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Cost of Soapstone vs. Granite

spincrazy25
14 years ago

Is soapstone alot more expensive than granite? I love the look of soapstone, but I think it is out of my budget.

Comments (23)

  • palimpsest
    14 years ago

    Typically it is more than entry-level granite, but not as much as some of the special granites. In my area it about the same as higher level granite or quartz.

  • pluckymama
    14 years ago

    Depends on where you get it. It can run anywhere from $65 sq ft installed to $95 sq ft installed.

  • prill
    14 years ago

    For me, it was actually less expensive than granite. I'm in Mass.

  • spincrazy25
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    I'm in Florida. Anyone out there that knows?

  • pluckymama
    14 years ago

    If you are in Florida, you must contact Joshua from Creative Soapstone. He posts on GW as florida joshua and answers lots of questions about soapstone. He did Holligator's soapstone and his work is beautiful. I'm sure he can give you a competitive price.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Florida soapstone

  • pluckymama
    14 years ago

    LOL. Looks like rjr220 and I were posting about Joshua at the same time. Sounds like you should give him a call.

  • spincrazy25
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Thanks all- Holligator's kitchen is one of my inspiration pics!

  • remodelfla
    14 years ago

    florida joshua is located around the SW coast of Fl. When I was going to use ss I was without question going to only use Joshua's services... at that point he was willing to travel. Plans have taken waaayyyy longer then normal and though I love SS I keep getting drawn toward lighter countertops which is why I'm kinda leaving that concept on the back burner. But again, if I were to SS and lived anywhere within the state, Joshua is THE ONE to call.

  • megpie77
    14 years ago

    I live 30 miles from seattle and it would have been about the same price for granite as it was for our soapstone. However, there is a granite called honed mysore. It was recomended as an alternative to soapstone and would have been about 1000.00 cheeper. Good luck

  • gayl
    14 years ago

    Megpie, where do you live outside of Seattle, and where did you get your soapstone? I am going to be in the market soon and not sure where to shop for it here. I am in Gig Harbor.

  • rjr220
    14 years ago

    Gee, it's sad that nobody seems to like florida joshua. ;-)

  • Circus Peanut
    14 years ago

    Up here in the far Northeast (where we have native Vermont and Maine soapstone, and centuries of regional installation history) the price can be slightly less, starting at $50/sf installed.

  • holligator
    14 years ago

    Hey, I have an idea...why don't you call Florida Joshua at Creative Soapstone? :)

    Seriously, Joshua is a Pro, with a capital P. He had to travel from Punta Gorda to Gainesville for me, and he templated and installed on the same day, with a few hours the next day to finish up. Even with his travel costs added in, it turned out to be less for soapstone than any of the granites I was considering, and I like it 10 times better.

    Here he is working at his portable fabrication shop out in my front yard...

    And here he is hanging out in the kitchen near the end of the installation with my little pup, Buddy...

  • megpie77
    14 years ago

    gayl- I live in Tacoma. We went with Tops Countertops in Olympia. We chose our soapstone from Pental in Seattle (on occasion Pental in Fife has the same stuff). Tops only charged us for what they actually used whereas other countertop companies would have charged us per slab. They install LOTS of soapstone and did an excellent job, especially with the seams. Another great company who install soapstone often is Johnson (it may be Johnstone) in downtown Tacoma. I almost went with a guy who told me how porous soapstone is yadda yadda and realized he didn't know much about the stone. I was going to go with him because he does excellent work but better to go with someone who is an expert with the stone you chose. Our soapstone is called Original Green. It is basically soft black with subtle veining and has green hues, but I wouldn't really call it green. It was just what I had wanted. Oh I should mention that you can get soapstone from Dorado and other places online that specialize in soapstone even though they are in a different state. They have installers around the country I think. Good luck!

  • gayl
    14 years ago

    Thanks so much Megpie! Do you have picture posted somewhere?

  • megpie77
    14 years ago

    You can see my post "please help with finishing touches" might be on page 2 by now (page 1 if someone responded recently) You are welcome! If you can't find it let me know

  • Susied3
    14 years ago

    Gee, you lucky people living in Soapstone country! And, congrats to you who have a Florida connection.

    I can't believe that here in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, not only do they quote me DOUBLE any granite price, they all try to talk me OUT of soapstone! Nice try, but I will find someone, someday...

    Does Joshua know how famous he is? :) Hmmmm wonder if he would consider texas....

  • spincrazy25
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    One thing I'd like to know is how much of a pain is it to do the oiling? I don't want anything high maintenance.

  • holligator
    14 years ago

    One thing I'd like to know is how much of a pain is it to do the oiling? I don't want anything high maintenance.

    I don't consider it a pain at all--plus, it's completely optional. I have oiled mine twice this year, once in March and once in July. Both times were when fellow GWers came over to see it and I let them "help" to see the oiling process. It takes me about 10 minutes to wipe everything down and another 10 minutes the next day to wipe up splotchy areas. The first three or four months, I was oiling almost weekly, then biweekly, then monthly up to about a year.

    I actually enjoy oiling, but I also like my counters just as much when they haven't been oiled for months. They are a medium-to-dark charcoal gray at their lightest point and an almost-black at their darkest, right after oiling.

    I think it's been well established here that the amount of maintenance soapstone requires depends on (a) the type of stone, (b) the grit of sandpaper used to sand it, and (c) the product you use to oil. My stone took almost a year to get to the point of not looking like it needed oiling after a month. It didn't matter if I used straight mineral oil or the beeswax combo, but I prefer straight mineral oil. Whatever grit Joshua uses must be perfect, because I don't have any of the water spot problems some here have had.

  • lfhhouston
    14 years ago

    Susied3 - I am in Texas as well...Houston to be exact... and I am amazed to find out that no one here sells soapstone. Several granite dealers have tried to talk me out of it too. There are several dealers in the Austin area but I have been searching high and low for a local showroom to see soapstone in person. I love the look of marble, but am concerned about durability and think soapstone would be a nice alternative. I would love to see how it compares to granite and marble.

  • gsleader
    14 years ago

    Another Houstonian here. M Teixieira says they are opening a Houston showroom but do not have an exact opening date. When I checked they told me within a month. That was 2 weeks ago.

  • Claire Pope
    7 years ago

    Yippee so glad I ran into this forum as Joshua is only 30 miles from me here in Florida, Have requested appt. for Monday. How ironic that he would be in the small town of Punta Gorda I am feeling so lucky