[photopress:granite.jpg,thumb,alignright]*
How many granite countertops does King Couny need?
*
In 2005 alone, 6,428 properties, valuing $3,578,671,984.00 sold with granite countertops according to the mls, using “granite” as a search word in the marketing remarks section.
- 2006 Year to Date – King County – 4,730 homes for sale, in escrow or sold with granite counters
- 2005 – 6,428 homes sold with granite counters
- 2004 – 5,027 homes sold with granite counters
- 2003 – 3,614 homes sold with granite counters
Of course that doesn’t count all of the people who remodeled their kitchens using granite countertops, who did not sell their homes.
So what’s your guess? What comes after granite? Anyone seeing new homes with something OTHER THAN Granite countertops?
Silestone – beautiful stuff and not quite as costly.
While I am not sure of the next “big thing”…..I have to air a complaint about the use of “granite tile” (as opposed to “slab granite”) in poorly done unpdating/remodeling jobs. I showed a house earlier this week where the workmanship was slipshod. The granite tile was not level, the edges were unfinished and the grout was messy. All my buyer could think of was the work neccessary to fix the problem, it detracted from the nice qualities that the kitchen had…including a lovely sound view.
I have seen many instances of granite tile installed well, so that is not the problem. Homeowners who want to improve their kitchen (or ?)need to make sure the work is done well. It is very distracting for buyers who see poorly done work, they start thinking of what else could be a problem that they will have to fix.
I think it is wonderful to see the efforts done to improve older houses by their owners who deserve to reap the rewards of their efforts, it is the homeowners, or some investors, who make poor choices in materials and the quality of workmanship that can create problems.
While I am not sure of the next “big thing”…..I have to air a complaint about the use of “granite tile” (as opposed to “slab granite”) in poorly done unpdating/remodeling jobs. I showed a house earlier this week where the workmanship was slipshod. The granite tile was not level, the edges were unfinished and the grout was messy. All my buyer could think of was the work neccessary to fix the problem, it detracted from the nice qualities that the kitchen had…including a lovely sound view.
I have seen many instances of granite tile installed well, so that is not the problem. Homeowners who want to improve their kitchen (or ?)need to make sure the work is done well. It is very distracting for buyers who see poorly done work, they start thinking of what else could be a problem that they will have to fix.
I think it is wonderful to see the efforts done to improve older houses by their owners who deserve to reap the rewards of their efforts, it is the homeowners, or some investors, who make poor choices in materials and the quality of workmanship that can create problems.
Well, here’s the big features that our 2005 vintage home had that appealed to my wife.
Granite tile counter top
Gas stoves
Stainless steel appliances
Clawfoot tub
As for me, we already know what I love about my “new” home.
Well, here’s the big features that our 2005 vintage home had that appealed to my wife.
Granite tile counter top
Gas stoves
Stainless steel appliances
Clawfoot tub
As for me, we already know what I love about my “new” home.
How about Corian countertops…or tile countertops…or even better…in our market it is solid surface countertops which equates to formica/laminate countertops… Never really looked at it the way you have.
Florida uses more tile than anyplace I’ve ever seen. I was told it was because Florida has lots of sand, used to make tile. I personally like the granite look formica for condo remodels. The older Corian sinks and counters I’ve seen in white seem to yellow.
China Newstar Stone Company can offer you kitchen application such as kitchen stainless steel sinks and kitchen vanity tops and kitchen island in China. The style of kitchen sinks are stainless steel single bowl sink, stainless steel double bowls sink, stainless steel Sinks; single drain board sink. And the vanity tops also have many styles. You can find us http://www.stone-export.com and http://www.stone-export.cn to know more and contact us.
I know that last comment is a “commercial”, but it is an amazing site! I got lost in there. Loved the pebble tiles, glass tiles, marble disks…eve the headstones! LOL They have some amazing free standing sinks. It’s a fun place to visit, but a lot of warnings about someone pretending to be them trying to get your credit card info.
Looking in that site reminded me of looking in the Sears Catalogue before Christmas when I was a kid.
Ardell,
Now that you’ve made a comment, I’m having a hard time deleting that spam… Oh well, they win this round! 🙂
Ardell,
Now that you’ve made a comment, I’m having a hard time deleting that spam… Oh well, they win this round! 🙂
Pingback: Seattle’s Rain City Real Estate Guide » Big homes & big dreams in Sammamish
I am kind of tired of granite too but the prices are so low that it is hard to get a comparable surface that is a better deal. I have been using ValueStone in West Seattle (valuestone.com) for my last three homes this Summer and the installed countertops came in at a finished, installed price of $39.45/sf. That’s pretty hard to beat, particularily since they installed them in 3 days after I went into their store. Anyway, I also have used concrete but it costs more and I don’t think it’s as good a marketing tool as granite slab. I am using papercrete in my new home and it is a great looking surface, durable, and more environmentally friendly so they say.
