Soapstone

[Matt Slayen]

Anyone try to work with Soapstone?
I found a place online that talks about DIY soapstone...
Sounds like it easy enough to work on with standard wood tools...
Sanders and a diamond blade in a skilsaw.
Anyone try it?

[Jim Becker]

I have not worked with it personally, but was "very engaged" with the process when Bucks County Soapstone did my counters as part of my kitchen renovation in 2003. (4) PC 7518 routers, (1) PC 7539 router and (1) PC wormdrive saw were used to do all of the work other than drilling the hole(s) for the plumbing. (Hole saw for that) It's very dusty work, but the material machines well. It's also VERY heavy and not a one person job. There are a few places that will sell you slabs to work if you want to do that. I considered it, but decided that I would leave the work to the pros for this very expensive material since I did all the other work for the cabinetry, etc.

And I love the soapstone counters!

http://sawsndust.com/images/kitchen-remodel/demo/kr-tile-1-640.jpg

[Matt Slayen]

Very nice kitchen.
Is the Sink Stainless Steel?
How much installed was the countertop?
The place near me is $85/ft installed, or $33/ft material only.....

how do you like the drawer dishwashers? Thinking of getting them myself
MATT

[John Shuk]

$85 a foot seems really cheap to me. I know i've heard Corian runs Way above that. I'd jump at that installed price quick.

[Alan Turner]

Nice kitchen, and nice little Viking. Yu could probably trade that for a slider and use a campfire to cook with. I know I would.

[Walt Pater]

Matt- Earlier this year, I did the soapstone fab for a cabinet job. I've attached some pics. I didn't have my camera when we did the big slabs, but you can probably get the idea from the backsplash pics below. Anyway, SS is workable but really heavy. I made templates out of 1/4" ply strips held together with hot glue. Most templates get done this way. Your joint and front edges get cut a little fat (less than 1/16"), then smoothed with a flush trim but on yo' router. I put a 1/8" roundover of the front edge of the counter, again, with a woodworking bit. Watch out for the veins in the stone-the crystal is harder to work than the aggregate. Only special thing I purchased was a 7 1/4" diamond blade for my Milwaukee CS- I used my normal WW stuff for the whole job.

[Walt Pater]

Finished tops. BTW, $85.00/SF is about what it takes, installed. Cheaper than granite...
And the backsplash is 5" tall so that it would clear the electrical boxes installed by an electrician who didn't listen to me.

[Jim Becker]

Very nice kitchen.
Is the Sink Stainless Steel?
How much installed was the countertop?
The place near me is $85/ft installed, or $33/ft material only.....

how do you like the drawer dishwashers? Thinking of getting them myself
MATT

Thank you. Yes, the sink is stainless. Special order from Elkay. Soapstone was too dark for our preference in the sink, even though we really liked the look. Counters were about $85/sq ft installed. Dish drawers are WONDERFUL.


Nice kitchen, and nice little Viking. Yu could probably trade that for a slider and use a campfire to cook with. I know I would.

Not Viking...DCS (http://www.dcsappliances.com/index_flash.php). (Now owned by Fisher & Paykel who made the dishdrawers) We didn't like the grill on the Viking and the DCS had better BTU output on the burners at the time...over 17,000 BTU per plus a simmer setting that you can set a $100 bill on and not burn it. This one is all gas...still, a slider would still cost thousands more! (Dual fuel would have added about $1800 to the cost)


Cheaper than granite...

Yup. And soapstone doesn't stain nor need to be sealed. Maintenance is merely putting on a little mineral oil every once in awhile. But it is softer and easy to nick...an attractive quality in one sense that it develops a patina of use that doesn't happen with granite or marble. I also didn't want shiny and honed granite (or slate) really was a staining challenge.

[Alan Turner]

Jim,
Don't know if you recall when you were over, but some of our countertops are "fireslate" which is a manmade stone-like substance that is about the same as the old tops on your chemistry class work tables. Pretty neat stuff, workable with WW tools with carbide or diamond edges, sandable, and about 1/2 the price of corian. It does take on oils, and thus patina's nicely. My bride is a kitchen designer and really likes this stuff, as do I. Fireslate.com will give more details. It does not have as much character as soapstone, but is quite regular in its composition and we have enjoyed it.

[Jim Becker]

Don't know if you recall when you were over, but some of our countertops are "fireslate" which is a manmade stone-like substance that is about the same as the old tops on your chemistry class work tables. Pretty neat stuff, workable with WW tools with carbide or diamond edges, sandable, and about 1/2 the price of corian. It does take on oils, and thus patina's nicely. My bride is a kitchen designer and really likes this stuff, as do I. Fireslate.com will give more details. It does not have as much character as soapstone, but is quite regular in its composition and we have enjoyed it.

Alan, we evaluated Fireslate and found it attractive...until Tosca, one of our birds easily took a chunk out of the sample with her beak... That said, it most certainly is a workable material and a nice alternative for DIY.

[John Shuk]

I've usually seen counters priced by the linear foot so I was thinking in terms of that not Sq. ft.