I have a seamless soapstone island that is 86 inches in length. It was very difficult for the installers to manage such a large piece of soapstone, but they did it. It was wide as well. You should be able to get stretchs of perimeter that are at least about 96 inches long or so from what I saw in the soapstone dealerships. Seams would bother me, too, but they might be inevitable for your 144 inch stretch. I'd think, though, that they might be able to do a corner without necessarily mitering two pieces together.

FWIW - I am very happy with my soapstone. Glad we did it. Glad we kept seeking out other suppliers of the stone until we found something we liked. We also wanted something not too busy. A lot of soapstones do pull green. I am so thankful that my island is seamless at 86" by 65"

Tip: Take pictures of the stones you pick out before they are fabricated so there is no doubt that you got the stone you pick.

plumeriavine-thanks for your response. Does your slab have green in it? What supplier did you use? I do not mind a seam at the sink but otherwise, I would like to avoid it. What kind of soapstone did you get?

We had our soapstone countertops installed last week. It's PA Original, from Garden State Soapstone. It's black with tan/off-white veining, no green.
Our kitchen is U-shaped. We have a long piece on our sink wall. Jay cut out the sink from that slab (no seam at sink) and gave it to us, finished, as a trivet. We have a seam at each corner. It looks fine, as our stone has a lot of movement. Jay did a wonderful job--even my picky GC who was against our getting soapstone (long, sad story) said how good it looked and how good a job Jay did. I recommend him!

kdlarue - We bought our soapstone from Soapstone Werks in San Diego. You'll need someone on your coast.

Ours ended up with some green in it, but it isn't strong. The overall impression is matte black until you get close.
I am pretty sure it is Amazon. There was a lot of Venata soapstone on the market, but I found that strong white veining too dramatic for my plans. The Venata does not pull green much, if I remember correctly.

We did our island in soapstone and our coffee center on one wall. I am thrilled to have soapstone under the coffee maker.

The stone is a bit softer than we expected. Some people think it is harder than it is - - like the guy who pounded his little hole saw on the soapstone trying to dislodge a piece of particleboard from his hole saw. Grr.

My husband would have been happier to do soapstone on all counters, but I felt that would have been too much black for me, especially around my garden window.

We really do love the soapstone. That and our copper hood are our favorite parts of our kitchen.

Here is a crummy cellphone pic of the coffee center. Sorry it is such bad quality of a photo. Lighting is pretty dim in the alcove - our pendant lighting for the coffee center has not yet been installed.

{{!gwi}}

lindiver-I will check out Garden State soapstone since they are only a 1/2 hour further from me (I live in CT). Your PA original looks nice-I checked out their website.

plumeriavine-thanks for the info. That is great that you are digging your stone. It looks very cool. We already have a butcher block peninsula (mineral oil finish) and white cabinets with an area of chalkboard paint too, so that is why I think black and a little white would be better than green.

lucretzia-what did you end up doing? Did you find something at M Tex or did you go elsewhere. I know that mumbai gray is also an Indian stone so that makes sense about the smaller slab. I need to check out their display the next time that I am there and look at their finished seams again. I really appreciate everyone's input.

We haven't decided if we're going to use soapstone, but I was thinking of going out to Garden State and seeing what they have. Months ago, Jay sent me a couple of samples in the mail and it's good to hear the positive feedback about him. Good luck!

I had a cobra kitchen from M.Texeira (tops and sink). The seam was so not noticeable. I kept my tops oiled and they use black epoxy for the seam. I wish I took a pic of the seams (we have since moved) but to be honest, I never thought of it because it was such a non-issue. The whole top just looked matte black.

Yanno... Florida Joshua and Mimi are going to be up that way mid Feb. Imagine if you bought your slabs from M. Texiera and Joshua could install them! He's the soapstone king area here.

sabjimata-that sounds very promising! I am actually going to check out a friend's seams on her soapstone tomorrow-done by M Tiex.

remodelfla-Florida Joshua has been great-I have spoken to him a few times to ask questions about soapstone. What a nice person and very informative.

At this point, I plan on returning to M. Tiex in a few weeks to look at my slab and also check out bigger slabs of other types.

kdlarue-

I put a deposit down for my Python slabs from M. Teix in November. The reason for the slab size is that is how they cut it in India. I asked. They said that the owner, Roger Teixiera, has been trying for years to get them to vut larger blocks, but they have not agreed. I think that the reason for the sale is that the Indian exotics, Mumbai, Python, and Cobra, are much more expensive, and are probably not moving as well in this economy. I will have a peninsula with 2 seams. For me, it came down to either having those seams and getting the stone I want, or settling for a different stone. I plan to oil my stoen infrequently, so it has a medium charcoal grey color. So my biggest issue is going to be the color of the epoxy....

We are demoing starting this weekend, so I will post pics for you as soon as the ss is installed.

HTH,

Amy

Joshua installed my python soapstone a few months ago and the seam was barley visable after installation and now, with regular oiling, it has amost vanished - I will post pictures later as my camera battery is dead.

Pia

I think that I need to contact Joshua and see if he can do my install b.c I am pretty flexible since I am only changing my countertops. I know that he is coming up north in February as someone mentioned and I had noticed on one of the posts. Thanks to everyone for your info-much appreciated!

amberley and piaa-I look forward to seeing your pics when they are available! Today, I checked out my neighbor's soapstone done by M Tiex and the seams were very impressive. So there is hope for my Python slabs!

Has anyone done an actual install themselves? My husband and I are thinking of buying the slabs from M.Teixeira and doing our own install. Just wondering if anyone has done that and how big a headache it was.

T hey are coming next week to template, and I should have them installed by the end of the following week. We actually changed the design to an island, although it will be the same size as the peninsula. Still will have 2 seams. Still a little uncertain about the epoxy since I plan to keep it dark charcoal instead of black.

ssweeney -- do a shout out for sombreuil_mongrel. I think he did his own soapstone. Also head over to Ikeafans kitchen forums. Some moderators installed their own as well.

Another possibility for a long island...For our 9 foot island, we decided to embrace the seams and designed the island with two contrasting slabs at each end and seamed together with butterfly inlays. My photo isn't the best, but you'll see the concept.

We bought our soapstone countertops from Bucks County and I can't say enough good things about their fabrication and installation. (I believe they purchase the slabs from Texiera)

We have a couple small seams in venata soapstone in other parts of the kitchen and do not see them.

We've only had our countertops for two weeks and love looking at them and touching them.

Hope you enjoy yours, too.

Here is a link that might be useful:

Nice! Gotta love what the waterjet can do!

Josh, thanks for your help. Loved working with Scott at Bucks County.

here are the pics of my Python. It is NOT oiled yet. Once it is the seams will be all but invisible.

Sweeney,

My DH and I bought full slabs of soapstone and did the fabrication install ourselves, including making two custome sinks. *puffs with pride*.

M.