Countertops - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

With many options to choose from, is there a preferred choice for your kitchen countertop? Join the conversation as we talk about countertop options. Some are good, some are bad, and some are just plain ugly!

[@WilliamsEdie]

The best countertop is the one that you can afford.

[@sheilamccurley7084]

You can put the most expensive Granite in your kitchen and have a buyer come in and not like the color. I witnessed that with a dear friend and neighbor who had Granite countertops installed (lots of money) 2 years later she put her home on the market. The new owners had the granite counter tops replaced with a different color.

[@eileennordquist2430]

My daughter has cherry wood. Not butcher block - which was a bit busy for her style. With an under mount sink. It’s beautiful and she used a local person to fabricate. It was challenging to find someone. Almost two years in and still looking great.

[@kaylynnhuddleston5533]

ONCE I bought a gorgeous laminate. I had it bull nosed and it was black with texture!! it was beautiful. Sold home right away. its still there!! Also I hve tile and its beautiful. I have had lots of granite .but the sytle dates.

[@KathyAceves]

Currently have Staron that was installed in 2005 and it still looks new! Remodeling kitchen and getting Cambria.

[@MTKDofficial]

Cool! I have a friend who has had Staron for about that long and he loves it.

[@cheryloeste4875]

ceramic tile is a good alternative to quartz in both price and the human cost in manufacturing. The manufacturing of quartz is causing silicosis in workers at an alarming rate and I bet no one is asking where their quartz countertops are produced and whether they are manufactured with proper health precautions.

[@rebelliousraven]

I grew up in and then owed houses from the 1920s-1940s. Every single one had tile countertops. I loved them! They were extremely easy to clean (even the white grout) and never stained no matter what I spilled on them. I never had to worry putting hot pans on them. I think the problem is the grout of today is NOT what it was back then. It's CRAPPY. It discolors and molds! Tile has gotten a bad name because of changes in grout. I'd take an OLD time tile counter any day!

[@MTKDofficial]

Those are great benefits are of tile for sure.

[@moocrazytn]

We had thin porcelain tiles on our kitchen counter for 20+ years. No scratches, no cracks.

[@MTKDofficial]

Porcelain slabs might be the future then!

[@natashabailey6091]

Hi Mark, great video!!!, just finished watching the replay. Laminate or Granite is is the ones I’d go for. I’ve got laminate at the mo and you can put hot pots and pans on it, even straight out the oven. I have even cut on it and not one mark. I think it must be the heat resistant laminate. Looking forward to the next video!!!🤗😁

[@darlene19668]

I agree….same here👍🏻

[@MTKDofficial]

Hey Natasha! Thanks for watching. I'm a laminate fan boy lol

[@sonjaswart9866]

My laminate 30 years old and looking like it was put in just now.

[@domenicamassaro8221]

The dilemma is this: countertop and backsplash are things that you have to live with for a few decades. So the search is for timelessness. Marble never seems outdated. Pity is, it is not a resistant surface.

[@MTKDofficial]

very true on both accounts.

[@domenicamassaro8221]

@@MTKDofficial this is why I am interested to materials like porcelain slabs (having the money), or good old reliable laminate, cheap and durable.

[@Candisa]

You don't necessarily have to live with it for decades if you go with laminate: it's so cheap and DIYable that you can change it every few years, have a different looking kitchen if you want, and still have a low cost per year compared to an expensive countertop you keep for a few decades, especially if you account for all the resealing and scratch repairing of most natural stones or the high premium for dekton.

[@Candisa]

I'm not too worried about scratches, I appreciate patina and hygiene, so in an ideal world I'd go for stainless steel (even for bottom doors and drawer fronts!) combined with soapstone. My wallet doesn't live in an ideal world though, so I spent the money on quality cabinets/hardware/appliances and just have laminate fronts and countertops. I don't want to deal with countertops that *need* to be sealed or oiled on a regular basis for them to repel staining and then still have the risk if some acid or chemical drips on it without immediately being cleaned and treated. Dekton would be a great choice as well, but sooooo expensive, you could replace a laminate countertop multiple times before it'd become more expensive (but have the benefit of being able to switch up the look of your kitchen drastically every time!).

[@hsdesignstudio]

Good discussion, Mark. I like the sign hiding in the background too!

[@MTKDofficial]

Hey Jeff! Thanks man. I hope to get that sign hanging behind me. Hopefully this week.

[@darlene19668]

Watching between online church and your live stream I missed a bit..😁.but catching up...very good info and always fun...my counters will be more mute but nice, very nice...mat finished fieldstone laminate...best countertop for me because I am wanting my Island to stand out....will try send picture when completed...always good info...👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻great success to the Tobin Crew & Gammy too🌷 and no worries about creepers we block...but ty

[@MTKDofficial]

Thanks Darlene. We have online church the same night! (mid-week bible study)

[@Skala76]

🤪😅😮😮

[@megfeeley2559]

I wonder what you think about IKEA laminates? I dislike the integral post-form backsplash and did an IKEA slab once (but you're right -- the miter was left to the carpenter). I'm kind of in love with that brown two-sided one that looks kind of herringbone; I prefer materials that aren't trying to pretend they are something else. As for tiles, I did real marble tiles on top of an old laminate countertop -- one of my all-time budget favorites. I want to say that the engineered woods sold by Lowes and HD need some super-natural saw -- a jigsaw won't work and they make a hella noise cutting! My building manager called me, thinking I was taking down a wall!

