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Going up North again. Need your soapstone refinished?

13 years ago

I'm planning on heading up North to the Philly area around the 4th of July. I may be doing a job up in NY as well. If you need your soapstone counters refinished or would like any repair work done please let me know. I will entertain anyone that is from Florida to Philly within reason. The further out you are the harder it is to keep the costs down.

If the monitors feel this is an inappropriate post please feel free to erase it. There were a few that were unable to make it the last time I went up North so I thought I would ask again.

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Comments (11)

jterrilynn
13 years ago
Hi Josh, Mimi left a message on recorder when I was on vacation. First week after was hairy and now it's crazy. I will call back after the week-end and see if you got my fax with revised counter drawing. Husband still hasn't seen soapstone in person though & still wants granite and for me to look at more granite (I want med gray non busy and he wants busy) and kitchen rip-out is in beginning stages. So we have some time to go.
Talk to you soon,
Terri
pinch_me
13 years ago
bump
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susieliz -- I don't know about the others, but my desire to refinish doesn't have anything to do with scratches or day-to-day wear and tear on the counters. They are holding up beautifully to anything I put them through (and I have one of the softer varieties). The few nicks and scratches I've gotten in the two years since mine has been installed don't bother me in the least. In my case, I dealt with fabricators that didn't have a whole lot of experience with soapstone. My guess is the slabs were sanded with too high of a grit and so are shiny rather than the wonderful soft matte appearance that they should have. Also, the fabricators did not tint the seam epoxy to match the soapstone, so I have a light gray line running through my darker counters. I could live happily with my counters just as they are, but I'm just jumping at the opportunity to have them refined by someone who actually specializes in soapstone. If you do a search and look at pluckymama's before and afters (done by Joshua), you'll see what I'm hoping to achieve. Don't fear soapstone. I think almost everyone who gets it loves it. I certainly do.
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Remember the theme song to the Jeffersons? Something about 'moving on up, to the top.' That's definitely running through my head as I read this :) What a fun adventure and amazing location you will have... Congratulations!
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Thank you so much Pluckymama. That is a great help (and you are right, they do look great). I am off tomorrow to see a few more slabs of SS (Minas and Beleza) and will take another look at the Nordic Black. The Mumbai Grey SS that I took a sample of is doing the same watermark thing you are experiencing (and wow, the mineral oil only holds for a day at most). Soapstone International has told me it has to do with the finish (which they 400 grit, but that sounded kind of crazy considering). As I was thinking about the watermark issue, I just wondered if anyone has tried carnuba wax? I say this because it is used on cars (stay with me), and on the glossy coating of candy (like M&Ms). My thinking? Food grade, OK. And if it buffs to the point that it protects car exteriors, it is obviously durable.
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susied3 - There are a number excellent soapstone dealers and fabricators in Austin and San Antonio so it shouldn't be hard in DFW either. Here's just one I found in a quick search. Here is a link that might be useful: Heritage Stonecraft
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sweetgumacres
13 years ago
How about the Midwest sometime? Anybody for the Midwest?
bayareafrancy
13 years ago
*sigh*

Won't he EVER come to California???

*sigh*

francy (who absolutely adores her soapstone, even though it usually looks like blotchy, water-marked cr*p)
cindaloutx
13 years ago
As someone who is contemplating soapstone counters but knows little about them (other than that they are beautiful), what is involved in re-finishing and how often does it need to be done?
remodelfla
13 years ago
I don't mean to talk for Joshua but he is not referring to refinishing as in maintance. He is talking about refinishing as in fixing someone elses less then stellar installation/finishing work and making it perfect as it should have been in the first place. Florida Joshua is known to be a true soapstone master.
marthavila
13 years ago
Or to put it slightly differently: refinishing soapstone is a rather extraordinary measure. It is not routine maintenance at all. Refinishing is called for, as Remodelfla says, when the installer didn't finish the stone properly in the first place. In short, when fabricated and installed properly, refinishing of countertops is not something the typical soapstone owner should have to be concerned about. The problem is that there are also a lot of fabricators who don't have the same level of knowledge and skill that Florida Joshua has.
sjerin
13 years ago
Bayareafrancy! Wow, haven't seen a post by you in a lonnngggg time, though I do only pop in here now and then. I was so hoping you were able to get your ss repaired, or redone. How are the cabinets?
FJ, I'll bet you could get lotsa jobs in CA!
florida_joshua
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks for everyone jumping in on this. I know I could get some jobs in other parts of the country, but for now it feels good to know that we are in a place we feel we should be.

Francy, never say never, Mimi and I would love to get a chance to go to Cali. . . Most times that we have gone elsewhere it was because people had frequent flyer miles that they were able to cash in. It really helped keep the costs down to a minimum. I'd be willing to take a shot at making the fissure/crack disappear as well. . .that would be pretty hard to do though. . .lol You would have to prepare some things a few weeks in advance in that area for it to work though.

If anyone would like to entertain the thought of refinishing, again, let us know.
gbsim1
13 years ago
How about actual installs (eventually!).... I'll be building in Central VA one of these days (hopefully starting this winter) and would love to know that my soapstone was done right the first time. Any chance that you'd like to become "VirginiaJoshua"? :)
florida_joshua
Original Author
13 years ago
Looks like everyone is happy in Soapstone Land. . . I'll be going up north with tools at the shop. . .it does feel good. . .lol

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