With so many options for countertops, how do you choose the right one? I this live stream we break down some of the choices you'll be faced with and why you should consider each one. Join me for a one hour consultation at www.mtkd.ca
I'm laughing so hard "Granite has speckles that my brain cannot stand." I've been struggling to figure out why I absolutely detest my granite counters. U nailed it! 😂
I was happy to see a respectable evaluation of laminate counter tops. Products, ranging from Corian, through Quartz and Granite are very expensive in Canada, ranging from $250 to $350 per linear foot, based on a standard 24" counter depth, for material only, before labor. I've had laminate throughout the kitchen for 25 years and it made it through raising a family and is still in very good shape with no scratches, burns or delamination. I'd like to replace the counters, only to update the color and pattern. Our kitchen is a separate utilitarian space and not an entertainment center of the home. I hesitate to do laminate, only because it has gained a reputation as been cheap. We've seen home buyers here reject buying a home because it had laminate counter tops. As a senior now, I don't want to spend the price of a car to update my kitchen counter tops. lol.
the kitchen that was in my house has been there so long before we are getting around to renovating that Quartz came along, became fashionable and apparantly became unfashionable again. Its so complicated! :)
I would get laminate if my wife would let me... Cost and utility can hardly be better, and price is also great. But it just doesn't have that romantic appeal of stone or wood I guess 🤷 We have wood countertops and I have mixed feelings. Looking to change to something a little more water/heat proof and low maintenance.
My last kitchen had laminate tops which still looked good after 25 years. My new kitchen has got it again so I’m hoping it will last as well as before.
@@barbaraeaton9266 I don't think our wood countertops were done in the greatest way. I think a house flipper did it himself. So it probably isn't the greatest example. It is sealed somehow, but I'm not exactly sure with what. But yeah, what I am not liking is all around the sink area it's gotten black stains. And a couple of places where a too hot item has been mistakenly placed it has burned rings. We tried just sanding the marred sections them off and re-sealing but it doesn't look the same. I probably need to do the whole thing but that seems like an enormous amount of work. I think it would definitely be better if they were not around the sink. And I've seen examples of ones that look a lot more natural (ours looks like it was sealed with polyurethane or something like you'd seal a deck). Those strike me as possibly easier to maintain. We're looking currently at quartz or granite on the island with the sink and wood the rest of the kitchen. Deliberations are ongoing though.
100% agree with you on the choice of local cabinets over something 4hrs away. If you have a renter with an emergency, you want to be able to get what you need and get it fixed ASAP. Don't doubt yourself 💜
I hated granite when it came out, I hate it still. Granite has speckles that my brain cannot stand. We are building a house right now and this is timely because I am currently nailing down my counter choice. If I had the unlimited budget of my dreams I would put soapstone on every counter. Because I actually have a budget I am deciding between porcelain, quartz and quartzite.
Hi Sherri - I'm with you on the speckled granite, it boggles my brain! Silestone and Caesarstone both have quartz countertop options that look like soapstone. I haven't decided which one I'm putting in my kitchen remodel yet, but the honed finish on the Silestone version is REALLY hard to tell that it's not real soapstone. Check them out, and good luck with the kitchen design on your new home build!
Hi Mark, just recently found your channel and have been enjoying your content. I’m just about to start on a total kitchen Reno and have already made all my design decisions so I’m a little late to put any of your advice into my project but I hope it all works out. No OTR microwave, lol, so I agree with you there. Mostly because I am on the short side and always considered it a hazard taking hot liquids out of an appliance above my head. I’m looking forward to following your B&B project.
44:20 Some custom wood slab counter tops can run into several hundred dollars a square foot. The raw slabs of some trees can cost as much or more than high end marble, and require a very high amount of labor and materials to turn into a functional countertop.
Nice video! Missed your opinion on stainless steel countertops and back drop. I had a very old stainless steel countertop and it was looking quite fine, at my rental. Felt safer using it than the new "fake Formica" they installed. Had different marble and granite countertops and sinks before and I feel stainless was the best material from a usability perspective (and with a reasonable cost). Is there any development on new designs that make them less dated (and cheap looking)?