Matt,
I went to Street of Dreams with Robbie and family, hoping to see “what comes after granite”…but I couldn’t make head nor tails out of the interior finishes or exterior facades. Every house seemed to be mixing so many styles all together, until the house made no sense. I didn’t see anything that suggested some great new trend, except maybe the glass chandelier in the pantry to help you find a snack in the middle of the night. They all had “butler pantries”, but I’m not seeing any reports that “butler” is on the rise in terms of job trends.
While everyone is panicking about housing bubbles, I know that nothing can destroy the value of a resale home, like the builders coming up with a completely different “look” that can make a resale home obsolete overnight. So I’m not tired of granite, but it seems that we’re due for a change. But so far I’m not seeing anything that is going to “catch on” any better than the “pinkish whitewash cabinets” of the early nineties 🙂
If you see stainless steel or granite going “out”, can you give us a heads up? Where do you get your info on interior finishes? Is there a place builders go to find the new trends? Do you look to CA or East Coast…doesn’t appear so as Pacific Northwest never picked up on the California travertine craze or the Northeast copper craze.
Ardell,
I go to Canada. I go on buying trips to Vancouver B.C. to the building trade shows there. I often see things there that are neither in the West nor East coasts that are at the B.C. shows. For example, pumice (volcanized) countertops from France. You might check out some of these shows and comibine it into a fun weekend trip. I will give you a heads up – particularily on stainless as I am alrerady seeing that getting played out in high-end homes. Matt
Matt,
Please DO let me know when there is a show in Vancouver. Would you believe I have NEVER been to Canada! Planning a trip at the time there is a show would be GR8! Can I attend a “building trade show” or do you have to be a builder? Do I need to update my passport? Not sure what the rules are these days. I haven’t been out of the Country for a very long time.
Tile or Slab! I am designing in a new build and my client is on a very tight budget. Her husband wants to do the countertops in the kitchen in a solid stone slab she came up with possibly doing tile to save money. Has anyone found any articles or facts that state that doing a slab is a better selling point than tile for kitchen countertops?
Tracy,
I can tell you from personal experience that slab is a better selling point than tile. Just yesterday I showed three condos in three different complexes. Two had granite tile and one had slab granite. End result, buyer liked the complex with the slab granite.
Color is a big issue, whether it is slab granite or granite tiles and granite tiles trump formica. If one is slab and the buyer hates the color and one is tile and the buyer likes the color, they will choose color over substance.
Curious, given the amount of space in that particular house, what is the difference in cost between the two?
If the price of the property is well over the median for the area, then I’d say slab. If the price of the property is in first time buyer territory, and is already maxed out to it’s value potential before you do the countertops, then tile may be sufficient.
I LOVE NATURAL STONES IT BRINGS WARMTH & I WOULD PERFER GRANITE COUNTERTOPS ,,,I SOLD ONE OF MY HOUSES ALONE USING GRANITE COUNTERTOPS THEY USED TWO SLABS THE, NAME IS UBATUBATUBAA ,,, ISLAND MARBLE &GRANITE DID A VERY GOOD JOB I BELIEVE HIS NAME IS LARRY 941 580-0611 OUT OF SARASOTA FLORIDA
I too like the look of granite, but when I got my slab quote I thought I would have to get a second Job. All kidding aside, I did find a company called Bedrock Creations. They make a granite tiles with matching bullnose edges and corners. Neat stuff. You tell them how many of each piec you want and they will ship it to you. I installed this stuff myself and I had never laid tile before. It looks great and it cost less than half of the slab quotes I was getting. They have a website http://www.bedrockcreations.net
Joan,
Sounds great. Can you tell us if it was half the price as slab granite? Can you give us a cost difference? A photo would be great! I haven’t seen granite tile done with a bullnose edging.
Thanks for posting the comment.
Hi Ardell,
We got a couple of quotes on granite slab. The quotes ranged from $4,200 up to $4,875. The edging makes a big digfference in price. These quotes were for bullnose edge. The installer said if we wanted the upgraded ogee edge, the price would add $30.00 per lineal foot of edging. We have a lot of edging with an island an a penninsula. We ending up getting the nicer ogee edge from bedrock creations, which is what we really wanted for about $1300.00 total Shipping was $184.00, and plywood backerboard, and thinset cost about an extra $120.00. The total cost ending up being about $1600.00 for bedrock creations vs. $4k-$5K for granite slab. This was a no brainer for us because we installed it ourselves. I don’t how to post a picture. I would love to share one.
Hi Joan,
If you email me the photos at Ardell@SoundRealty.biz, I can post them in the comments here.
