Soapstone experience in Atlanta?

16 years ago

I thought I was sure of the granite I wanted but I keep looking at soapstone photos on this forum and having second thoughts. I have a small counter (about 25 sq. ft.) so I may be able to make it work but it will be way over my budget. Has anyone on this forum had any good/bad with soapstone fabricators in Atlanta? I have spoken with the granite yard I was working with and they have a few slabs that I plan to see this weekend. They said the prices range from $90 to $124 a sq. ft. Any questions I need to ask them that are specific to soapstone

If it's too far out of my budget, what is a good granite alternative? I think the matte finish would a nice change from the shiny granite everyone else seems to have.

I have had so many good ideas from this forum: Kohler Vinnata (I just stare at it in the box until I finalize the counter), air switch for disposal, Never MT, Xenon undercounter lights(on a dimmer)and more!

Featured Answer

mayland

16 years ago

I wanted soapstone too, but most fabricators here did not seem to be very familiar with it (and most I spoke to tried to tell me how much better granite is for a counter, citing maintenance issues with soapstone, etc etc). I found it a frustrating experience, and we ended up getting granite, although mainly for cost reasons. We found the following places that do install soapstone:

Stonehenge
Atlanta Intown Granite
Inman Park Marble and Granite
Home Depot Expo

The first 3 places were all about $90-100/sf, and mostly get their SS from either G+L or Walker Zanger stoneyards. Or they said they could work with stone that you get from elsewhere (eg M Texeira). This was just too expensive for our budget, although i think its quite reasonable compared to prices in other cities. We did get a bathroom vanity using a SS remnant from Stonehenge ($35/sf including fabrication/installation) -- you may be lucky with a smaller counter and be able to do it from remnants?

Expo uses PremierSurfaces, and their price is $69/sf. This was closer to our budget but we were reluctant as Premier were not very helpful over the phone, and it sounded like you couldnt go and choose your slab, and I believe they had only 1 variety of SS.

We also considered buying stone from M Teixeira pre-fab and installing ourselves. But this would still have been more than the granite we ended up buying. If you are handy, you could consider buying SS from M Tex and doing the fabrication and installation yourself -- this would be the cheapest route and people on here have done their own DIY soapstone.

Granites that look like soapstone (Virginia mist, Black Cambrian, Nordic Black) etc were all about the same price, at least the quotes we got.

We ended up getting Black Galaxy granite from Atlanta Intown. Looks nothing like SS but we liked its irregularity and depth. And we got a good sale price on it ($52/sf). I am certain I would have liked SS a lot more, but I do like the money we saved and this is not our forever house -- if it would be, I would have wanted to go for the soapstone somehow.

Not sure if she still reads, but Fightingoverfinishes got her SS fabricated by AtlantaIntown so she may be able to give you some advice about them. She bought her stone (Beleza) from Dorado stone, there is a yard out in Rome GA.

Sorry this is rambling. Hope this is helpful and good luck with finding your soapstone!

