Soapstone & Concrete countertops

[kiliki]

This thread should be helpful-it was to me when I was doing my kitchen. I had the exact same concerns and tastes as you and went with soapstone. The one thing I would caution you about, and you'll read about this in that thread, is that it does chip and scratch easily. Much easier than I was led to believe. We still love it, though. If I was to do it again I would look more into honed (non-shiny) granite or slate-slate has that same look but when it chips, the chips are the same dark color as the surface. When soapstone chips it is chalky white, so it's very noticable.

FYI, mineral oil doesn't "seal" soapstone. Soapstone is non-porous. People oil the stone to speed up the oxidizing process-turning it from that dull grey to black. It makes it look really nice and new. Even if you don't oil it will still turn color, it will just take longer. Also oiling makes the scratches less noticable, since it oxidizes the newly exposed surface.

Soapstone doesn't really stain-I say doesn't "really" because there is one spot where my husband sets his used coffee filter every day, and over time that spot shows a little brown. But we've never actually made an attempt to get the brown out, since it's not very noticable. If you're concerned that you will spill tumeric during cooking, and that it will stain before you clean up, don't be. The stoneyard can give you a sample of the stone so you can try that-we took ours (un-oiled) and spilled wine and all sorts of stuff on it. It didn't stain.

Re: veining and mottling: We saw lots of different patterns and variations in the stone warehouse, and we picked the exact ones we wanted (we liked veins). If they don't have a look you like, ask when they will get more in, or keep looking at other vendors. It is of course a crapshoot-you might describe the look you like to the stone vendor, and ask how commonly they get that look in. I never saw any soapstone that had no veins or mottling (these are obvious even before it's been oil treated). If you love that look, consider slate-it sounds like it has exactly the look you want.

Edited January 12, 2007 by kiliki (log)

[Soupcon]

I have just (in the past month) had a soapstone tile counter installed. I love it. Mind you I love the veining and picked out the tiles for the colour of the veins. I looks much better with a thin coat of mineral oil. And it is soft enough that we bevelled the tile edges with a bastard file. I had a ceramic tile counter before this and soapstone has now spoiled for me for life - I will never go back except under duress of course .

[snowangel]

This thread should be helpful-it was to me when I was doing my kitchen.

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Note: I've merged the two topics.

[paulraphael]

Has anyone discussed non-stone options for counters? The kitchen I have right now (rented) has a mix of granite and marble, and I have to say the stone surface drives me nuts. I like being able to set hot pans down, but it's not worth having to be so delicate with dishes and glasses.

After living with stone, formica seems cheap, but I've never had the solid plastic options. I do have a butcher block that I made out of a 3 foot sanded piece of maple butcher block countertop. That might be my ideal counter material of all. Fairly high maintenance, and you have to be ok with scratches and dents (I am) but otherwise, I like the look and the forgiving nature of it. Any thoughts?

[rgruby]

Has anyone discussed non-stone options for counters?

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Around the time I started this thread, I started another one re: Corian, Silestone and the like - I'll see if I can find it. Not sure to what extent it discussed butcher block or formica.

Cheers,

Geoff Ruby

[ray goud]

This thread should be helpful-it was to me when I was doing my kitchen. I had the exact same concerns and tastes as you and went with soapstone. The one thing I would caution you about, and you'll read about this in that thread, is that it does chip and scratch easily. Much easier than I was led to believe. We still love it, though. If I was to do it again I would look more into honed (non-shiny) granite or slate-slate has that same look but when it chips, the chips are the same dark color as the surface. When soapstone chips it is chalky white, so it's very noticable.

FYI, mineral oil doesn't "seal" soapstone. Soapstone is non-porous. People oil the stone to speed up the oxidizing process-turning it from that dull grey to black. It makes it look really nice and new. Even if you don't oil it will still turn color, it will just take longer. Also oiling makes the scratches less noticable, since it oxidizes the newly exposed surface.

Soapstone doesn't really stain-I say doesn't "really" because there is one spot where my husband sets his used coffee filter every day, and over time that spot shows a little brown. But we've never actually made an attempt to get the brown out, since it's not very noticable. If you're concerned that you will spill tumeric during cooking, and that it will stain before you clean up, don't be. The stoneyard can give you a sample of the stone so you can try that-we took ours (un-oiled) and spilled wine and all sorts of stuff on it. It didn't stain.

Re: veining and mottling: We saw lots of different patterns and variations in the stone warehouse, and we picked the exact ones we wanted (we liked veins). If they don't have a look you like, ask when they will get more in, or keep looking at other vendors. It is of course a crapshoot-you might describe the look you like to the stone vendor, and ask how commonly they get that look in. I never saw any soapstone that had no veins or mottling (these are obvious even before it's been oil treated). If you love that look, consider slate-it sounds like it has exactly the look you want.

