Timely topic, as I'm right in middle of granite installation now w/HD. I paid back in early Feb, but had delays with new cabinets till now. HD still honored the promo pricing I had at the time of purchase ("D" level granite for "C" level price, plus free undermount sink.) I thought their price was good...I did some research and it seemed in line competitively with what others were quoting....not ridiculously low or high. Someone who works at HD once said they often negotiate really good prices from fabricators since they represent so much volume to a local shop...and if you catch them during a promo, they can offer some pretty decent values, even with their middleman markup. Not saying their price is always best, but wouldn't count them out right off the bat. They definitely let me choose slabs - in fact, they stressed that I must do so to make sure I got what I wanted. Local fabricator they subcontract to has been in business 20 years and granite yard is one of the largest in the nation. Doesn't mean my experience still may not go horribly wrong, but I feel I've covered bases as much as reasonably possible without over-obsessing any more than I already have. (And according to my husband, I'm a big time over-obsesser!) HD does have the 1 yr labor and 15-year stain-resistant guarantee. As someone here mentioned, can't say how well they'll honor guarantee if a problem arises - and I have polished black granite, so I already know I may have specific problems related to that color - but the kitchen/granite places I've checked offer no guarantee at all. So it's something. Chose slab yesterday...install should be within 8-10 days. my fingers are crossed that all goes well. (Tip: one thing I did as soon as I found out who they sub-contracted to was to Google that business's name along with "complaints" in search box, as well as check BBB to make sure there were no red flags. I think the #1 risk with HD all comes down to who they choose do to the work.) Hope this helped someone...

I brought home various samples of unsealed granite to play with. Different granites have different properties, so I would bring home any that you're serious about (or just go grab some random ones right now to do testing for comparison.) On the ones I tested, out of ketchup, mustard, soya sauce, red wine, lemon juice, olive oil, and anything else I could think of, the only stain I got was a light stain of red wine on a light, unsealed granite. I left the stuff on the samples for a couple days before wiping off. The dark ones looked like they'd be more streaky to me. Miraculously, after no effort on my part, the red wine stain has disappeared from the light granite (I don't know exactly how long this took, around a couple of weeks). So, I'd have to say the stuff is pretty darn resilient to staining, especially if you use sealer.

I have honed dark granite right now and it stains like crazy esp anything remotely oily. Tried everything to seal it and nothing worked. It was in the house when we bought it and we are now remodeling the kitchen and it it will be gone. Replacing with polished Sea Pearl quartzite if the quote is right (fingers crossed). It's been a process because this kitchen has extremely high end (previous owner installed) cabinets with a high gloss finish in teal blue - gorgeous but challenging and way to expensive to replace. Very sleek and modern. Thanks to the oven forum we chose the Miele Master Chef oven (wanted that rotisserie) and warming drawer and after reading on the Refrigerator Forum we chose the Thermador Freedom Towers for the fridge and freezer. LOL we inquired about getting panels for them to match the cabinets and yikes, the cost was more than the appliances cost. So stainless fronts it is. Everyone here is so helpful - certainly appreciate this site and the forums.

We put a charcoal gray (anthracite) Blanco Silgranit sink into our last home (about 12 years ago) and after a few years of use, we were less than pleased with its performance, especially for the price tag. At first, it was amazing and we loved how it looked! Over the years, we used it for everything - normal kitchen/dish washing use but also occasionally to wash out paint brushes, soaking clothes, even washing show chickens in it. (No utility room sink, so the kitchen sink was the go to spot.) We kept it clean and well cared for. We believed all the hype back then that Blanco sinks were impervious to just about everything and I guess we should have been more careful. It basically started looking blotchy and losing its color on the bottom. It then started pitting on the bottom and was no longer a smooth surface, especially around the drain. And the blotchiness wasn't really stains but rather "burns", according to what we had read online. By the time we were ready to sell the house, it was pretty unsightly and we had to replace it. (Due to the less than helpful Blanco customer service folks who refused to honor any sort of warranty, we went with a Kraus sink.) But we only had the Kraus sink for a few months before moving, so not sure how that one will hold up. So now I'm trying to decide what to do with our new (but 15 year old home). I like how durable stainless sinks are and how cost effective they are but since spots and smudges on the stainless steel appliances drive me crazy and I'm CONTSTANTLY wiping them off, adding one more stainless item to care for in this kitchen doesn't seem like a wise decision. Anyway, thought I would add my 2 cents. I still can't decide if I want to do another composite sink (but do a more reasonably priced manufacturer like Kraus) or go with something else. If I do composite again, I will definitely go with a darker color and be super diligent about ONLY soap and water going into the sink.