Marble countertops in the kitchen

[Anonymous]

I have fallen in love with the idea of marble countertops for our new kitchen. However, I do hear that they are porous, impractical for a kitchen etc. If you have them, can you please tell me about the maintenance and whether or not you'd make the same choice now? Are they really stained? Are there any granites that really look like marble (grey and white, not many flecks or grains of other colors)?

Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Contractor steered us to quartzite, which is identical but not stainable.

[Anonymous]

I ended up with Sea Pearl quartzite which looks like marble but functions like granite. Go to the fabricator and ask for a marble sample. Take it home and stain it. Put tomato sauce, wine, oil, coffee and lemon juice on it. Then let it sit for 24 hours. Because you know...sometimes you do miss a spot when cleaning up. Wash your sample and see if it stains.

[Anonymous]

Do you live in an italian villa on the riveria?

[Anonymous]

My contractor tried talking me out of marble and I'm so glad I didn't listen. Contrary to what you hear- marble doesn't stain if sealed. We've spilt just about everything imaginable on ours and I would dare anyone to find a stain. We are not by any means overly neat freaks either. I have several friends with marble and they're all happy too one who swears her marble has held up much better than her light-colored Caeserstone. Ask around, I'm sure you know someone who has marble who would be happy to let you see theirs.

And sorry, but quartzite is not identical. It's pretty easy to tell the difference. If you like the look of quartzite great, but if you love marble, there is no reason you shouldn't go for it.

[Anonymous]

We recently put marble in the kitchen and boy do I regret it. After just a year or so it looks bad. Yes, it does stain and mark. You can tell where someone left a wine glass for example. Yuck. I want to rip it out but we're stuck with it for a while. If you love it, go for it, but choose carefully.

[Anonymous]

Take a look at the kitchen forums over on Gardenweb. This issue has been discussed there quite a bit and there are lots of folks with marble. My impression is that most are quite happy with it.

[Anonymous]

We have a marble kitchen table. If you get a mark on it like a water mark, it doesn't come out. Marble also ages badly, it darkens even if it's sealed. I would not put it in the kitchen.

[Anonymous]

We have marble in our bathroom on our vanity and it has rings on it from a can of cleaner our cleaning lady set down on it at some point. It's a year old and permanently stained.

[Anonymous]

granite or quartz for heavy use areas

[Anonymous]

Quartz!
Granite is over (I should know - I put a ton of it in my house just as it was going out of style and I regret it).

I have marble in the bathroom and it is OK but I still think it might not age well.

Too many durable options these days.

the granite we have chips and has scratches and it was one of the more expensive types of granite. All the cheaper granite seems more durable!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Contractor steered us to quartzite, which is identical but not stainable.

Watch out, though. Two separate places swore up and down their "Super White" was quartzite, not marble. (Another insisted it was "white granite" and wouldn't stain at all.) Thankfully we got samples and tested before committing- all etched like crazy with all the acid samples we tried (lemon juice, vinegar, wine, etc). It was also incredibly soft - tapping a mug or bottle on it left obvious opaque dings. Too bad, it was pretty.
I second the recommendation for GardenWeb. (Which is where I found out that nearly all Super White/White Fantasy is dolomitic marble, not quartzite.)

[Anonymous]

granite is still in but certain patterns are out.

I think the ubba tubba pattern and the really veiny kind is out.

[Anonymous]

Granite is so out. Marble is gorgeous. I hate how many homes in the area have brown or tannish granite - it is a huge turn off for me as a buyer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Granite is so out. Marble is gorgeous. I hate how many homes in the area have brown or tannish granite - it is a huge turn off for me as a buyer.

Sorry you stupid