Readers comment on their own kitchen countertops

I remodeled my kitchen about 18 months ago and was quite surprised at how much pressure there was from "casual observers" for me to put in granite countertops. I resisted because of price and went with laminate. Maybe they won't last forever, but I can change them out if I get tired of them and it will still end up costing much less than putting in granite or some other trendy solid surface. I am very happy with the results and would do it the same way if I could do it over again.

— Bev Ward

"This is a first for me, but I think I should share our experience with our countertops because I think we are cut from the same cloth. We built our home almost nine years ago and had to decide on countertops among countless other things.

Sure, it would be cool, in a way, to have granite or some other genuine stone, but the guilt-trip side of me couldn't quite handle that. Corian, costing equally as much, would leave me choosing the genuine stuff anyway. My experience with tile is "no-way" — too hard to keep clean. Smooth and sleek for me, thank you.

I started getting quotes for laminate with wood edges. Then our builder happened to see an ad on TV from "One-Stop Countertops" advertising solid-surface counters at an affordable price. This place makes their own "recipe" for solid-surface, with limited choices in colors and finishes, but still offering the built in sinks. Believe it or not, the price for my kitchen, countertops only, (and I have a lot of countertop) was only $100 more than the laminate with wood trim. This product only offers a one-year warranty, which, compared with no warranty on laminate that was OK. It doesn't quite look like Corian or the other expensive kinds but still much better than laminite.

It behaves just like other solid surfaces. You have to be careful with hot/cold issues or it can crack. It has the ability to be sanded down when scratched, and even patched with a patch kit that they provide free of charge when needed. The trick is to make your comparison with what laminate offers for basically the same price and not compare it with the other solid-surface products. We liked it so much that we put it in our laundry room and bathrooms as well. The in-laid sinks are well worth it.

— Marcia Rosenvall