No. there are a number of stone countertops that don't require sealing. In our kitchen we used Blue In The Nught granite. It doesn't require sealing.

Here's a shot.

Also, here's a link to a site with more info.

Here is a link that might be useful: Stone Sealing

A lot of the dark, dense granites like Blue Pearl and Uba Tuba usually don't need sealing.

I had absolute black polished granite. It was sealed by the fabricator. I had it for 5 years and never resealed it and it looked as good as the day it was installed. I only used non-ammonia cleaner or insta-hot water on a microfiber to clean it. I also never cut on it directly so the counter was scratch free.

and of course, soapstone requires no sealing.

We have Giallo Veneziano, which is lighter than anything else listed and it has only been resealed in one spot by my choice.
The unsealed areas look just the way they did the day it was installed - about 9 years now.

I once got an olive oil ring on it and it soaked in and disappeared in a couple of days.

There is one corner where the stone has more tiny crystals, and it is slightly rough in that area (those crystals are harder than the rest of the granite). It has always been that way, and feels dry to the touch sometimes, I reseal that area every couple of years so that it feels more like the rest of the counter, but it is not visible and doesn't seem to affect the counter other than feel.

I have Piracema granite. Like Finestra's, mine was sealed by the fabricator upon installation. I think they just do that as a matter of course; my particular granite didn't really need it. You should tell your fabricator ahead of time you don't want it done. That sealing was 6 years ago, and I haven't re-sealed it since. My granite looks like the day it was installed, and I have done all kinds of things to it like spill (and leave) tomato sauce, lemon juice, oil, etc.

Another choice would be soapstone which does not need sealing. Marble does need to be sealed. Since you or a family member has chemical sensitivities, I would avoid man-made materials for your counters, cause it's hard to know what is in them.

If you choose granite, the key is to find out the particular granite's absorption rate. I will provide a link where you can look up hundreds of granites' absorption rates. The lower the absorption rate, the less it will need sealing. Some granites, like Absolute Black, have such low absorption rates that sealing would actually make them look bad, since the sealant would not be absorbed, and just sit on top of the stone. As examples of absorption rates, Absolute Black has one of the lowest, at 0.05-.15%. My Piracema granite is quite low at 0.1-.3%, and has not needed sealing. By contrast, a granite that does need to be sealed is Imperial White with an absorption rate of 0.35-.45%. So your task, if you decide to choose granite for your counters, is to find one with a low absorption rate, which therefore won't need sealer.

Here is a link that might be useful: Table with Granites' Absorption Rates

"formaldehyde and other chemicals"

I would bet that 100% of the glues contain "other chemicals."

Everything on this planet is made from chemicals.

Some can be annoying or dangerous, others are required for life itself (like water, made of the nasty chemicals hydrogen and oxygen).

OK Brickeyee, I should have been more specific. I should have said, "formaldehyde and other chemicals which will offgas to the extent that the chemically sensitive may find problematic". I think the OP would have understood my intent with my original sentence, but thank you for making me be less vague.

Our quartzite, Azul do Mar, was sealed by the installer when it was put in because our installer does that as a matter of course. I had tested a sample before we bought it (along with samples of some green stones we were considering) and nothing stained it. The green stones did fine too. One was Costa Esmeralda, I don't remember the names of the others. It has been in for 5 years and we haven't resealed it. I don't expect that it will ever need it.

If you do have a stone that needs sealing, I've heard that harsh chemicals can break down the sealer so if you avoid using cleaners with ammonia or bleach the sealing will last longer.

One issue I've heard regarding Tung oil is that it is a nut oil which can be a problem for people with nut allergies.

Oh, it's not a BIG deal, but I don't want anything really harsh in the house, once we're in. We live in a home now, with laminate countertops and plastic/wood cabinets...but we inherited the home and everything had aired really well, before we moved in.

New manufactured homes (when helping mom look for her retirement home) often have lots of chemical smells, from all the glues, etc. When those display models are first assembled, I had to wait a few weeks, before I went into them...and I probably wouldn't want to sleep in them, or spend a lot of time there, until they aired out a bit more.

For our new countertop surfaces, I'm more concerned about what has to be reapplied, since we won't be living in the house, until after the remodel is all completed. The dark granites sound good, but I've read soapstone has to be sealed fairly often...is this true?

Would it be better to look for a wood countertop, rather than butcherblock, due to the glues, etc?

Re your question on soapstone - as both Melissastar and I said above, soapstone needs no sealing.

Regarding wood - whether it's butcher block or wood planks, if you are chemically sensitive, you should investigate what glues and finishes are being used. Also, as I mentioned, Boos makes butcherblock with low-emission glue, and I believe Ikea does too (Ikea will be much cheaper than Boos).

