Looks Good For Concrete Countertops

stacker

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/24/ga...o_interstitial

saw this interesting story.

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6stringmason

HA! Excellent.

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chan58

I'm thinking that you stone workers would really clean up with soapstone. Forget fabricators - I'm a woodworker and I easily fabricate soapstone countertops from huge slabs with woodworking tools: circular saw, router, grinder, electric drill. Order the stuff by the slab and cut it as you need it. You can even make your own sinks. Just watch the cooking channel and see how many of those professional chefs have soapstone in their homes. Its the best choice for a serious chef because its 100% impervious - won't stain or burn, won't decay and emit radon, and won't harbor bacteria.

I've never done (or seen done) concrete countertops, but I have worked with soapstone and the countertops are a dream. I find that people look at me sideways when I mention them, but once they have them they will never use anything else. Carry one well-seasoned sample around and when a customer feels it they'll be sold. First thing they say is "ooh, I heard soapstone scratches too easily". Let 'em scratch your sample with a key and you can fix it on the spot - they'll be amazed. I even had a sample that I intentionally cracked in two, then epoxied back together again (soapstone suppliers sell specialty epoxy). The customer couldn't tell until I pointed it out to them. The edges of soapstone will chip if you bang them, but unlike granite or marble (which have to be perfect to look good), it only adds to the character of the countertop. These are great countertops for outdoor kitchens.

I'm no expert - only installed a couple. But I worked the jobs solo, they went like clockwork and the profit was very high. I must admit, its a bit unnerving to work a huge slab - you're worried the whole time that it might crack. But its never happened to me, and even if it does, chances are you can epoxy the slab back together.

Here's a couple pics of one job. I cut the island bump-out radius dry, with a jigsaw using a steel-cutting blade, and shaped it with an angle grinder outfitted with a diamond wheel, and a belt sander. I cut the sink holes using a diamond-tipped hole saw. I cut the slabs wet, using a circular saw with diamond blade.

The sink is carved from solid block - and no, I didn't carve it! These solid sinks have an advantage over fabricated sinks - the rounded corners and sloped drain make it easier to clean. It was $1500, my cost. You can see the seams behind the sink, but it was an asthmatic house, and I couldn't use a power sander. Ideally, you want to build the epoxy up and sand it down flush. Anyway, I purchased the slabs in New Jersey, but there are suppliers everywhere. I did have to rent a lift-gate truck to transport, but I built my own slab carriers out of pallets and that reduced the cost. Once off the truck, a simple drywall cart did everything else. A handtruck might also work, if you had help to balance it.

Good quality soapstone (minimal veining, see first photograph) runs $40-45 per sq ft, but you can easily charge $100 or more, depending on difficulty. Mid-grade soapstone still looks great (see last photograph), but its only $23-30 sq ft.

One other thing - since you're cutting the backsplashes from the same slabs as the countertop, you get perfact continuity in the veining, as though the countertop/backsplash is a solid piece.

Just thought you might have some interest...

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DesPro

I've done some research on this controversy, as we sell allot of natural stone products. I'm certain this will become a subject of concern from my customers eventually.
I think it will become blown out of proportion as the demand for natural stone products and market competition increases. Below are some excerpts from other articles related to this recent announcement.

Allegations that granite countertops may emit dangerous levels of radon and radiation have been raised periodically over the past decade, mostly by makers and distributors of competing countertop materials.

Personal injury lawyers are already advertising on the Web for clients who think they may have been injured by counter tops. “I think it will be like the mold litigation a few years back, where some cases were legitimate and a whole lot were not,” said Ernest P. Chiodo

Levels of radiation from granite products, which technically are measurable, are in fact, small fractional values of established thresholds for environmental safety. The truth of the matter is that granite is a safe product. It’s been used for thousands of years and the relationship between granite and radon has been studied for years and years. How safe is granite? There have been mathematical models developed that show that one could live in an all-granite home or building, including sleeping on granite, for an entire year and still be within very safe levels of exposure.

Calculations show that, if an average countertop, traps an average uranium concentration of four ppm (parts per million), the concentration of radon that is given off by the countertop into the household air would be 270,000 times less than the level of radon in the outside air. The maximum contact level that you would receive over one year if you were to sit on a countertop all of the time would be about one quarter of the annual radiation from all sources. If you were just a few inches away from the granite (such as when doing the dishes), the dose would be too low to measure.

The full article can be read @ http://nsraweb.com/index.php/Newsfla...es_Cancer.html

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