Soapstone requires oiling when it's installed and reoiled regularly for the first few years, says Brooks. Brooks recommends black granite: Vermont black, Jet Mist, and Black Absolute are three common varieties that closely resemble soapstone. You could also opt for a similar looking material that's less prone to scratches. You could save it for a lower traffic area, like an edge countertop. If seeing such an imperfection would annoy you, you might not want to use it on a big kitchen island where damage is likely to happen. (No matter your counter surface, we always recommend using a cutting board to protect both your counters and your knives.) Even a dropped glass or can of food can result in a dent or nick. Scratch Proneīecause of its innate softness, soapstone shows knife marks and other scratches if you chop food directly on its surface. Soapstone is finicky in ways that could frustrate you if don't have the patience or interest in keeping it looking its best. Some homeowners love this-and some don’t.Ī soapstone counter isn't all beauty and warmth. For instance, a light gray will sink into a rich, dark gray, and a black will simply get deeper.
It will change from month to month and develop character over the years. Soapstone darkens and develops a natural patina over time. It should wear more evenly going forward. Simply sand the darker portion of stone and oil it to reset the surface. You can do the same thing to reset the stone if its patina starts to look uneven. It's so soft, all you need is a stone-friendly blade.Ī quick sanding and oiling can remove minor nicks and scratches (which soapstone is known to accrue over time).
COUNTER TO DARK RUNNER HOW TO
If you've got a circular saw and know how to use it, you can size a slab of soapstone in your own workshop.
You don't have to worry about sitting down sauce-covered spoons, cartons of juice, cocktail mixers, or cutting boards when you have a soapstone counter. Those and other highly acidic foods can discolor or bleach fussier stones.
Citrus FriendlyĬooks love soapstone because it doesn’t react to acids, like lemon juice or tomato sauce. Stones like granite and quartzite share this useful property.
COUNTER TO DARK RUNNER CRACK
Sitting down a hot pan or baking tray straight out of the oven won’t crack or damage the stone in any way. Soapstone is the stuff fireplaces, hearths, and science class lab tables are made of, which is to say it's incredibly heat resistant. And unlike other natural stones, soapstone doesn’t require a chemical sealant to protect its surface upon installation or for maintenance. Because soapstone is mined from the earth, it contains no synthetic chemicals. Manmade composite countertops can contain synthetic bonding agents and chemical components like PFOAs to make them resistant to grease, water, and staining. Soapstone is chemical-free, start to finish. That means soapstone is especially resistant to staining and discoloration over time because it won't soak up liquids or residues. In addition to being hard, soapstone ranks high on the density scale (which indicates how porous a stone is), surpassing both marble and even granite. In fact, if you hit the corner of a slab of soapstone with a hammer, it'll dent rather than chip, says stone fabricator Peter Brooks of Peter Brooks Stone Works in Wood-Ridge, New Jersey. Although soapstone feels soft to the touch, it's actually very hard. That's due to its high percentage of talcum, the softest mineral out there (yes, it's the same thing used to make talcum powder). Read ahead to get the scoop on the average cost, pros, and cons.Īs its name implies, soapstone is a natural material with a smooth, slippery-when-wet texture.
COUNTER TO DARK RUNNER INSTALL
We interviewed home cooks and stone fabricators to find out everything you need to know about a soapstone counter before you decide to install one in your kitchen or bathroom. (Which it is.) But the very things that make a soapstone counter so desirable and popular, like that variation, can also have their downsides-especially if you don't know to expect them.
A soapstone slab has a lot going for it: It's less likely to chip and easier to care for than granite or marble, and it combines the heat resistance of manmade materials like quartz with the beautiful inherent variation of a natural stone. Perhaps that's why we're seeing more and more designers choose it-and why searches for soapstone countertops have jumped an eye-popping 450 percent over the past five years, according to Google Trends. A soapstone counter is inarguably beautiful, durable and even eco-friendly.
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