[@MTKDofficial]

Postform grade laminate is pretty much all the same quality wise. IKEA would source there's out from either Prestolam, Premoule, Belanger etc. And everything is sent to or comes from a local cut shop. Now about that jig saw. Did you try a different blade? Sometimes that makes all the difference.

[@privateinfo1711]

The great thing about laminate - it's not a big deal to replace it!

[@5610winston]

4:05 When my parents bought this place in 1959, the galley kitchen had bathroom floor-style countertops (the 1x2-inch white tiles with the little squares centering the patterns, if I remember right. They tore out one run of countertop to make space for a Frigidaire Pulse-A-Matic clothes washer (drain hose had to stretch across the galley to the sink drain) and an electric range bigger than the gas range the house came with. They replaced those countertops with sheets of Formica - correction, Masonite - covered with layers and layers of contact paper. Real high-zoot look.

[@kdockrey]

Quartzite as far natural stone is high on my list. Comes in light colors than Granite... Looks similar to marble, but acts like granite.

[@bobbied4553]

I'm looking into getting porcelain countertops and will definitely look into that company

[@MTKDofficial]

Feel free to reach out if you need help connecting with them.

[@mikerudd4943]

Never go out of style? Butcher block...long long ago til today. I may have been on the phone..did I miss quartzite?

[@taravo1780]

Just did my kitchen countertop in laminate where the sink is, wood slab countertop on breakfast island and microwave cart.

[@DeanneMariaCreates]

Laminates in the UK are not hollow. Laminates are made from high density OSB and then the suface is laminated.

[@MTKDofficial]

Same in North America

[@agnescleary2312]

Would love it if you did a review about stainless steel counters

[@MTKDofficial]

I've been getting asked this a lot lately. I'll have to dedicate some content to this for sure.

[@lizbiancoismydesignsherpa]

Big KZbin dollars coming!💰👊. I’ve never used laminate but have a budget on a pool house kitchen. Might have to check it out. No luck with remnants😥

[@5610winston]

Granite. Period. Subtle differences of color and the size and alignment (texture) of the mineral grains in the surface, more heat-resistant than most materials, relatively easy to maintain and clean. Expensive? Depends on the granite, the finish, and the source. No more radioactive than most of the other options listed here.

[@oliphauntsneverlie6227]

Soapstone. Period.

[@5610winston]

@@oliphauntsneverlie6227 I would never consider soapstone. It is composed almost entirely of biopyribole minerals, a mineral group that includes micas, serpentines, amphiboles. These minerals are prone to shedding fibers into your food and into the air where they can be ingested and inhaled or they can infiltrate through the skin. I'm talking about asbestos. Not a risk I would want to take with my friends or family.

[@Kenzie_Hill]

So glad the bright white lamp is not visible behind you. It was painful for me to concentrate on your content. The countertop topic is fascinating and laminate is a great choice for a budget! ❤

[@ysmeine8]

I used to like the look of tile counters until I had bread kneeded on a tile island with failing grout.

[@MTKDofficial]

yikes. that's makes for a tasty loaf.

[@trinaroe5132]

Dropping a cast iron fry pan would be a better test.

[@TongoEat]

Mark please google Avonite Studio collection and lemme know your thoughts. I'm at the end of an Ikea install and lost my mind when I saw one of these options. Not cheap by any means but I have 2 fabricators who can work with this. PLEASE HELP :) I'm on a bit of a deadline. Thanks.

[@MTKDofficial]

At first glance, it looks pretty cool. If you have confident installers and don't mind the cost, it would be interesting to explore.

[@kdockrey]

I recently have installed avonite on all counters, backsplash, all bathroom surfaces including shower, floor, walls, and celiings floors in a new build. I've been impressed with it, but it has only been in use for about five months.

[@kdockrey]

Due to the risk of quartz installers developing silicosis, I would recommend not installing any quartz composite counters.

[@lizbiancoismydesignsherpa]

Granite all day

[@lauriesmith7517]

Bamboo is not wood, it's a grass.

[@oliphauntsneverlie6227]

Soapstone. Then the rest if you really have too.

[@ambitiousone4733]

Granite or quartz

[@MTKDofficial]

Granite! (Quartzite specifically)

[@marciaadamslandry2356]

I want to put hot pots on my counter tops.!

[@MTKDofficial]

Dekton is the answer! Or Porcelain.

[@i.f.7386]

or a stainless steel 🤔 probably lasts forever 😅

[@michaeltoney2277]

Bamboo is technically a grass species

[@MTKDofficial]

interesting!

[@domenicamassaro8221]

@@MTKDofficial bamboo grows fast like weeds (and it is a herbaceous plant) where trees need decades if not centuries to become big.

[@moocrazytn]

If bamboo has to be transported long distances, it's not eco-friendly.

[@MTKDofficial]

Good point!

[@taravo1780]

And also is the glue to hold it together

[@suselew]

Where in the world was Porcelain on that list?

[@ps4402]

I'm very interested in porcelain slab, especially an induction cooktop imbedded. Makes the space very versatile.

[@hsdesignstudio]

@@ps4402 The Invisacook is a cool appliance, and a great way to double up the use of that space. I'm waiting for 2 of them to show up in the next few weeks 👍

[@ps4402]

@@hsdesignstudio Oooh! Please write back and let me know how they work out!

[@MTKDofficial]

Right!?? I thought the same thing.

[@MTKDofficial]

You are?!! That's exciting! Is it for a job or a video (or both)