Soapstone doesn't have to be sealed. It also doesn't have to be oiled, if you do not wish to go that route. We've had ours in since July and still have never oiled it. But then, we like the lighter look.

soapstone... no sealing, and only oiling/waxing with food safe material if you so choose. So durable, so user friendly, LOVE how soapstone functions in my kitchen.

lavendar lass, as several of us have said, soapstone requires no sealing. But there still seems to be some confusion over whether it requires any maintenance at all...oiling/waxing for example. I guess I hesitate to say this is THE authoritative answer, because I'm no authority. But it is what all of my research and reading on this forum and elsewhere told me about soapstone.

You don't have to do nothin' to 'em. Remember the stone chemistry tables in high school? Those were soapstone. All kinds of bad stuff spilled on them. Nothing happened to them. Soapstone is extremely dense and nonporous, and at least one source called it "inert", meaning it doesn't react to anything.

That's not quite true, though. The one thing it does is oxidize over time. That's why most soapstones when first cut out of the earth are a medium to light grey, sometimes with blue or greenish tones. But over time, even the lightest soapstones will tend to darken as they oxidize (react to oxygen).

Because some people LIKE the darkened and someone more uniform look of old soapstone, they use oil, wax or a combination of both on it to hasten the process. Typically, it'll need to be oiled every week or two for the first couple of months. Then it needs oiling only very infrequently to never to stay dark.

Some folks LIKE the lighter, unoxidized look. They don't oil or wax their soapstone at all, but probably scrub it down more often to remove any accumulated oils from cooking or touching it that are speeding up the natural oxidation process. It's unclear to me if they can keep it light forever...my understanding is no, but with effort it can probably be kept light fairly long.

SO...if you like it dark, you can do minimal treatment to get it there quickly and then, almost never have to do anything again but wipe it off.

hope this isn't too wordy or too technical and that it helps. I think, by the way that soapstone on either your perimeter counters or your island would look fabulous with the look you've finally (grin, here) decided on!

Thank you. I wondered about that...because I thought I had seen here that soapstone did NOT have to be sealed, but some sites on the Internet said it did.

Is soapstone heat resistant? I'm debating about using a little stone, between the range and wall oven, for setting down hot dishes. The dark granite is pretty, too.

Are light surfaces usually more pourous?

Hi LL, soapstone is heat resistant - it is often used around fireplaces. The slab yard folks did say though that theoretically any stone can get thermal shock. That would be when the stone is cold, and you put something very hot on a piece of it - the uneveness of the heating could cause a crack. On this forum, I have read posts about that happening with granite, but I don't believe I've ever read one yet about soapstone cracking - maybe you could ask that, or see if anyone responds further to this thread about it.

Dont sweat it. Have the fabricator seal it once before you move in then don't worry about it again. Most stains are super easy to remove these days. As long as you clean up after cooking there is nothing to worry about

As far as heat resistant there is no need to worry. If you think it will be an issue use a hot pad.

p.s. By the way, our kitchens appear to be evolving somewhat similarly in regards to choice of materials - we both went from thinking white cabs to stained, and after considering all different counter surfaces, I'm now getting a bluish/whitish mother of pearl quartzite on perimeter cabs (and read you're considering a quartzite), and I'm getting soapstone on my hutch/pantry/buffet piece!
I'll stop at the little animals on the backsplash, but I might have them on a piece of pottery - LOL! :o)
I always love your inspiration pictures - I like the same things you do - just can't wait to see your kitchen!

Darker stones tend to be less porous than light stones, but that isn't an absolute. My quartzite is generally medium dark, but there are some pure white parts and they aren't porous. They are just as good as the rest of my stone. I haven't heard of anyone having staining issues on dark stone, but perhaps that is because even if it was a bit absorption stains don't show up as easily on the dark ones. On the very black stones, some people have trouble with hard water stains showing up (white stuff on the surface as you might get on any surface from the accumulated calcium building up as water dries).

There are light stones that aren't very porous and don't have trouble with staining, but most stones that are porous and really need the sealer are light.

The best way to know about a particular stone is to get them to give you a sample. Put some likely kitchen staining ingredients on it over night - like some wine, some oil, tomato sauce. Rinse it off after they have had time to sink in 8 hours or even 24. While you are at it, you could put on some lemon juice of vinegar to check that the stone doesn't etch. (The tomato sauce and wine will be slightly acid so they also check for etching but lemon juice or vinegar are stronger acids.)

There's heat *resistant* and then there's heat *proof*. From various threads I've read recently, including the one about slow cookers and cracks in granite, it's probably wisest to be very careful before setting a hot pot directly on a countertop, regardless of the material, except for stainless steel and such.

I have a very old piece of stone next to my range which used to be the back step of the local newspaper office -- it is two inches thick, 100 years old, and didn't cost us anything, so I don't hesitate to set pots on it. But I would think twice about something I had chosen carefully and paid for : ).

Becky

I do have a light granite, and I've sealed it once with the stuff recommended on here from HD (501 sealer I think). It didn't smell at all, imo. I'm not super sensitive to things like that, but after all the priming, painting, grouting, etc, the sealer made no impression on me as for it's scent. So maybe some sealers aren't like the waterlox you mentioned earlier and wouldn't be that big of a deal?