Hi,
I just got a counter top from E-Counters. They have standard sizes that you can install yourself. We got it in the Ivory Coast color. Love it, can't wait for hubby to install it. Is this for as kitchen?
Rita

Rita, I am in contact with them about doing a standard size as well. That would be easier than cutting the tile, to be sure, although the price is still higher than the tile...

This is for our master bath (and possibly upstairs bath too). We'd been planning on teak, looking forward to it, but I realized late into the process that our cats could scratch it (because they did, when I had it up on sawhorses in the work area). So I'm on the hunt for a tougher counter that won't introduce a whole new look in with the honed-limestone-look-porcelain and onyx-slices we have going. The Ivory Coast could actually look like we *planned it*, it fits so well.

You have a 30 inch sink in your master bath???

Yep :) We don't have enough room for 60" and two smaller sinks, so we're doing a big Ikea Hollviken sink and a faucet on each side. Hope it works :) We've measured it out and mocked it up and it seems to.

would love to see a pic when you are done.

The Silestone tiles I've seen were about $14/SF -- which to me, seems pretty ridiculous. When you add in the labor, it gets right into slab territory. Or is more expensive than most other stone or ceramic/porcelain tiles with more design options. I just don't see the appeal...

sweeby, you left out several aspects in your judgement...

1) I only need two 12x22 spaces filled on this vanity--and I want no groutlines. It's been impossible to find stone remnants that anyone will sell me that are exactly what I'm looking for. I've been *ALL* over town, believe me. Any stone besides one particular limestone I found (which was at Pratt & Larson for a mere $25/sf) also introduces another design element, whereas the Ivory Coast actually looks like we chose it initially as part of the design, doesn't compete, only complements.

2) *I* am the labor! Hence, no labor costs :)

It's got a *great* deal of appeal to me, for those reasons. Maybe not for your project, but for ours it's no ridiculous at all. Thanks for your concern.

The one issue you're going to run into is that you will very likely have to buy a full box, which isn't that bad in the 24x24 tile size... it's actually only 4 tiles per box. I don't know the details of your bathroom but you could use the other tiles as window sills, ledges in a tiled in shower nook, curbs/thresholds etc.

Since you said you want no grout lines, you need to think about how you are going to edge the countertop since tiles are only 7/16" thick.

kgwlisa, yes, I have to buy four 24x24 tiles, and we've figured out how we'll use it for two bathrooms :) It's incredible how well it works in two completely different color schemes. The one upstairs is birch and silvers/golds and robins-egg blue--the Ivory coast suddenly develops some blue undertones! Downstairs, it's golden limestone (color), onyx slices with grey grout, and Hallarum--and the Ivory coast decides that it relates to the colors in the onyx slices...very versatile. We'll be getting two groutline-free, pretty tough countertops for under $300.

You also got it about the groutlines--I will have *some*, since I have to do the fronts, but that doesn't bother me. The groutlines I didnt want are the ones on the top surface which are the ones that usually collect gunk the most (at least IME with the kitchen before we remodeled it). There's a person on JB who has used them and is very enthusiastic about them (a DIYer who does amazing work--vanessa, or "vanwassup"); she's sharing her experience with me wrt the details, including polishing edges, etc. I think I'm going to start a thread there too to see if anyone else has any tips on working with them. She did say they're *hard*, and that with my 10" tilemaster I should be able to cut them, no problem, and that even 1/16" can be cut off without chipping...but to be sure to give time and have a sharp blade.

I don't mind having grout in the places it will end up--might use epoxy grout, don't know--I have questions into Silestone and e-counters too about that. I figure I'll use the same kind of edge (the counter comes out far enough over the vertical that the vertical fits under it--I need to polish the horizontal edge) as I've used in the rest of the bathroom.

ps One big drag is that it's up to a 12-week lead time. But hey. I've been so dragged out by this remodel that 12 weeks will probably go by relatively fast :( There's only one color in stock in 24x24, the Capri Limestone, but it doesn't work for us.

I stand corrected! It does seem to make sense for you, Fly --

Whoo-hoo! It seems that the Ivory Coast is *in stock* so I don't have to wait until my next birthday to install it!

Ordering today :)

To make you feel better I just had Silestone tile used for the backsplash in my kitchen....yes,it's high but also beautiful....Glad you could get yours from e-counters....they backordered me 12wks and then another 12. I canceled with them and reordered from Capital marble and granit in Chantilly,Va and got it in 10 DAYS...Nice Nice stuff.

Thanks, ez, although I'm sorry to hear that you had to wait THAT long and then end up getting it from someone else. What color is it? I'm glad to hear you like it in the end, though. It would be *great* as a backsplash tile, I would think. No seams, etc...

AND if anyone happens to read this, PLEASE send up some good energies to the silestone gods--I just found a craigslist listing for a guy who's selling silestone 3 cm remnants and he has tons in my color! We're going to see him at 7 tonight. And his ad says "silestone--$3" so I'm *hoping* that we can get our necessary square footage for far less than $300 :) :) (please, silestone gods, cut me a tiny break, if you would be so kind...)

that's great news fly!!! What do you mean remnants??? slabs of it, or tiles or what???