If the bullnose edge was $1,600 how much was the tile for the surface? Looks like $1,600 was just the bullnose edging, so we can’t compare $4,200 – $4,875 to $1,600. Seems the cost of the tile for the flat surface should be added. Grout…other things.
Hi Ardell,
Sorry I wasn’t clear in my post. The total cost was $1621.00. This includes the granite tiles, edges, corners, thinset, grout, plywood, nails, screws, and shipping…the whole ball of wax. Except the labor of course. We did the installation. And there wasn’t any waste. We were short a couple of pieces of tile at the end, and Bedrock sent them UPS. When we wee looking at slabs, we only need about 1 1/2, but we were told we had to buy the full two slabs.
Thanks for the follow up.
Joan,
What was the square footage of the countertop you installed? What were the size of the tiles you installed (12×12 or 24×24 inches, etc.)? How long did the install take you? Have you had any problems with the edging? From pictures I’ve seen, it looks like it could be pretty easy to lean on the edge and have it pop off. Thanks for your help.
Why anyone would use tile is beyond me. With pre-cut slab countertop prices being what they are, it’s sort of a no brainer. And ROI on tile is pointless, everyone expects granite or solid surface when purchasing. I’ve used Seattle Granite Countertops in Georgetown for a number of projects and it’s been affordable, reliable and easy. http://www.seattlegranite.com, Talk to Jarren.
Pre-cut or “pre-fab” slab doesn’t work in every kitchen. It works well for simple L-shaped kitchens or galley kitchens, buy fairs miserabley when a kitchen doesn’t fit the “Pre-fab” dimensions.
Islands and peninsulas really throw prefab out the the options.
Hence, additional fabrication is needed, which raises the cost. On the quality side, most of the prefab material is coming in from china and the edges have inferior polishing and there are variations in the edge profile. The quality just isn’t that great.
Diyers can save money and get a great looking countertop with some of the modular kits on the market. Kitchen in a Box is one I have used . I saw it on the Today Show. It ships directly to your door. Try getting prefab slab shipped to your door, and then try to figure out how to install it.
I recently saw the bigger pre-fab slabs of granite over at Tiles for Less in Kirkland when I was picking up some 1inch glass tiles. I love glass tiles 🙂
I checked them out pretty thoroughly and I’m with Michael. Seemed like a puzzle where the pieces didn’t fit well. The check out sales counter was done with them, including the bullnose piece. Great for the sales counter, but looked a little odd for most homes.
Seems full slab or regular tile would be a better option for most homes. I couldn’t quite figure out how you would do the back splash in most areas, and I have two tiered counters on two sides with smaller stool areas that wouldn’t fit the configuration of the large slabs at all. Would like look like a big cut up DIY project when done.
Though I could see it fitting some situations, especially if the base area of an island was built to fit them from scratch, vs recovering an is island that was already built beforehand.
I recently saw the bigger pre-fab slabs of granite over at Tiles for Less in Kirkland when I was picking up some 1inch glass tiles. I love glass tiles 🙂
I checked them out pretty thoroughly and I’m with Michael. Seemed like a puzzle where the pieces didn’t fit well. The check out sales counter was done with them, including the bullnose piece. Great for the sales counter, but looked a little odd for most homes.
Seems full slab or regular tile would be a better option for most homes. I couldn’t quite figure out how you would do the back splash in most areas, and I have two tiered counters on two sides with smaller stool areas that wouldn’t fit the configuration of the large slabs at all. Would like look like a big cut up DIY project when done.
Though I could see it fitting some situations, especially if the base area of an island was built to fit them from scratch, vs recovering an is island that was already built beforehand.
Joan thanks so much for the mention !
Steven K: Prefab slab has nothing over the Bedrock Creations system. Just look at the pictures and video for yourself. http://bedrockcreations.net.
The beauty of the high end premium edging, simple configuration, immense design possibilities and low cost (1/3 of an installed REAL slab in most cases) makes the “Kitchen in a BOX” from Bedrock Creations an amazing upgrade for your home.
Joan thanks so much for the mention !
Steven K: Prefab slab has nothing over the Bedrock Creations system. Just look at the pictures and video for yourself. http://bedrockcreations.net.
The beauty of the high end premium edging, simple configuration, immense design possibilities and low cost (1/3 of an installed REAL slab in most cases) makes the “Kitchen in a BOX” from Bedrock Creations an amazing upgrade for your home.
Hi check it..Since it can be said that humans are generally creatures of habit, the state of a person’s home has been known to physiologically influence their behavior, emotions, and overall mental health.[citation needed] For example, in the introduction to the film Patch Adams, “home sweet home”, the concept of “home” is compared to the human need for peaceful sanctuary, the absence of which would lead to restlessness. Such restlessness, as can be seen by that particular case, may lead to depression and, ultimately, to a loss of sanity.