Possibly Replacing Kitchen Counters

[Dux]

Nice Kitchen even in its current state

[Even Steven]

Originally Posted by The Professor

So ... our counters are crap and we're thinking we should probably get them replaced before we try to sell our home this spring. I'm not sure that we've got the $2500 for granite; but I don't want to skimp with laminate either. On the other hand, we live in a smaller town with buyers who may not really be *expecting* granite in the first place (we bought the place with laminate counters). So here are my questions for anyone with experience:

1. Is granite *really* that worth it, even in a market in which the expectation for granite hasn't been created; or are we better off just putting a decent laminate in?

2. What do you think of granite tile?

3. Is a countertop install something that must be done by a professional; or can it be a reasonable DIY project?

OK ... enough with my questions. Please feel free to jump in if your in real estate or have recently replaced your counters.

Thanks,
~d.

1. I really have no idea
2. It's pretty nice, looks like I can use it as a cutting board without damaging anything.
3. If you have some buddies to help carry(it's frickin heavy) and cut and stuff then you should be able to do it yourself, just make sure you read up a bit on it.

My parents recently put in granite in our kitchen, I saw most of the install and it doesn't look too hard. The cutting looks like it takes more skill.

[Even Steven]

Originally Posted by Dux

Nice Kitchen even in its current state

I agree! I saw the pics after my first post, I don't know how old your pics are but your countertops look fine

[The Professor]

Originally Posted by Even Steven

I agree! I saw the pics after my first post, I don't know how old your pics are but your countertops look fine

Thanks. The problem is that we had some water seep into the seams at the two right angles on either side of the sink (the seams are actually 45deg cuts that create the right angles on the counter). The result was warping at the seams, which is pretty noticeable.

[raisin]

Granite might be just the right "bling" to garner bids in a possibly slow real estate market this spring. Ask your realtor to compare your home with other similiar homes on the market. Know the competition!

[kkc]

Although I purchased my last house in 2002 while it was being built, I upgraded the kitchen in 2004 with more cabinets, black slab granite countertops, marble and and granite backsplashes, undercounter lights, new halegon ceiling lights, and new black sink and fittings. When we decided to spent the $7k it cost, we were planning on staying for another 5 years. But within a year or so later, we had placed the house for sale with intents of moving back to Europe. Was the upgrade a good investment? Hell NO!!! Although the house had a drop dead gorgeous kitchen, hardwood floors in the entry, formal dining, living room, and breakfast room, and tons of upgrades over other houses on the street, buyers didn't seem to care. The houses across the street and the one next door (both smaller without the upgrades) sold within a month or two for much more money and ours lingered on the market for 8 months before we had to slash the price and offer all sorts of incentives to sell it.

From the pictures of the kitchen you posted, the paint was a major change and made a world of difference. Skip the granite and prehaps keep that $2500 it might have cost with intention of lowering the price. Unless the house is in a area that home sales are hot, you will probably not get the return on your investment. I lost alot of money on our house. The real estate market across the country is in a slump and sales and prices are down. The second agent we listed it with after the first agent from hell totally dropped the ball, told us that it used to be all about "location, location and location", it is now about "price, price and price" and buyers out there are looking for a bargain. From someone has recently sold his house, my advice is to save your money and list as is.

As for the practicality of the granite, it was very hard to keep clean and shiny. I had to wash the counters with a very clean dishtowel after each meal to avoid smears and smudges. I might do granite some time again in the future but it will not be black. The black sink too was a headache especially with a wife who liked to just dump food in it without turning on the disposal!!!

[hollywood]

Darrel. I just gutted and remodeled our entire kitchen this year. Give me a call and I can give you several details and things to watch out for. And hopefully save you lots of time and $$$ !

[germantown rob]

I have been remodeling houses and doing spec houses for many years now. I also very recently re did my kitchen recently in a 120 year old house. My house was a major project and I went all out so that the next buyer wouldn't have to touch the kitchen.

I would consider that kitchens are a personal thing for a home owner and many buyers will have different tastes. Your kitchen is nice so I would consider some moderate plain counter tops. My reasoning for that is a buyer might want to change the whole thing. You spend $2500 on granite and maybe get back $1700 on your investment and the next person might tear them out because they are going to redo the whole kitchen.

Granite is beautiful and can be a selling point but that is a gamble, clean and fresh is a less costly selling point. I have had plenty of lams installed that look great and cost about 2gs less. A new buyer can install granite out of the hundreds of choices they could make of which kind. If you were going to spend 40g on a whole new kitchen then I would say granite with out a doubt.

[TU09]

Originally Posted by germantown rob

Granite is beautiful and can be a selling point but that is a gamble, clean and fresh is a less costly selling point. I have had plenty of lams installed that look great and cost about 2gs less. A new buyer can install granite out of the hundreds of choices they could make of which kind. If you were going to spend 40g on a whole new kitchen then I would say granite with out a doubt.

We never install granite in our spec homes. If the buyer wants them we will, of course, install them and many contract jobs require them but they don't add enough value to new homes in my market to justify the additional cost. Everything else in our kitchens is either the best available or fairly close to it because a kitchen will often sell a house but granite doesn't add that much aesthetically if the counter is otherwise well done. In my own home my upstairs countertops will probably be replaced with granite in the next couple years but my other kitchen is newer and he laminate looks great and, given the kitchen, better than granite would.