←

Sorry, but soapstone does not "oxidize" at all. Oxidation is defined as something chemically combining with oxygen, and soapstone doesn't do that. Adding oil to the surface merely changes the optical properties, making it appear darker, and it DOES seal it to the extent that it is LESS likely to absorb any other solvent, such as water. And the mineral oil does not oxidize readily at room temperatures. As a corollary, adding oil to wood does not immediately oxidize the wood, but makes it look immediately darker because it changes the optical property of its surface. Interestingly, soapstone resists just about every acid one is likely to have in a kitchen (and most chem labs). My soapstone counter is now two years old, and though I love it, my wife is unhappy about it being easy to scratch, even though the the scratches instantly disappear with a little oil rubbed into them.

I recently tested soapstone for its resistance to turmeric (for a relative) and it was totally unaffected by the spice in either hot water or hot oil.

Ray

[Mallet]

This thread has really turned me on to soapstone (not that I'll be anywhere near building my own kitchen in the next several years)! I was just curious if anyone had pictures of a well-used counter? All the pictures I've seen so far have been new countertops, and I think it would be useful to see what a "lived-in" counter looks like.

[ray goud]

This thread has really turned me on to soapstone (not that I'll be anywhere near building my own kitchen in the next several years)! I was just curious if anyone had pictures of a well-used counter? All the pictures I've seen so far have been new countertops, and I think it would be useful to see what a "lived-in" counter looks like.

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My countertop is now two years old and I don't think it looks any different than the day after it was installed. One would need a camera with a very good close-up capability and acute side-lighting to be able to see any of the little scratches and divots. That's because those defects instantly disappear with mineral oil. You might want to google Rod Zander who installs countertops and masonry stoves, and installed my counter. He has a soapstone counter of his own and he might have pictures to share.

Ray

[kiliki]

Sorry, but soapstone does not "oxidize" at all. Oxidation is defined as something chemically combining with oxygen, and soapstone doesn't do that. Adding oil to the surface merely changes the optical properties, making it appear darker, and it DOES seal it to the extent that it is LESS likely to absorb any other solvent, such as water. And the mineral oil does not oxidize readily at room temperatures. As a corollary, adding oil to wood does not immediately oxidize the wood, but makes it look immediately darker because it changes the optical property of its surface. Interestingly, soapstone resists just about every acid one is likely to have in a kitchen (and most chem labs).

This is what I was told at two different stoneyards. They were quite emphatic that the oil does not "seal" the stone, and that it is non-porous, so the oil doesn't soak in, either. I see what you are saying about oil creating a barrier, but we don't ever oil our counters anymore (except the dings), and nothing soaks in.

That makes sense about the oxidation-do you know what it is about the oil that causes permanant color change, then? We have a soapstone bar which we used to oil quite a bit on top, but never do anymore, and the part underneath, the part that was never oiled, is still a very pale gray. And with the counters, with each successive oiling, they got darker and darker. That's why we used to oil them all the time, until they got to the shade we wanted, and now we don't bother much.

I have had a very different experience than Ray about the scratches and dings-his may instantly disappear with oiling, but mine sure don't. The surface scratches become less noticeable, but the dings are chalky-white, and you have to oil them over and over to get them to darken.

I was just curious if anyone had pictures of a well-used counter? All the pictures I've seen so far have been new countertops, and I think it would be useful to see what a "lived-in" counter looks like.

I don't have any now, but I could take some and post them (when I am not feeling so lazy). You can definitely tell on ours-around the sink, where I've banged many a pot and pan-looks especially rough. I just took another chunk out tonight by dropping a Le Crueset lid on the edge of the counter. If we were really good about oiling the dings immediately, it might not be so noticeable. But especially compared to our soapstone bar, which gets only light use, the counters look, uhhh, well-loved.

Edited January 18, 2007 by kiliki (log)

[kiliki]

I do have a butcher block that I made out of a 3 foot sanded piece of maple butcher block countertop. That might be my ideal counter material of all. Fairly high maintenance, and you have to be ok with scratches and dents (I am) but otherwise, I like the look and the forgiving nature of it. Any thoughts?

There were maple butcher block counters in a house I shared with a friend once. They stained-or, I should say, they would have stained except we would scrub and scrub and scrub to get things like cranberry juice out. My friend even forbid me to leave water glasses on the counter, becuase they sometimes left water marks. It seemed a very impractical counter surface.

[mrbigjas]

I don't have any now, but I could take some and post them (when I am not feeling so lazy). You can definitely tell on ours-around the sink, where I've banged many a pot and pan-looks especially rough. I just took another chunk out tonight by dropping a Le Crueset lid on the edge of the counter. If we were really good about oiling the dings immediately, it might not be so noticeable. But especially compared to our soapstone bar, which gets only light use, the counters look, uhhh, well-loved.

