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nataliechantal

To countrygirl217... where did you find your soapstone?

NatalieChantal
12 years ago

Hi countrygirl21t, sorry to bug you but I stumbled across your post (from 2010 I think) where you mentioned looking for soapstone in the Nashville area. I live just north of Nashville and am currently looking for soapstone for my mudroom/kitchen remodel. All I have found so far are some of the Saratoga line at Nashville Granite and Marble, and some old Ice Flower at OHM International and Nashville Tile (I think?).

Hope you don't mind my asking you, but did you ever go with soapstone, and where did you find it? I really want something that looks like Bucks County's Barroca, a nice quiet stone with white/cream veins, but harder. Do you know of anyone around here who has any?

Thanks for any help, I appreciate it!

Comments (17)

  • tnhillbillytoo
    12 years ago

    I'm not countrygirl, but I am in middle TN. I looked all over the mid-TN area for someone experienced with soapstone but everyone I called tried to steer me to granite. I am supposed to have my soapstone tops installed next week (so excited!). We are using Premier Surfaces in Huntsville, AL. Talk to Merry Perry. She has been FANTASTIC. She actually got our soapstone from Dorado in Atlanta. The owner of that particular branch of Dorado called me to make sure he understood exactly what I was looking for and then he went to North Carolina to hand pick my slabs from his warehouse. Turned out, he didn't have anything that fit my requirements, so he went to someone else's warehouse and found it. I'm still amazed that he went that far to find stone for me. The level of customer service I have received has been second to none. I don't think you will be disappointed :)

    Here is a link that might be useful: Premier Surfaces

  • NatalieChantal
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Thanks so much for that info! So, you never saw your slabs in person though before install - was it hard to know if they would work with your other choices?

    Where are you? You can email me if you prefer to keep it private... I am halfway between Nashville and Ckarlsville off I-24.

  • countrygirl217
    12 years ago

    Natalie: We have since moved from middle TN. We were planning a kitchen remodel last year, then found out we were moving and didn't do it. Then we moved and now I'm in the middle of a whole house renovation, including the kitchen. When we were in TN we were working with a contractor and he had experience with soapstone. I don't know where he got it from or what fabricator he used. Are you using a fabricator? I have found where we live now and our remodel here our fabricator is fantastic and knew exactly where to go to get what we want. Also the slab place will only sell to the fabricator, so that could be your resource. I went to the slab place and put all the soapstone we needed on hold here and am so excited to see it go in. The local place where I am now (upper Midwest) said they have trouble finding black or really dark soapstone so the slabs I picked are charcoal with lots of flecks in them.

    I would go with the recommendation above and if you have a fabricator I would ask them too. They should know where to get soapstone if they have worked with it before. Good luck!

  • NatalieChantal
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Thanks countrygirl, I didn't realize you had moved, sorry about that! At least now you can find the soapstone you want!
    There are a few fabricators here who say they have experience with soapstone, I hear mostly about Werthan Tile and Granite so if we pick a slab at a local yard we would probably go through them. But I will definitely be checking out tnhillbillytoo's recommendation first!

    Hope you will post pics of your pretty new kitchen and soapstone!

  • tnhillbillytoo
    12 years ago

    They were more than willing to move our slabs to Huntsville so we could see them in person before we committed, but I've been cooking outside on a camp stove for a month (in the RAIN!!!!!) and I didn't want to add 2 more weeks to the process. We have pictures of the full slabs, plus a "slabsmith" which is a computer generated image of what all our countertops will look like when they are cut from the stone. They use the actual pictures of the stone so we could approve the veining locations, seams, etc. We might as well have seen it in person! Their installation is guaranteed for life - although we did have to sign saying we understood that soapstone was prone to scratches. No big deal, we knew that already :)

    Here is the layout that we chose. This stone is UN-oiled. I love how dark it is naturally. And according to Chris at Dorado Soapstone, it is HARD (4 on the MOHS scale which is equal to iron)! I pleaded for the hardest stone he could get his hands on because I cook 3x's a day for 4 very rowdy kids. They would destroy soft stone in no time flat! (first time attaching a picture. Cross your fingers!!!)

  • countrygirl217
    12 years ago

    No need to be sorry Natalie! It's not something I posted about :) I will when the kitchen is done...hopefully at the end of July! We still haven't moved in so I am super ready to be done! Good luck :)

  • NatalieChantal
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Thanks countrygirl, I look forward to seeing your pics!

    Tnhillbillytoo, that stone is beautiful! Do you know what it is called?
    I have four young'uns as well and would like a harder variety. The thing is that many have greenish tones, and my tile floor will be with rusty veins, so I am planning in taking a sample of my tile to make sure it won't clash. But if the local slabs don't thrill us then, maybe I can see if Premier can send us a sample of their soapstone?

    Thanks so much for all this info! I appreciate it!

  • tnhillbillytoo
    12 years ago

    I was ADAMANT that I did not want green. I just don't care for the color at all. I told Chris at Dorado that I would be unhappy if my counters were green. That is why he hand picked my slabs. He says there is a tiny bit of green in a few of the veins but that it will darken to black with age. If I zoom in to 100% on the slab pictures, I can barely see any green at all. I'm not worried in the slightest.

    We went to every stone yard in Nashville. None of them had anything we liked. They all tried to push Ice Flower on us (ICK!). The really frustrating thing is, if you call and ask if they have soapstone, they all say yes and when you get there they might have ONE slab. We learned that would be the case pretty much anywhere in this neck of the woods. We even asked OHM if they could get additional slabs of the ONE they had and they told us no.

    Having someone willing to hand pick slabs for us was GREAT. I cannot wait to have my counters :)

  • Kelli Tucker Campbell
    11 years ago

    tnhillbillytoo, if you're still on here, how did your kitchen turn out? Were you happy with the installation and the product itself? It looks like your set-up is pretty much identical to my kitchen, and I'm factoring in about $5,000 for everything. Would you say that's a fairly accurate amount? Thanks, and I hope you're loving it!

  • oopsy-daisy
    11 years ago

    tnhillbillytoo, Please post pics of your counters! We are currently looking for soapstone in the Nashville area and I would love to see how your counters turned out.

    Thanks!

  • lydap
    9 years ago

    I am beginning my search for soapstone in Nashville. Any updates? This is great information already. I had already found Dorado. Should I just call them or in the interim has someone in Nashville started actually carrying it??

  • lydap
    9 years ago

    Did any of you go to Smoky Mountain Tops? They claim they have soapstone but I don't want to waste my time.

  • ccc2015
    8 years ago

    To anyone who has had soapstone for several years: How do they hold up? What is the level and frequency of maintenance (oiling, especially)? Would you make the same choice?

    I am in the process of a major remodel. I have looked at ALL choices and am almost ready to go with high-definition Formica because I don't like granite and I don't think quartz is worth the cost. We cook and can all the time. Our kitchen is not just for looks.


  • Louise Scott
    8 years ago

    Any updates from anyone? I really want some soapstone, but I feel like the folks in Nashville do not know about it. they are all steering me away from it. I think their comfort zone is not there with the soapstone.


  • Louise Scott
    8 years ago
    I called premiere from the previous post and they really knew what they were doing, I think. They also do not charge by the slab but by what you use. They are in Huntsville. My kitchen is just north of there.
  • nctn
    8 years ago

    I'm slightly northwest of Nashville and will be looking for soapstone for our kitchen in a few months. I'm interested to see what you find!