Engineered Stone Countertops

Instant gratification: Transform tired kitchen, bath with granite - over ...

So, you want to update your kitchen.

It's the place where family and friends gather, drawn by good food and good conversation, and you know it's one of the smartest places in a home to invest your remodeling dollars.

But if you aren't ready to go whole hog - tearing out cabinetry, blowing out walls and the general mess, dust and dirt that goes along with remodeling projects - what choices offer function and style, and maybe, a little instant gratification?

New countertops can put a smile on the face of a tired kitchen. One trendsetting company, Granite Transformations, offers an engineered granite surface that can be cut exactly to fit over existing countertops.

"No demolition is involved, and most projects are done in a single day," said Teresa Egli for Granite Transformations in Hiawatha and Urbandale.

It's the look of granite because it is granite - "95 percent crushed granite and 5 percent polymers mixed together to make an engineered stone slab. It is flexible, maintenance free, heat, stain and scratch resistant. You don't have to seal it like granite because it isn't porous," she explained.

The Trend Stone line offers a range of colors from earthy neutrals to dramatic black and dark blue.

Lightweight at 2 to 2 1/2 pounds per square foot compared to 15 to 18 pounds per square foot for slab granite, the overlay can be adhered to level countertops on cabinets that are in good, stable condition. No structural reinforcements are required. It can be installed over existing backplashes and other surfaces, too.

"We carefully measure and create a template for the countertop and backsplash overlays and those are fabricated in our shop and then we install them," Egli said. "Our product is about 10 percent less expensive than mid-range slab granite."

One Hiawatha client who preferred her name not be used saw the engineered Trend Stone in a neighbor's kitchen and fell in love with it. "There wasn't any mess, and it fit perfectly over the existing counter. It changed the whole look of my kitchen. I ended up getting new appliances to go with it," she said.

Granite Transformations also sells undermount granite composite sinks to coordinate with the new countertops. The client must select the faucets and strainer for the sink and the team will install those, as well. The client is responsible for any plumbing or electrical work.

Clients can also choose from recycled glass countertops manufactured with up to 72 percent post-consumer recycled materials and glass and mosaic tiles for accenting backsplashes.

Engineered stone (man made) or Natural Stone (earth made ...

I don’t think anyone would disagree that Engineered stone – otherwise known as man made – is a beautiful and modern option for your kitchen countertops, and of course the sophisticated essence of granite is incomparable, but how do you chose? Now a days it is so difficult for countertop buyers to make a decision on what type of material to put in their kitchen, and this is highly due to the overwhelming amount of options out there; silestone, granite, marble, soapstone, corian, recycled, just to name a few, so I decided to explain my take on countertop trends.

First of all, granite has been around for hundreds of years… no, wait… thousands of years… actually millions of years. Granite has been the number one choice for decorating, sculpturing, buildings and monuments for centuries, and it has been put to the test of beauty and durability over and over again by nature, lasting a lifetime. I wasn’t around during the egyptian times, but I hear they were one of the first civilizations to quarry granite and using it for their ever lasting monuments and buildings. Fortunately for you, this is not a history lesson on granite, but this is certainly something to keep in mind when trying to decide which product to use in your kitchen.

If you were to ask me what type of cell phone I like, I would probably answer with something like iPhone, Android, BlackBerry or any other type of recently released smart phone, and that’s because I want to be holding the latest and greatest technology in my hands. Technology has become much more affordable these days, and anyone would tell you that swapping phones is not the most expensive thing in the world. In contrast, remodeling your kitchen or bathroom is not something you want to deal with or go through every year or every two years; you want to get this done once, and done right the first time, and make it as memorable and lasting as possible!

Engineered stone, to me, is just another countertop trend that will come and go as often as the market allows it to. Do you remember Corian? it was really popular back in the days, like 25 years ago to be exact… or maybe not that long… but still, you get the point. Let me ask you something, have you ever gone to someones house and saw that their kitchen countertop was corian? what was the first thing that came to your mind? I know what mine was, “this is so 80′s”. Corian in my opinion was greatly challenged and taken down by engineered stone about a decade ago or so, and now man made stone is starting to dim down a bit and is becoming more… say ‘standard’… but granite remains a elegant but yet affordable selection.

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