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do you have many seams in your soapstone?

15 years ago

and how visible are they? i have been told that if you have a good fabricator and installer that the seams are much less visible in ss than they would be in a polished stone counter. the soapstone dealer that i went to had many small slabs and some larger ones; is it more common for soapstone counters to be made out of several small slabs versus one large?

we had quartz counters in our last house and had issues with one of the seams pulling apart over time which was probably due to a crappy install but now i am hesitant to have a ton of seams.

thanks for all of your help!

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Comments (8)

laxsupermom
15 years ago
We don't have any seams. We're DIY and were concerned about being able to do the nearly invisible pro seams, so we just ordered the big sizes. Our biggest piece is 7 1/2' x 40". It took 6 guys to put in. I'd only recommend this if your friends are in great shape and really love you. I've seen pro jobs where the seam is just about impossible to see.
holligator
15 years ago
Our soapstone was fabricated by the wonderful Florida Joshua. We only have one seam, very close to the bend in our L-shaped counter, and it's practically invisible. I have to laugh at my husband because, within minutes of anyone seeing our new kitchen for the first time, he takes them over to the area with the seam and challenges them to find it.
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remodelfla's counters were done by Joshua, the master, in soapstone with a lot of movement (they're amazing and invisible!). My counters, on the other hand, are in a very quiet stone and the seams are much more visable. I don't think they're bad seams, but they are not invisible by any means; my fabricator was a lot less skilled. Honestly, I never even see them anymore. p.s. we adore our soapstone
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Hi, here are my seams. I have one at the right corner of my cooktop: And one near the corner of my L: Here is a distance shot showing both: The 2nd seam shown above was the tricky one because of all the veining in that area. You don't see it at all from 2 feet away, and if it has been oiled you don't even really see it from up close. Your slabs are gorgeous - what variety is it? Anita
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Dorado Soapstone recently opened up a distributorship in Shrewsbury, MA. I was there the other day looking at their soapstone and will be back there again as they are getting in another shipment of the Minas stone I am looking at. They are really wonderful people. So helpful and so low pressure. I was there for several hours oiling different stones and comparing them. Here's what I can tell you about their stones. The Beleza has some green in it unoiled, but when oiled goes black. When unoiled there is a ton of movement going on in the stone but no veining. When oiled there is very little movement, some green, but mostly black. The very green stones even when oiled are Porte Alegre, Sao Luis and Iguazu. Porte Alegre is a very soft stone and scratches easily. It has a ton of wide white/green veining. Sao Luis has no veining and a consistent green pattern to it. Oiling seemed to bring out the green. It is a very hard stone. The Iguazu is another very hard stone. It is gray when unoiled , but when oiled very green with some black and white veining. If you like green it is very pretty, but you would have to want green. Jucca is a light gray stone that turns darker gray/charcoal when oiled. It has hardly any veining. The Minas is gray unoiled, no sign of green. When oiled it is black with white veining and a slight hint of green in some parts of some stones. I oiled one slab of Minas and it was pitch black with only one white 4 ft. thin vein running across it. It was a very quiet stone. The slabs I am waiting for have more veining. All of the slabs were very large for soapstone and would never need a seam in an island (unless you had one huge island) except the Iguazu. Those slabs were on the smaller side. I personally would never want my island to have a seam, but I know several people on GW who have seamed soapstone islands and you would never know if they didn't tell you. You might want to see if you can get a quiet Minas slab shipped to you. They are a nice size stone with either very quiet veining or a medium amount of veining and a dark black color. Good luck.
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evilbunnie
15 years ago
we have two seams in our countertop, and they're virtually invisible (esp. when I oil -- they show more when the counter gets lighter). I think soapstone seams are much more "invisible" than the seams in granite -- the seams are filled with epoxy, then the counter and seam area are sanded smooth on site (can't do that with granite, at least not when it's polished), so the honed finish is continuous, making the seam disappear.
sduck2
15 years ago
My largest counter is 7 ft with a farm sink and it came in one piece. My other counters are smaller with a corner at almost 4X4, all without seams. I went with Maine SS.
oruboris
15 years ago
I have one in the soapstone in the master, very hard to spot...

And 2 in the polised, patterned granite in the kitchen, equally hard to spot.

The shop I used has a very talented crew, and they match the veins and colors in a way that the seams just dissappear.
sweeby
15 years ago
We have some very long countertop runs (14') so needed to have seams. Even though we DIY'd, the seams are really, really hard to find. We were careful, matched veins, and seamed in places that would be inconspicuous. Soapstone seams are, IMO, the LEAST conspicuous seams next to solid surface.
debsan
15 years ago
I have two seams. They are almost invisible. Even knowing where they are, one has to really look to find them.
My soapstone guy, (California Stone in San Diego) asked me if I intended to keep the stone unoiled or oiled and selected adhesive color based on that.
User
Original Author
15 years ago
thanks for all of the feedback. i must say the diy-ers here never fail to impress me as i could not imagine putting this stuff in- even the small samples i have are HEAVY!

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