What part of Ohio are you in? There is a place in Batesville, IN, that has soapstone. It is pretty close to the Ohio border. I'll put the link below. I was searching a bit myself to see if it was feasible because my 10-year-old daughter was insisting it's perfect for us. Where do 10-year-olds get these ideas? (Answer: from their kitchen-obsessed mothers)

Here is a link that might be useful: Soapstone at the Stone Studio

I'm in Westerville and honestly, I didn't feel any of the local stone yards had enough knowledge of the material for me to trust them. Instead, I ordered from M Teixeira Soapstone in New Jersey and had them ship it.

The first time, the stone was damaged badly in transit and I rejected the delivery. Teixeira took care of everything and the next week, I decided to take an all night trip to their yard in Jersey, load up and turn around to drive all day to get home.

Well worth the trip in my mind.

Just curious, doc8404...

Who did the fabrication? How exactly did you transport it? I'd love any details, and they might help the OP too.

I have talked to (via phone) Mont Granite in Columbus and Strata Granite & Marble in N. Canton. Mont granite told me "all soapstone is the same, they are all soft." So I hung up with them, knowing that is not true, and called Strata, who I talked with for about an hour. They seemed very helpful and informative, and knowledgeable. They do fabrication and instillation.

I am going back to Stone Mart in Columbus to look at their soapstone. They have the same soapstone Strata has in N. Canton but Columbus is closer to me than N. Canton.

I had planned to use Cutting Edge Countertops in Toledo to do my fabrication. Anyone familiar with their work?

I used Strata Granite for my marble and ss. I think they carry Dorado soapstone, but only had 1 slab and I needed 2 and didn't want to wait. They sent me to look at stones at Dente in Pbgh and IMG in Cols both delivered to Strata for fab/install for me.

mpagmom - I did the fabrication myself. I found it easy to work the soapstone with masonry saw blades and hole saws. I had one seam to deal with but even doing that wasn't too difficult.

Ah, transport. This was dicey. I built a very sturdy platform (4 x 4's under 1" plywood) and had the guys at the yard lay the slabs flat with carpet between them.

But, I don't think I took a full breath the entire trip home. I80 in PA is always under construction somewhere and every time I hit a bump or a small dip I died a little inside. The right way to transport slabs is by means of an A-frame type of support - that is, transporting the slabs on edge. They are much safer that way.

I didn't have any cracks but as I said, the bed I built to carry the slabs didn't have any flex in it. Still, it's not the way to go as the risk was all mine instead of a trucking outfit.

I recently sold that house to a lovely couple who fell in love with the SS. They told me at the closing it was the SS that sold them on the place.

MissyV - I see you found out what I was talking about regarding the stone yards knowledge base in Columbus. If I am paying $$$ for materials or expertise, I don't feel I should know more that the 'expert'.

Good luck

Thanks for your story, doc8404. I was curious how soapstone would sell in Ohio. Glad it worked out so well for you! I don't think there is any way my husband would go for transporting and installing it ourselves, though.

Isn't that terrible when the customer is more informed than the "professionals?" I talked to two places and was disgusted with their feedback on soapstone. They don't know much about their hardness levels or their upkeep. I was told ss is "the most maintenance"...I guess if waxing/oiling is high maintenance, I can do "high" maintenance :)

Btw, we are in Lima, OH (northwest ohio), which is smack dab in the middle of Toledo and Dayton, equal distance to travel both directions for me. So Indiana is a possibility if we aren't talking too far across the border.

I am excited to look at what Stone Mart has to offer, it is the type of ss that Strata recommended to me. I talked to the owner and she said its what she wants in her kitchen ;) Wish me luck this Wednesday....I NEED to be done with my counter top hunting!

Let us know how it comes out on Wednesday. I'll be choosing my countertop in a few months and would love to know how feasible ss is for me. What type did Strata recommend?

If you're not happy with what you see, you could at least call the Stone Studio - from their website they seem to be quite knowledgeable about soapstone and have several beautiful varieties. I live near Dayton and can get to Batesville in about an hour an a half, so it's probably less than 3 hours away from you. It's an easy drive - just go down I-75 almost to Cincy and go west for about 45 minutes.

Well, from calling around Columbus, my only options to visibly look at are going to be Green Mountain Original at IGM and Brazilian at Stone Mart. Stone Mart has some "black" soapstone ...the term he used....but its on hold for a customer. It will at least give me an idea though of what the differences are in appearance. I believe that is the one that was recommended by Strata

MissyV - do yourself a favor, give Teixeira Soapstone a call and order the sample pack - about $25.00 just to see what is available.

If you are considering SS, you owe it to yourself to see all that is available and not just the two choices someone has in stock. Every type is different and every slab unique. If you can't find what you want here in Ohio and don't want to transport it yourself, have a supplier ship it to your fabricator.

Good suppliers will work with you to get slabs you love - in this day of damn near instant digital photos and communication, you can get a pretty solid idea of what individual slabs look like from afar. Yes, it's not as good as being there to pick them out in person but, it's pretty close.

