Why Are Granite Countertops So Popular In Kitchen Refinishing?

Are you getting ready to refinish your kitchen, and you’re wondering whether to go with granite countertops or not? Curious why they seem to be all the rage when it comes to kitchen refinishing and remodeling projects alike?

Great, let’s chat about the basics. Here’s why they’re so popular across the country.

Granite Countertops Are 100% Unique

In an era dominated by cookie-cutter residential design and vast amounts of the ‘same old corporate thing’… every single slab of granite is gloriously unique. As an igneous form of rock, it’s created naturally underground by the cooling & crystallization of magma & lava. This is what gives granite its clastic, vesicular, frothy, or glassy looks.

Here’s a great image of some raw porphyritic granite taken by James St. John and posted on his Flickr.

Curious what’s in that particular granite? Well, these names might be unfamiliar to most, but here’s what James has to say about it:

“Porphyritic granites typically have K-feldspar phenocrysts (pinkish). The groundmass is typically quartz (grayish), sodic plagioclase feldspar (whitish-gray), amphibole (black), plus sometimes biotite mica and/or muscovite mica.”

This is why granite is harder than marble (made of ancient limestone) – because of its tightly packed, granular composition. Once mined from quarries, it’s shipped off to large factories where they cut and polish the rock into the slabs you may have seen before.

Here’s an example of a slab of Alaska White granite.

Now you have a better idea of why your new granite kitchen counters will be so transformative and unique. This leads to the second point.

Granite Countertops Come In A Wide Variety

There’s nothing manufactured about the patterns in your granite slab and how the different elements are distributed throughout the rock. Colors will range from light, like the Alaska White in the image above, to dark. The color could be more solid, layered with flecks of other colors, or explosions of other colors around veins.

We won’t get into the super-complex science of it all here in this article today. But it’s easy to find a slab that will look stunning in your refinished kitchen.

Three quick considerations:

• Darker granites aren’t as porous or are completely non-porous (little to no sealing).
• Darker granites are also more resistant to scratching, chipping, and staining.
• Some light-colored granites can be dolomites that require sealing.

Granite Countertops Are Extremely Low Maintenance

Simply put: When you have your granite correctly sealed, these countertops are ridiculously easy to clean and maintain that ‘like it was just installed’ appeal.

Basically, all you have to do to clean them is wipe them down with soap and water. They are also highly resistant to water damage, staining, and bacteria, which is why Granite Countertops are such a perfect choice for your kitchen.

Here at Jericho, for our Kansas City, KS (KCK) homeowners, we use professional-grade commercial impregnating sealer during installation. These are designed to go much deeper and last 15 years! Compare that to the inexpensive or mass-produced knock-off retail sealants you need to re-do every six months to a year.

Granite Countertops Have Great Return On Investment (ROI)

Investing in stunning kitchen counters has been a good idea for as long as these products have been around. While it used to be only the wealthy and famous who could sport them, prices have come down substantially, so they’re easily within reach of most homeowners.

In the 1990s, prices began to come down for American homeowners mainly thanks to the globalization of quarrying, refining, curing, and shipment. This made them sort of ‘take off’ beginning in the early 2000s.

• Their popularity for homeowners from across the nation means no matter where you live, and no matter where your potential buyers may come from, they’re likely to be a hit.
• Granite countertops make a kitchen feel more lavish, refined, worldly, and luxurious. Not to mention these are natural works of art!
• Consider roughly one in every two realtors will suggest a kitchen upgrade to increase home value. And guess what’s right there at the top of their list? Yep. Granite countertops.

The only major thing to watch out for is, well, are you going to be the last house in your area to finally upgrade the countertops? If there are tons of competing homes up for sale with gorgeous granite countertops, this is going to slightly lower the ROI where you live.

Your Challenge: Finding A Quality Fabricator & Installer

Like any other home remodeling project, your installer makes all the difference! With these countertops, you’ve got to work with a seasoned contractor with a history of delivering picture-perfect results.

Here in the Kansas City, KS area, that’s Jericho Home Improvements. Feel free to browse our Kitchen Gallery (lots of countertops to see) and Contact Us when you’re ready. Thanks for your time today, and we look forward to hearing from you soon.