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so after all this, would you get them again? do the usability advantages outweigh the cosmetic disadvantages, such as they are?

[kiliki]

Like I said in another post, I would probably look into honed granite and slate if I were to do it again. But depending on what I learned about those surfaces, I still might choose soapstone. Our main concern was that we have a 100 year old cottage, and shiny granite or more modern options (like silestone, corian) just didn't seem to fit in, and we didn't like those anyway. And we aren't super fussy people, so function and general look (even though banged up, I still like the way it looks) does outweigh the cosmetic issues, in our book.

[gariotin]

I'm checking in now that I have been living w/my soapstone counters for about four months. I haven't been having the chipping issue that some of you have, altho I do live by myself and don't do a lot of complicated cooking anymore. I'm sure I would have been rougher back when I was cooking for a family of four.

I oil about once a month - mostly just to even out oil spots. I find nothing really stains, but oil or butter do make dark areas. I have an island and the area where I sit and eat also gets darker faster - I guess just from oil on my hands. I just oil the whole thing once and awhile and it all "dries" out the same color.

That's really the only drawback I have found - otherwise it looks great and I love not having to worry about putting hot things down.

[rgruby]

Well, I've had my counters in for three or four months now, and I'm still not sure I made the right choice.

They look great when oiled (I much prefer the oiled look) but seem to need pretty frequent oilings - at least once a week or so. They don't seem to be needing less frequent oilings as time goes on, but I suppose it's still relatively early days yet.

And, they are soft. Really soft. At least mine are. Opening a wine bottle, as several people have mentioned, makes little dents in the counter. After the counter is oiled, those dents disappear (well, they're still there, but you can't see them anymore). Yes, the counters get lots of little scratches, which (mostly) disappear after a fresh coat of oil. But I have to say, I didn't think they'd bug me, but they do. We have one little divot already. I think that over time, as there are more divots and scratches , I'll actually feel ok with them, as long as they aren't too big. But right now my kitchen isn't finished, so I kinda want things to be perfect.

I do like the look and feel. Mine have quite a bit of greenish veining.

Another question for those who've had soapstone counters for a while. Anything you don't do with them, or that you have had to find a workaround to not damage them? I'll give you an example of what I'm getting at. I mentioned above a concern for clamping a pasta maker or meat grinder onto the counter. What about using a pizza cutter for grissini or ravioli - something that needs to be cut and takes up quite a bit of counter space, for example. I think with my old (formica) counters I did stuff like that right on the counter. With soapstone, I think I'd put down an upturned baking sheet maybe. Not sure a towel alone would work.

I'll post photos if I can ever figure out how.

Cheers,

Geoff Ruby

[Terila]

I will be watching this thread.

I did my remodel over a year ago and I insisted upon concrete. BOY was I wrong!!! Immediately I had problems ... mainly that the edges chip off. I also had concrete put in the powder room which is okay but the kitchen has too much going on to sustain a concrete counter.

Sooo ... this week I am having it torn out ... and the price of concrete exceeded that of granite. This has been a big learning experience for me.

I am leaning toward Silestone but am hopping over to that thread now.

SLG

[LindaK]

I will be watching this thread. 

I did my remodel over a year ago and I insisted upon concrete.  BOY was I wrong!!! Immediately I had problems ... mainly that the edges chip off.  I also had concrete put in the powder room which is okay but the kitchen has too much going on to sustain a concrete counter.

Sooo ... this week I am having it torn out ... and the price of concrete exceeded that of granite.  This has been a big learning experience for me.

I am leaning toward Silestone but am hopping over to that thread now.

SLG

Hmm. Can you say a little more about your concrete experience? the fabrication, the experience of your contractor, etc.?

I love the look of concrete and hear good things about it from a couple of architect friends who have specified it for clients. still, tales like yours make me hesitate. More info would be helpful.

[gariotin]

I've been living with my soapstone for about 7 months now and still love it. I do not love the oiled look, so I only do the island every month or so to even out the darker edges where hands have been. When I get a dark spot from oil, etc., I just run the water very hot from the tap, soak a sponge, and slap it on the spot. Pick it up after a few minutes, and it's almost always gone. Someone else will have to confirm, but I think that the hot water just dissipates the small amount of oil into the stone? Where's a geologist when you need one?

I am inclined to keep going this way, - I guess the stone will get darker over time, but I like the rougher lighter look over the shiny dark - looks too much like granite.

As to all the nicks and gouges, can't say this is a problem for me - maybe Vermont soapstone is a little harder?