Thank you for all your knowledge you are sharing. Can you please address options for rental properties and the pros and cons. I am starting a Reno of my ground floor to put in a two bedroom granny flat very soon. Thanks! ❤
I just found your videos and really like your channel. Already learning a lot in prep for a big kitchen renovation sometime in the next several years. FWIW it seems really stupid to me to surround a sink with solid wood.
@@MTKDofficial we had wood counters in our old house. My grandparents had them on their farm. It's not for perfectionists but I've never seen issues with mold. If you leave water on your countertops long enough to cause mold, you're not keeping a hygienic kitchen. The benefit was my countertops were my chopping boards (except meats, that's best chopped on a stone chopping board) with the expectation of replacing the counters every ten years. We oiled every 6 months. If you want absolutely no staining or cut marks or burn marks, it's not for you. You do wood wanting those marks.
was in a showroom a few days ago and the laminate mostly felt like what I’m familiar with - slightly rough to the touch feel which is one of the reasons I’m considering something else. But I found a countertop that felt smooth and a little cooler to the touch but the assistant said it was ‘luxury’ laminate. I have no idea what that means but it felt great and looked great so I’ll be exploring that a little more if it means more cost effective but doesn’t feel like laminate. I’d be having an overmount sink so no biggie there
Im always suspicious of words like "luxury", however, I've personally ordered high gloss laminates that look every bit like a stone top. They are easy to clean but also easy to scratch. There are newer laminate products on the market now that are more durable and manufactured with out the particle board substrate. This is probably what they were showing you. Very nice indeed. Luxury even. lol
Having a hard time finding high definition laminate, which I've bought multiple times and found it to be extremely scratch and heat resistant. Pots directly out of the oven no problem. Cutting directly on the counter top no problems. I want to say the sales pitch was that it was up to 550 degree ok but I can't find that information any more. Never had problems with it. I don't like cold stone.
I'm loving your background paint color, a smoky navy? What is the name? Also that the overhead beams are painted same color, it looks high end. Ceiling too, or is that a little darker navy? Love your content, big fan, saving up for a kitchen consult with u. So glad you're offering the service. 🛟❤️🙃
You can order gloss laminate. This is usually a special order and will cost a little extra, but it is available. In my last house I ordered mine with a gloss finish. It came from Arbotire. But many of the laminate makers have them.
What would you put around the sink if you did have a wood countertop? I thought maybe a SS with a drain board. Does Decton only come in dark or black. So Decton is really expensive like quartz or quartzite? I always have questions.😊
haha. no worries! Dekton comes in lots of colours and patterns (white to black). If you have wood make sure to seal it underneath and the cut out too. Just to help protect it. But don't seal the top obviously.
Home Depot! Ikea ... I'm not a fan. House I bought has an IKEA stove, big, ugly, only one burner works, oven just stopped working also. Ikea cupboards which are all glass even the shelves. It's horrible. So hard it's brutal.
Hi, Mark. I found another RU-vid video from Canadian House and Home where they show the cabinet drawers and doors all connected by one trim detail that runs from top to bottom (minute 6:35). ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-SKr0p2OwUFo.html This detail seems to becoming a big trend. Also, at minute 7:05, have a look at the upper cabinets door hardware detail. On a set of double doors they mounted the door handles in a horizontal fashion right next to each other so that they look exactly like the single handle that’s on the base cabinet drawers. Very nice!
@@MTKDofficial We bought it for its high durability, and it was marketed to us by our local countertop vendor as superior granite, quartz, quartzite, marble (basically it's like marble but with superior durability and low maintenance), for less than marble's cost. It is also forged, which we thought was pretty cool. We installed it in our workshop sink, but now are trying to decide whether to stick with it again for our main kitchen. What I heard is that it's supposedly one of the newer options, not yet as popular.
If you are even a little bit klutzy, reconsider marble. It's incredibly slick, so you go to pick up your beautiful coffee cup, or a vase, whatever, it can shoot away from u and land violently elsewhere. Or u can do what I did and knocked over my glass pitcher and cracked the handle. Actually I did that with my hideous speckled granite, also very slick. And I stayed in a hotel with a marble floor in the bathroom, I fell so suddenly and unexpectedly and hit my head pretty hard. These very hard polished surfaces are horrid.