Feel free to PM me if you have more questions or want more info.

Good luck, Doc

Here is a link that might be useful: Teixeira sample pack

thanks doc8404....i will do that

I was at IGM and Stone Mart today....We should have coordinated our days together :) Just out of curiosity, what did your IGM person tell you about their soapstone? Its Green Mountain Original, which I read is a good selection, and I tried to scratch it with my key when the lady wasn't looking :) Held up strong!

I still have Sunflower tagged at Stone Mart. I keep going back to it, I love the colors, just can't decide if I will grow tired of it in a few years, where as soapstone is more of a timeless look. Ugh, the agony! I will be so happy when this decision is behind me....so will hubby :)

bump to see if judithsara replies about the soapstone question :)

I didnt ask about the soapstone--- I just drooled over it and tried to keep focus on what I can actually buy. I need a light colored stone and my husband doesnt like soapstone.

I dont remember seeing sunflower. I think we have decided on a very creamy typhoon bordeaux

thanks judithsara. i appreciate you posting a follow up.

I was just at the kitchen supply store my builder wants me to go through, and I saw a small chunk of soapstone sitting all lonely and unlabeled next to a wall of granite. I asked about it and he said they recently started carrying it and another salesperson there had just spec-ed it for a home. She thought off the top of her head it came out to about $70/sq ft. I assume that is fabricated but not installed. No idea of what variety or anything.

I didn't think to ask where they get their soapstone, but the store is called Select Kitchen Designs and it is just south of Dayton. You could call them and ask.

What kind of pricing are you finding around Columbus?

Thanks, I will check into that. I am finding no one around here fabricates much ss :( and that makes me NERVOUS!

That's how I feel too, but then a lot of people do the fabrication themselves so it must not be rocket science.

Today I am 95% sure I'm going with Cambria Torquay (which isn't at all like soapstone) because I love how quiet and low-maintenance it is. I have 4 noisy, high-maintenance kids and I need quiet and low-maintenance! But every time I see a soapstone kitchen...

I have seen the Torquay, and it is very similar to marble look, which is my first love....i love the look of marble, but like you, we have young kids and i just don't think i could live with marble. Good luck, be sure to post pics!

I'm months away from posting pics - just making as many choices as I can to get accurate pricing from my builder. I'd love to see your kitchen when it's done. Are you close?

I feel like right now I'm too busy to wipe the crumbs off the counter, let alone oil it, so that's what it turning me away from soapstone at the moment. I could still change my mind, so I'll be following your soapstone saga.

Thanks mpagmom. I made a few phone calls yesterday, one to Mont who had some black soapstone, but also to Florida Joshua, who discussed doing the work for me, but shipping it up here to be installed by someone else. I am keeping my fingers crossed that that option isn't thru the roof on pricing! I too will be months away from pics, as I have not even picked out my counter top yet. Floor goes in tomorrow, so finally, one thing can be checked off the to do list.

mpagmom...i was debating btw soapstone and a light granite that has warm tones in it, not cool gray tones and found a cheaper one at Cutting Edge Countertops in Perrysburg, OH (just south of Toledo). It was called Sierra Ridge. If you haven't yet decided on a counter top, might call and ask them for a pic!

Thanks for the tip. I don't know when we'll actually look at countertops. We have to figure out what our cabinets will look like. I'm thinking about a warm gray color, which would be great with something marble-like, but I don't know if a custom color will be in our budget.

Do you have white cabinets or wood?

I saw on another post that you were talking to the Soapstone Studio. I'd like to go there sometime - too bad my daughter doesn't have any gymnastics meets there this year. She was at a camp in Batesville last summer but I had no idea then that I'd be obsessing about countertops now!

We painted our old 1975 oak cupboards to a warm white. I like them. But because they are "painted cabinets" I am having some guilt over spending a big chunk of money for a new counter top, vs a cheap option. But, I want to be happy with it, we plan to live here forever!

Yep, been talking to the Stone Studio, they are fantastic. Very happy with them so far.

On a side note, our daughter was about to start competitive gymnastics a year ago, the night I wrote the big fat check, she told us she really doesn't want to compete. So, she is just tumbling now. Otherwise, I would have had ample places to go see counter tops, traveling to meets!

We are located SE of Dayton and are getting Beleza soapstone counters from the Stone Studio. Template was done yesterday. Will post pix then!

MissyV, the money you saved by painting your old cabinets and not paying meet fees will more than pay for the soapstone. I had two girls in gymnastics last year and it about killed me. I'm glad the younger one retired to spend more time with her family. She tumbled for a couple months, and now she dances, which is her real love.

Prospect711, can't wait to see them! How far from Dayton are you? I'm in Beavercreek. Would you mind giving us an approximate cost per square foot for your soapstone? If you do mind I understand.

Mpagmom, we are about 2 miles east of Spring Valley. The Beleza, templating, fabrication,and installation is $80/sq ft. We are paying extra for some extras like a custom soapstone apron sink.