Both are available from this dealer...

Here is a link that might be useful: Ecotop and Paperstone

Those are gorgeous!! If I had known about them..I may have gone that route..I have Corian...I had old worn out Formica too...I love my Corian..I have the integrated sink...love that option too...and I see the undermount is available with this stuff as well...LOVE LOVE LOVE the fact that there is no lop around the sink anymore to "scrape" clean..LOL
The Paperstone colors are bold..I like them just as much as the Ecotop colors...What is the price? Comparable to other surfaces?

I've never heard of those two brands, but I have Cambria quartz counters. Fabulous!!!! Nothing can scratch or stain it. The only thing I'm careful about is putting hot pans directly on it. I use a trivet because it's possible for that intense heat to "whiten" the resin in the counter. The undermount sink with no reveal is the best. Just swish! Stuff goes in with no muss or fuss.

How will you use your countertops? Are you super careful about hot pots or knives? I have granite which works well for me. I put hot pots directly on it (I know, I probably shouldn't, but I always have.) I also cut on it, which I know can only damage my knives. I love the ones you linked. Reminds me a bit of soapstone, which I love, but would undoubtedly ruin.
Jo

Super careful? Well.... I don't know that I would say that, but I never put hot pots on the counter top nor do I cut on them without a cutting board. I am more concerned about staining since I do tend to leave wet stuff (like hand washed pots/pats) to drip dry and I always seem to have a plant or two that has missed a watering that I am trying to resuscitate sitting behind the sink near the window.

I love that scratches can be sanded out (like Corian) and from what I understand Paperstone/Ecotop are comparably priced to Corian which makes it pretty darn attractive to me on a lot of different levels.

Anyway, if you hear of anything, good or bad, I would love to know about it before I make a definite decision. I am headed to the store to see it up close and personal on Monday or Tuesday, so I can give more of an opinon then.

Alexa

I love the Paperstone. I went with Verda Butterfly granite because it was the cheapest thing besides tile and after 20 years I was tired of cleaning grout. It is over 2 years old and has held up surprising well. Doesn't show any stains or marks. I use a cutting board and cork pads.
Clare

Oh Alexa, I think that is so pretty. I have wondered what would come along to replace granite in our hearts and that may be it.

I do love my Verde Peacock granite. It is so durable and very pretty. I put the occasional hot pan on it but rarely cut on it. It's just so twinkly when it's been all cleaned up (I just use a Windex product that's safe for granite). It makes cleaning the counters ALMOST not a chore.

Still, I think the Papertop would be very very pretty -- and you may be ahead of the curve! I think it would look just great on the bar area of your kitchen that you can see from the dining area. Go for it!

I recall hearing there were problems with paperstone from back when I was choosing our countertops, but I'm not sure of the details anymore. I think the issues were scratching and color changing or yellowing. Please research carefully before getting it.

We chose a granite (or what the industry calls granite - commercially all the harder stones are grouped as granite but they aren't all geologically granite). Some of them are low porosity so they don't even need sealing. Ours is one of those and it is very hard so it doesn't scratch. We don't baby it. We do everything on it except cutting - because cutting on hard surfaces like granite would dull the knives.

Geologically ours is a quartzite - a stone that is mostly made of quartz. Ours is Azul Do Mar. Jessy has a similar stone, Azul Macaubas in large tiles.

It always cleans up easily with a swipe of a damp cloth.

More porous granites need to be sealed periodically - which isn't a big deal - wipe the sealer on and then wipe the excess off but I prefer to not have to do that.

It depends partly on the look you are going for. Do you want the veining and variation that comes with granite or would you prefer a more uniform look like most engineered stone (aka quartz).

ok you guys have opened up a line of questions for me that I wouldn't otherwise ask in another unfamiliar forum. I just bought a granite countertop for a bathroom vanity today - part of of a complete main bath overhaul and my question is this - should a granite countertop have small imperfections/holes/rough spots on the edges or is that a flaw? thanks, and sorry if I'm hijacking the thread but I'm new to granite myself. Thanks!

