granite and active family in the same sentence. You would be better off with Silestone which is impervious to staining and scratching.
http://www.homeadditionplus.com...
/silestone_vs_granite.htm
Silestone costs more than granite which may be a consideration.
there is basicly no maintnens usaly use some mild detergant/soap and a rag to clean and mabey twice a year polish and wax it soap stone is very hard to clean and granite looks better
My son has a soapstone counter and three boys under ten.
Looks terrible. He also has to oil the thing repeatedly which drives his wife crazy because you can't use the counter while this is going on. Soapstone is for single people who do not cook.
Honed granite is very different from polished granite. It is not shiny so it doesn't scratch. It also does not show marks as the polished type does.
I have honed absolute black granite on the shower floor and on an outside deck counter. All stone has to be sealed once a year. But it's not like soapstone. It can be done in 12 hours: 15 minutes to apply the sealer, 12 hours to set.
A little more than an overnight job.
The outside counter has held up well (in the northeast) with just cleaning. The shower floor gets a fair amount of use and still looks great. So? I'd go with the honed granite. Silestone is nice but it does scratch. You just don't see it as well as on a polished stone. Silestone is not as upscale as stone. It depends on what look you want to achieve.
Absolute black is also just gorgeous.
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