Wow what a deal!! Hope it's not too good to be true....I used Stella Nights and I love it more every day :)

Oh, and THANK YOU CRAIGSLIST! :)

congrats on your deal............glad it worded out!!

duh!!! meant "worked"

Congrats, on your good luck!!!! Hope you enjoy your Silestone as much as I do mine.

Fly,

I am late (did not visit the forum yesterday), but still wanted to send my congrats.

You have been working so hard - you deserved you *luck*, girl!

Thank you, rita, ez, and eleena :)

We went back tonight and got some grey-speckled silestone that really looks like concrete for the laundry room (15 sf = $45). With the same golden limestone-look tile in there (with medium grey grout), and Ikea Sorbo grey/birch cabinets, and and of course my raging green Devine gecko paint for the "color commentary" :), I think we're set in there too!

We couldn't find anything for the powder room--one guy had come before us and took about 30 sf and only stopped because he couldn't fit anymore in his truck...he got lots of granite, too, some really beautiful stuff (judging by the scraps he left).

I cut a piece with the wet saw and it was so easy...I'm choosing epoxy now, and then will polish the edges with a borrowed polisher OR if that doesn't work out soon enough, the old fashioned way with sandpaper and lots of aleve :)

I'm so thrilled...thank you, eleena--I've really felt I needed a teeny little break to go my way at *some* point during this process...

Wooooooohoooooooo!!!!!

Isn't it funny how something we really love gets soooooooooooo much better if we get it for a bargain.

I am green with envy. Good work fly - here's hoping the rest of your project(s) go just as well.

Hey Fly.......
Just thought I'd ask, you seem to know your Silestone pretty well. I noticed that on E-counters, they sell what I think was called "murano" tiles. (I am not sure of the name, and am too lazy to look it up right now) They looked like 12 4 inch "tiles" attached together, almost like a mosaic would be, only all in the same color. Do you know anything about them?? I was thinking that you said it was easy to cut the Silestone with a wet saw, that I could buy a few of those sheets and cut them, and use as accent tile in my shower. What do you think??? Sorry this got soooo long!!
Thanks!!
Rita

Thanks, budge :) It's not like they're all done for me and all I have to do is install them, though...I've been reading up like crazy on specifics of working with engineered stone, practicing, etc...this weekend we'll probably try to do our first (unless we decide to go to the coast instead)...

And rita, yes, from looking at the muro sample page (think "wall", "mur", "mural" --that's where the name is coming from, I think) it seems that they are pre-cut 4" tiles (9 of them in a sf) that are just attached by mesh. You don't even need to cut them, if you want to use them as 4x4s they're precut so you just soak/pull them off the mesh and mount them. If you want to cut the 4x4s to smaller sizes, then yes, that would be yours to do.

I do wonder, esp. if you're going to be cutting them down to smaller than 12x12 anyway, whether buying the 12x12s at the same site and cutting them with a wet saw would be less expensive...? I didn't price it out, but it might well be...

Here is a link that might be useful: info on the muro tiles

I was wondering how flyleft ended up polishing the edges to the silestone? Any hints would be greatly appreciated. Oh, one more thing, does anyone have any experience cutting silestone for an undermount sink? What do I need to look out for?

Hi Quest,

Didn't expect to see this thread resurrected :) I borrowed a polisher from our local tile shop (I've gotten to be friends with the guys there) and polished them up, changing out the pads from -- what was it, around 80? until around 2000 or so. I bought a new mounting thing for them (my memory is *so* shoddy--can't remember the term anymore) as a little thank-you gift for letting me borrow it. Polishers are rather expensive to buy if that's all you're using it for.

It worked beautifully and is SO much darn fun!! I love running my hands over the smooth edge and knowing I did that. I just did an eased edge, though, nothing fancy.

Honestly, I wouldn't dare do it for an undermount, though--while I was good with the hole drilling for the faucets, I'm not strong enough to guarantee that I could make an aesthetically beautiful regular curved edge (straight edges on the front of the counter were easier) that would show above an undermount. You might want to practice, if you're planning to do that.

E-counters was having a sale on DIY vanity counters recently, btw--got an e-mail from them--might want to check that out because the labor saved, if you're planning to do an undermount, might well be worth it. Although I do wonder if they polish the edges of the undermount--hm, even if they just cut a raw hole for a drop-in, the *polishing* might be something you could do yourself...only you can know. I'd definitely get a remnant first and practice so you know your strength.

That's an enormous bathroom sink!

I've seen Silestone tile used on a large winding staircase in a $5,000,000+ home and it was gorgeous. Expensive, but gorgeous. With that said, it also makes for a great kitchen or bathroom backsplah. And, if you are the labor then it is probably worth it.

As far as doing the polishing yourself, it might take a little bit of practice. If you can get your hands on the tools and the polishing pads you can probably also find some scrap pieces of stone at the local fabrication plant to practice on. Good luck!

Thanks,
Rob

www.countertopsorlando.com

Here is a link that might be useful: Countertops Orlando