Alexa,

If you are planning to go with anything but white or very light colored top, get a sample and scratch it yourself and sand it down. That was what made me get the granite. We were interested in the Corian and wanted a dark countertop. We were told by all of the places that we looked how easy it was to sand them down, or buff out the scratches. When you do this to the dark colors, though, it leaves a dull spot that still shows and is hard to make it look nice again. Also, the scratches look like a white mark until they are buffed out. I just didn't want to do all of this work. I don't do real chopping and cutting right on my counters, but occasionally I'll slice a lemon, an apple, or a single garlic clove on the counter and with granite I just don't worry about scratching it. I also don't have to worry about the kids dragging a pot or something across the counter (I did this on a Corian sample and it scratched).

I brought home samples of Corian and granite and then just basically abused them to see which was the easiest to care for. That's how I chose granite.

How long have these products been out and in use?
Long enough to worked through any problems AND get
a couple of years feedback on the latest revised product?

They both look beautiful in the ads. I would worry about scratching them though. The Paperstone is said to be treated like you would treat wood. They are very eco friendly though. I have corian and I love it.
Joann

Alexa, good subject. I had fun looking at the website you liked to. I am planning on a total kitchen redo soon and like you, find that the countertop material is probably the hardest decision to make. I'd like to be eco friendly and have been looking at concrete...
So I'll be watching this thread.

Nancy

Alexa, that is a beautiful countertop! I've never heard of this product. See if you can find some forum that talks about the product before you buy it.

When we were looking for new countertops I looked at everything from tile to soapstone. I loved the soapstone but decided on granite. The only thing I don't like about it is that it is cold and makes alot of noise when you are doing clean up. When you put a glass down on it tends to "ting" loudly. With all that said it is indestructible, just right for the kind of cook that I am.

Alexa--I have Richlite countertops which are very similar to Paperstone. I wanted Paperstone, but my contractor said he had had a number of problems with it in other installations (he talked about buckling and white spots starting to show through) and strongly recommended against it. He had not had any problems with Richlite.
We installed the Richlite a year ago, and we love it. You cannot put things that are hotter than 350 degrees on it,but having always lived with Formica before that, that was something I never did anyway. Scratching really hasn't been an issue at all. I don't cut directly on it, but I have a sample of it that I do cut on, and it looks remarkably good.
We have a light color of the Richlite, and it occasionally will stain (not just with a wet pot, though). Either the stain comes right out, or it just fades away over a couple of days(weird, but true). You can sand out the stain, but it does lighten the color in that area, and it takes a while for that to darken again. If you got a darker color, I think staining would be a minimal issue.
The warmth and depth of it is wonderful, and I get loads and loads of compliments on it. Richlite doesn't have quite as many colors as Paperstone yet--I have the butterscotch color (forget the actual name!) and I've seen the black and merlot in person and they are beautiful. I don't know how to link to websites, but if you google Richlite you should find it right away.

Good luck!

Oh houscrzy - I just googled Richlite (since the company that is near me didn't ave much info on the web site) and those are gorgeous too! I particularly like the Nutmeg color. I am adding this to the short list and I will be checking them out in person this week.

Thanks for the endorsement and for sharing your experiences!

Alexa

I'm about to face this quandry. Our house has the original 20+ year old rose colored tile with a rose colored grout and it will need to go when we renovate that room next year. I love the bright color that it brings to the kitchen but it haas enough dings and wear spots that it has to go.

All of my adult life, I've had kitchens with tile. I am so used to putting down hot pots and doing whatever I want on them that I know I can't change at this stage. So this leaves out granite and marble as they can both change. It doesn't sound like the paperstone or richlite are heatproof either. If I don't go with tile again this leaves me with soapstone as my only solid surface option, but the colors are just so boring! Decisions, decisions.....

Grace

I've found my granite to be pretty much bulletproof. Hot pots aren't a problem. Look for stone that has very few occlusions is darker, has a coat of resin and has a 'tight' grain.
Mine is Costa Esmerelda, but many of my friends and my mom haven't had a problem with theirs. The only friend who has had a problem had a stone with loads of occlusions and it chipped. From my research back in the remodel times, I think it was the whiter stones that were easier to stain.

Grace, we put hot pots down on our granite and do pretty much everything on it. As I mentioned above, the only thing we don't do is to cut directly on it - for the same reason one would avoid cutting on tile - the hard surface dulls the knives.

