vanity top : Granite / Marble / Cultured Marble?

[radhak]

Is there a big gotcha with any of the material used for a bathroom vanity top?

As in, scratches easy, stains easy, water-marks, whatever? What is preferable?

[Rich P]

Marble, while very beautiful, it perhaps the softest, most porous, easily stained, easily etched of any alternative for a vanity or any semi-hard use surface. I have marble tile vanity tops in two bathrooms and in a bar area and all have been damaged to some degree.

The granite slabs in the kitchen have been there for 7 years and are still as nice as the day they were installed.

I don't have any experience with cultured marble.

If I had a do-over, all would be granite.

[radhak]

Awesome, Rich! Exactly what I was looking for - a personal experience.

I need an off-size top (33" wide), and nobody is keen to provide that size. HD has just one supplier that goes custom, but their Granite goes extremely expensive.

Have finally found a guy who is willing to make me one in Granite for $450 which is close to what HD wanted to charge for marble! So I guess I should be okay with him.

[Two Much]

Another granite fan. I have it in our kitchen 3 years now...It takes a beating and still looks as good as the day it was installed. Do you have any granite yards by you?
Sometimes they have small pieces, drop-offs from big jobs -- that you may be able to pick up reasonably. Also if you bring them the template (make it from 1/4" wood) with the sink hole cut out so that they don't have to come and measure and make the template, you'll save a lot of money.

Joann

[poolhound]

Awesome, Rich! Exactly what I was looking for - a personal experience.

I need an off-size top (33" wide), and nobody is keen to provide that size. HD has just one supplier that goes custom, but their Granite goes extremely expensive.

Have finally found a guy who is willing to make me one in Granite for $450 which is close to what HD wanted to charge for marble! So I guess I should be okay with him.

I also vote for granite. we have it in our kitchen and one bathroom. The bathroom piece is very small and like you I had to find a small shop who was willing to do something like this. IIRC the pieces cost only $250 but we wanted a hand cut edge so that cost another $200 alone.

Many small shops will have a stock of "offcuts" and will happily sell you those. In this economy I would be amazed if you couldnt find somebody who would be willing to do this for you.

I can take a pic of ours if that would help.

[DaveS]

The only problem with some natural stones in the bathroom is that they may be susceptible to etching from certain chemicals, like nail polish remover.

Another problem is that they may get stained by oils (although you can often remove them with a poultice).

Make sure you ask your stone guy if you can get a better price if you pick from one of his (most likely many) remnant piece.

We got some really high end stone for our bathroom vanity for about the same price as the cheapest granite this way.

We also have granite in the kitchen and this stuff is indestructible.

Personally, I don't like the preformed sink-counters (like the cultured marble ones). The undermount sink is the style these days. If you want to be really trendy, get a vessel sink.

[RAFlorida]

Granite only for us.

It is very durable and lasts and lasts. We are happy with our tops.

[radhak]

Wow, thanks people! Looks like everybody has had prior experience like I am seeing now.

This guy has some sort of a yard, and he was showing me his off-cuts. He claims that all that money he's charging is just for the effort of making that top, he's giving me the material for free; 'if you bring me your own slab of granite, I'd still charge you $450..' is what he said. I am very skeptical about that, but I'm happy to be able to pick from his pile of slabs without having to worry about higher price for the nicer look.

Before I confirm with him I definitely want to try and locate another such yard and see if it compares. Not easy trying to find something like this, when one has gotten used to googling for things and these type of services are not savvy enough to go onto the yellow pages, let alone the internet !

Yes, the HD contractor told me - any addition/changes (as in, say, lower backsplash) would double the price.

That thing about chemicals and such affecting the surface, I read somewhere I should 'seal' the granite first with something HD sells. Live and learn!

[Two Much]

What is the 450.00 for? Cutting out for the sink and polishing the edge?

check another yard, if you can.

[Rich P]

Sealing is absolutely required for granite and as I recall should be refreshed every few years (which I have not done ). We use Stonetech Revitalizer for routing cleaning and it is very easy to use. Just spray on, wipe off and it looks great.

If you have any higher end kitchen designers or design showrooms, that's a good source for local stone guys.

[DaveS]

I'd agree that the $450 is a little high for a remnant.

Make sure that the price includes:
1) templating
2) material
3) edge polish
4) back and side splashes
5) undermount sink of your choosing (color, shape), including the sink (unless you are getting something special)
6) drilling holes for faucets
7) installation

Regarding the faucets - I highly recommend you spend the extra money and get one that has 8" spacing (three pieces, vs. the 4" all in one piece) - they look so, so, so much better.

[radhak]

I am told the 450 includes all that, except for the sink itself. He wants me to get my own, which should be what, $50?

I shall ask around some before going back to him.

After so many days of searching, I am glad I found at least one who's willing to work on the customizing. Amazed at so many others who advertise 'custom' then say, oh, we only meant the edge and the color .

[frumper64]

I'm also a fan of granite, but when we redid our vanity tops my wife insisted on one of them being Silestone (quartz) instead of granite so she could "restore her natural hair color" without worrying about staining granite. It seems to be almost impossible to stain the quartz so far and, while not quite as pretty as the granite it's pretty good looking.

As for the odd size, if neither side needs to be exposed, you could get a longer stock size and cut off both sides to keep the sink centered. A chain store here in Dallas (Floors and Decor or something like that) had 42"x24" granite vanity tops for around $200 last spring - they looked exactly like the ones I had bought at Lowes a couple of years earlier for around $380 at the time and included a porcelain undermount sink. As I recall, they came out of Jackson Stone Works in Mississippi.

[radhak]

I did not know about Quartz. How come nobody gave me the option? Maybe a specialized seller?

I need the right side open, and that has been the main bugbear. I have found a number of 'give away' prices on CL for NIB vanity tops that could have been used by cutting off the sides, but could not because I could not get one edge finished.

[frumper64]

Quartz is available lots of places under various trade names. One of the biggest is
"Silestone" but there are several others. I know both the big box hardware stores carry it.

If you can find a really cheap piece of either quartz or granite on CL or somewhere, you could use it to experiment with - cut edges with a diamond blade in an angle grinder and then polish with a sander, starting as low a grit as necessary and then progressing to finer and finer grits to see how good an edge you could get.

Good luck