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krg_ga
Original Author
16 years ago
Mayland, thanks for the info. AtlantaIntown is the place I have been working with so far. Are you happy with the job they did? I have been there countless times trying to make up my mind and they are very patient and very low-pressure. I am going there this weekend to look at their SS slabs. When I spoke with them over the phone, they said they might me able to work on the price if I chose a slab they have in stock.
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I am definitely #teamsoapstone. I first quenched my lust for soapstone many years before I had a kitchen remodel planned, by having local stone yard fabricate a replacement top for my coffee table from a soapstone remnant. This is a Brazilian soapstone that Dorado Soapstone (importer/distributor) calls "Anasazi". It is very hard and dense, and pretty much impervious to scratching, with intense contrasting veining. This piece (coffee table photo above) has NEVER been oiled, it is just that dark naturally. My initial experience with the naturally dark, and practically un-scratchable Anasazi stone might have lead me to underestimate how soft the majority of (less dense) soapstone is. Dorado / Anasazi I later put, what turns out to be, a much softer ss in my kitchen. For my kitchen I was looking for the soft grey (unoiled) look, with minimal veining. I kept my kitchen counters natural for the first three years. I fully embrace the texture and patina of the small scratches my counters have (no-regrets), that is part of the vintage "been here forever" look I love about my 100+ year old English-cottage-y house. (I've also had a copper kitchen sink for many years before my kitchen renovation where we added the soapstone, for us the copper patina showing wear, and constantly changing in appearance, was a feature we loved, so we are already "patina people" in general). But, the oil marks and rings that would mark/"stain" the surface my un-oiled soapstone, anytime anything remotely oily would touch the counters, drove me CRAZY, and looked very messy (and, well, ugly) to me. (Note, not really a "stain" - a surface mark that a degreasing agent can strip from the stone). The solution for me was to switch over to the "wet look". After 3 years of frequent scrubbing with simple green to get rid of (de-grease) the incidental oil blobs and rings that came from normal kitchen use, I started oiling my countertops, and embraced the jet-black, wet look, about 2 years ago. I've only oiled 3 times, all with an oil-and-beeswax blend paste. After the first two applications where the counters sucked up the oil/wax, I went about a year before a re-application, which happened last fall. Counters in photos below are about 6 mos from last oiling. Oil-Wax paste My kitchen counters are what Saratoga Soapstone (importer/distributor) calls "Mineral Black" (also quarried in Brazil). I think it is probably one of the softer soapstone varieties out there, that is sold frequently for countertops, which was a (mineralogy) trade-off, in order to have the uniform soft matte dove grey look I wanted, the quality that drew me to the unoiled mineral black. Between the Anasazi and the Mineral black I feel like I have probably bookend-ed the Rockwell spectrum for material hardness for soapstone. Saratoga / Mineral Black Photos showing use/scratches/wear/love, just to be clear on what soapstone "patina" looks like (eyes wide open): More frequent oiling would make the wear marking much less visible - but they don't bother me at all, and I've not had any issues with water rings or marks from water, before or after oiling. I did strongly dislike the oil splotches-stains that I found to be unavoidable when trying to keep my soapstone natural and unoiled, for me that was the only down-side to soapstone. In the last photo the cloudy area in the upper-left ,the "oiled look" is starting to fade or evaporate, and the natural dove-grey quality of the unoiled stone is starting to reappear). I would totally use soapstone again, (I love my kitchen), but I would have gone into the shopping planning for oiled wet look from the start, instead of shopping/selecting based on unoiled-look of the slabs. But definitely important to know what you are getting, and understand how it will wear.
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dixielogs
16 years ago
Plumorchard on here is just outside of Atlanta
fightingoverfinishes
16 years ago
I used Atlanta Intown for my Soapstone and overall I was pleased. I used a different supplier (than they usually use)-A place in Austell that carries Beleza from Dorado Soapstone (you can see it on-line at www.doradosoapstone.com or www.sefsoapstone.com). I ended up paying 105 a square foot-but I LOVE my stone. I have about 25 samples of soapstone if you want them. More than half are from M.Tex but the rest are from various suppliers in Atlanta. Would you like to have them? I am in East Cobb. spacezebra@earthlink . net
vrjames
16 years ago
krg
for a small 25sf top, the best and most economical pricing will always be a fabricators remnant rack, the next best is their stock materials as they will price based on just what you need.

This includes Soapstone. Have you settled on this or are you still open?

The fabricators Mayland suggested are all excellant, as well as Premier Surfaces, she may have caught them at an "off" moment. I know the manager personally.

The real question is where are you in the metro area. I can give you the names of a few companies near you and you can start your search from there.

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krg_ga
Original Author
16 years ago
I live intown(ITP), only about two miles from AtlantaIntown Granite. I was all set to get one of their in stock granite choices but I wanted to wait until after the holidays to schedule it. They have already been out to template, I didn't think I would have these last minute doubts. I am going to look some more this weekend. I have my sink, faucet and new disposal ready to go but I keep stalling about the counters. I initially thought I would get a shiny black granite and changed my mind after seeing it in friends' houses. I think the smudges and water marks would drive me crazy. I was all set to go with a lighter granite, Giallo Ornamental, but when I saw the soapstone I new I needed to think some more.

FYI- My place is traditional/Williamsburg style and the cabinets will be painted white. Floors are medium oak. Wallcolor will be chosen once counters are in.
nancy_east
16 years ago
Fightingoverfinishes,

I have a question for you about your soapstone. Did Atlanta Intown Granite install your soapstone that you purchased from the place in Austell (I'm assuming that place in SE Fabricators?). I have received a quote for soapstone from Atlanta Intown but they're a little vague on where their slabs are from and I'd much rather go with Beleza from Dorado Soapstone since I know I like it and I've heard good things about it's durability.

I live near Asheville, NC (Waynesville) and received a quote on Beleza from a local fabricator that was absolutely ridiculous and I'm looking for an alternative so thought I would ask you how you went about doing things. The trip charge Atlanta Intown charges isn't too terrible and still beats the price I got here in Waynesville.

Any advice is most appreciated! I really want soapstone but I just can't pay $150/sq ft. for it!! (what I was quoted here esssentially).
farmhousebound
16 years ago
As far as fabrication goes, I can highly recommend Stonehenge. I can't remember who on here suggested them, but based on that recommendation I stopped by their shop to discuss the possibility of them fabricating the soapstone pieces we purchased from M. Texiera. While there, I saw a soapstone vanity piece that I fell in love with and was able to purchase at a really good price since it already had a sink cutout. They had to do some more fabrication to fit my vanity, but we picked up this weekend along with a marble vanity top they fabricated for us and was very pleased with both. I plan on using them when we have our kitchen countertops fabricated. Lisa is great to work with, has great ideas, and is really knowledgeable on soapstone as they have done several kitchens although she admits the price turns a lot of people off of it. If the soapstone will not work for you, she will suggest other stone based on your needs.

Soapstone experience in Atlanta?

mayland

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Soapstone experience in Atlanta?

mayland

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