The biggest downside of getting granite, is that you have to be very involved in picking the slabs to be sure you get what you want. Many granites are great for kitchens, but there are some pretty colors that have pits and a small number of colors that will etch with acid. That's why you would want to get a sample and play with it a bit to see how it holds up. We put lemon juice, wine and vinegar on our samples to check that we didn't have one of the "granites" that etch or stain. (A true granite wouldn't but as I mentioned above a wide variety of stones are sold commercially as granite.) Sealing once every year or two can stop staining, but it won't stop etching.

We had tile before and what I love is being rid of the grout so that I can roll dough on a nice smooth surface. And I never felt that the grout was totally clean. But I've heard that the epoxy grouts are better.

Well said, Cloud Swift! I completely agree and I too gave my stone the "acid" test!

We have had our granite countertops for over 13 years now. They look as good now as they did when they were installed. We needed a counter that could take the crap our family was going to dish out. Uba Tuba fit the bill. Beauty and toughness. Does not need to be sealed, easy to clean, great for rolling out doughs of all kinds, and does not stain.
Change the kitchen cabinets, floors and the color of the walls but don't try and take my granite away from me! lol NancyLouise

i agree with dlynn about the dark Corian. I stewed over getting granite or Corian, but DH wanted Corian cause of the one piece sink deal. It looks like carp now. It is dark brown, is all scratched up, and where you sand it it is dull and grungy looking. The light Corian we had at the lake was wonderful. I KNEW I really wanted granite.

I need to replace my countertops, too. I'm considering concrete.

I found this on the cleaning forum. Has anyone else had this problem?

Here is a link that might be useful: Smelly granite.

I"m so confused.... I know I've read places where it says no hot pots on the granite because the granite might crack. I know that marble will scorch.

Do you all really put things on your granite that are hot?? Pizza stones, casseroles etc? Maybe I can do granite.....

Grace

Yep Grace, I am guilty of putting hot pans on my granite. No cracks as of yet. When I think of it, I do use a trivet. I have also had laminate and white Corian in previous homes we have lived in. I am much much happier with our granite counter tops. NancyLouise

We have granite & I put hot dishes directly on the granite with no problems. It's been there five years. I'll even take a hot LC grill pan out of a 475 degree oven & plop it directly on the stone. Our installer told us it wasn't really necessary to use the sealer so we don't.

No smells.

I also sterilize the countertops with a diluted Chlorox solution...no problems there either.

Rarely, I'll cut directly on the stone but usually use a board. That's concern for the knives though not the stone. I love the undermount sink...just makes me feel like the sink is cleaner.

/tricia

I need to replace my countertops, too. I'm considering concrete.
I found this on the cleaning forum. Has anyone else had this problem?

I have talked to a few people that have had the same problem (smelly granite), and many who have not. I suspect it mat be the individual slabs that the counter is cut from that may have some sort of organic smell embedded. I'm also not sure how to avoid this problem since you really cant go around "sniffing" the slabs before you pick one (or can you?).

Alexa

caliloo, I just recently finished my kitchen and I chose soapstone for my countertops. It is non poroues so it does not need to be sealed as granite does. You can roll out dough on it and it has the matt look you seem to be after. Some soapstones are harder than others so you would need to research. I have spent the last year over on the kitchen forum and the people there are truly nice. No need to be scared off, they will give you much good advice. Oh, and by the way, most of us do use our kitchens heavily, which is why so much planning and thought goes in to them. I would venture to say there are not many kitchens there that are just for show. Good luck!

Alexa--I was initially most drawn to Nutmeg too! But when we put the sample with our cabinetry it looked completely wrong. So make sure to get a sample and test it out with your cabinetry. Nutmeg would look good with lighter cabinetry, I think. You can get little bitty samples from the company, but my fabricator gave me cutting board sized samples of all of the colors, which was more helpful. I think most granite fabricators are able to do Richlite and Paperstone as well.
The nice thing about these products is that they are really warm (look and touch). Sounds like you want the matte look in a warm earth tone (that's exactly what I wanted) and I never really found that look in a granite (and believe me I looked forever)!

Honed and satin finish granite are not shiny like the polished, but I think they are harder to maintain. The honed is a very matte finish.