Granite Countertops from Start to Finish

Normally, my wife takes the lead in interior design matters. She enjoys it immensely and she has a much better eye for style than I. But when she started looking for local Utah granite countertops dealers, I had no choice but to get involved.

It has nothing to do with trust, I simply became enrapt with the beautiful stone and the whole process of turning stone into countertops. When you look at a polished piece of sedimentary or igneous rock you see a million years of history. Thinking of the pressure, time, and unique mix of materials that produced that particular slab of stone, it's fascinating to me that we can have a granite or onyx countertop so quickly installed in our kitchen.

After a week or so of ogling images of stone slabs online, I dragged my wife to a Utah granite countertops warehouse I'd found where you can pick out your own slab. A guide took us through the warehouse where they cut the stone with extremely high pressure water streams. We browsed the huge polished slabs of granite, slate, and onyx. Each one had it's own unique patterns and colors. We saw how an onyx countertop glows when light is shined behind it. I was immediately sold on onyx. But my wife kept a cool head and pointed out that since onyx is so soft it might not be ideal for the high traffic counter we were looking for. She knows me too well.

There were plenty of other great options though. Our guide made quite a convincing case for engineered quartz stone countertops. This processed stone consists of 93% natural quartz and 7% resin. It produces a low maintenance surface that is also surprisingly impact resistant. I wouldn't have thought a man-made stone would be nearly so attractive either, but I was amazed how natural it looked. It would have taken me some careful examination to be sure it wasn't natural if I didn't already know it.

At the end of the day, we chose a beautiful granite countertop with a small grains and a bit of a swirl pattern. Granite is probably the lowest maintenance natural stone -- similar to the engineered quartz countertops. What tipped the scale for me was the eons of history showing in the grain of the granite. My wife was happy too, although I caught a few amused eye rolls from her over the course of the day.

When our countertops were finally cut and installed, we both loved the result. The job was finished quickly and skillfully. And we look forward to adding to the million years of history.