granite or silestone???

my aunt and i are both looking to get our kitchens done. my beautiful kitchen is currently green and yellow

we went looking around today but don't know if we want granite or silestone. i know you have to seal granite every year and it can warp if you forget to seal it. but what are other positives or negatives to each?

thanks!

oh...we don't want corian so that's not an option

Re: granite or silestone???

here's a comparison chart - scroll down

Re: granite or silestone???

thank you for the link! it's written by the makers of silestone though so i'm worried it might be a little biased.

anyone have personal experiences with either countertop?

Re: granite or silestone???

We have Silestone and love it. Very easy to clean and very durable.

Re: granite or silestone???

I like both - but speaking as a real estate agent - I can tell you that Granite has a better resale value. Most people walk into a house and want granite. If you are not planning on moving and staying there for a long time then get whichever you prefer. If you think there is a chance you may move in a few years - then I say granite's your way to go.

Re: granite or silestone???

Re: granite or silestone???

I know it's not cheap and I know how it looks. I was giving her my opinion on resale value - I would say that 90% of my buyers want granite in their kitchens.

ETA: Even when my parents were buying their house in Savannah - we were meeting with the decorator and deciding between the two - the decorator recommended the granite also for resale value.

Message edited 11/4/2006 10:18:20 PM.

Re: granite or silestone???

I say go with what you like and makes the most sense to you.

I have Corian because it came with the beautiful brand new kitchen. I am not replacing it any time soon and don't care if/when I sell it a potential buyer wants granite. It looks great and is very durable.

I happen to like what I've read about Silestone. My boss just put it in his new $75,000 kitchen..it looks great. He had the choice of anything really and went with silestone.

Back to your situation, go shopping and see what you like...talk to some people in the business and get their take.

Do you know anyone with silestone?

Re: granite or silestone???

We put in the silestone in our refurbished kitchen. I love the look and the fact that there is no maintenance. I was put off by the amount of maintenance needed by the granite.

As for resale value - when are you going to be selling the house? When you add up the cost of all the maintenance over X years, its probably the extra amount of money you'd get for granite over silestone. Plus, remember silestone is a fairly new product and does not yet have name recognition.

We actually purchased our Silestone thru Home Depot Expo; and the installer they used was an authorized Silestone dealer; it was great. We got a price that was a little lower than what we would have paid if we went directly to the dealer, yet the dealer came and installed it. It's the one time I didn't have an issue with home depot!!

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i didnt know that granite was porous. thats kinda gross

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Posted by Meaghan729

i didnt know that granite was porous. thats kinda gross

Re: granite or silestone???

thanks everyone for your opinions!

i don't care about resale value. we just moved in and have no idea if we'll be staying or leaving.

i know everyone loves granite, but i'm kind of turned off by the maintenance and the fact that it can easily ruin. silestone is just about the same amount of money with no maintenance.

i only know one person with granite and haven't asked her about her experiences.

both are nice. i like that silestone comes in "shiny" and "leather" finish. keep the opinions coming!

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As soon as we save enough to do it, we are going to put silestone countertops in our kitchen. We just found the exact color we want in a sample and are looking for something with a little less maintenance than the granite requires. That's just our preference.

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We have granite in the kitchen, and love it....

For our master bathroom, which is about to go through a total makeover, we ordered the vanity in Silestone... really, can't tell the difference.

Re: granite or silestone???

Posted by SweetestOfPeas

Posted by Meaghan729

i didnt know that granite was porous. thats kinda gross

while I like the look of granite better, I like the no maintenance that silestone offers. it will be a tough decision for us when the time comes!

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we put granite in our kitchen and love it and we used silestone for our bathroom vanity. I like both but I prefer the look of granite and I do think buyers appreciate granite more, even if it is about the same price as silestone.

Message edited 11/6/2006 9:54:28 AM.

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We're putting granite in our bathroom only because the silestone didn't come in the shade and look that I want. The countertop we are getting only needs to be sealed once or twice a year, which I don't feel is too much maintenance.

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id definatley go w/granite....ive had it for years, sealed it once and never again...it stayed in perfect condition!

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yup - found it
TY Meaghan729

Message edited 4/10/2007 9:37:42 PM.

Re: granite or silestone???

glad you found it!

I do know that you dont pay tax on granite because its considered a captial improvement - is this the same for silestone?

Re: granite or silestone???

not sure
more research

Re: granite or silestone???

Posted by LadyPrincess

not sure
more research