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If you bought your soapstone from Old Mill Soapstone....

15 years ago

..... I'd really like to hear from you. We have been to Old Mill for a visit to look at slabs, and just received a proposal for our kitchen. I was very pleased with what I've seen so far, but would like to talk with someone whose countertops were done by Old Mill before I decide. I feel as though I should get other proposals also, although Old Mill is probably closest to us.

TIA

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Comments (7)

berf
15 years ago
Got a great bid from Sally myself, and loved the looks of their business start to finish. In the end chose otherwise, mainly for logistical reasons. Another person on this list (I want to say louisa something is her email) was shopping with Old Mill around the same time I was and did ultimately use them and I think was very happy--but I'll let her tell it--hopefully she'll see this post.
louisa_smith03
15 years ago
hi Berf!

Yes, I am happy with the results. The guy that delivered and installed was a bit grumpy-- he got totally lost in southwest/southeast DC, close to the new stadium. I had to "babysit" him and feed him directions to get him to the house. he was quite freaked out by being in the big city. But I think he did good work. Old Mill doesn't really provide those huge slabs that you can do the whole countertop with no seams, but I think the seams are hardly noticeable and they don't bother me. So tiny that nothing gets caught in them.
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There's always a danger in having too many finishes. It can be done, depending on what else is going on, proximity, the exact finishes, your tolerance for non-matchiness etc. It could look cold and old fashioned though. I don't have the same finish on anything in my house, but that in itself is a consistent statement! I try to stay away from giving decisions that are purely taste. If you think you can pull it off, go for it. It's almost invisible to anyone not doing the dishes, so you can please yourself and offend no one else! It's not quite clear to me what you're looking for: just a drain, a flange, a strainer/flange combo, a strainer basket (just the little thing that keeps stuff from going down the drain), so I found a page, it happens to be a kohler page from a company that I have never heard of, but it laid out the options neatly so that you could look and have an idea. Ask the installer what, if anything, you need to get. I may be wrong, but I would think it's either their job to install the flange, if they need to scribe around it, or the plumber's. Good luck! http://www.faucetline.com/kohler-drain-strainers.html Here is a link that might be useful: Page of drains and strainers
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Thanks to all of you for your comments and help! I think I need to start over and try M Tex again. Although I would still like to hear from happy Dorado folks, if you are out there. I did get a response back from Dorado and was told that a mistake had been made. I was also told that while I only need 24.6 sq. feet, he's gonna round it up to 25 and charge me for the 25. Why does this seem to not be ok to me? Part of the problem is that I have a small kitchen, only need 25 sq. feet of stone, and am trying to stay on a budget, ie: keep the shipping costs low, and install myself. Maybe I should get one of my male friends to do all the talking for me and see if I get better results! I'm going to call Michelle next week, and I'm also going to check out Soapstone International. Thanks to all of you, so much! I will keep you posted with the result.
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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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You'll pay a sight more than $15 a foot to have a stone professional who actually knows what he is doing do your install. It's not "just" putting the slabs on the cabinets and epoxying the seams. That's not a "just". That's everything. (Secondary to a good template and a level cabinet install.) With as many conniption fits as have been posted on here about bad seams, you want to hire some unknown person do that for you? :) No reputable shop will do it without increasing their regular fee to account for the fact that they have no idea if the stone is sound and level, and if the cabinets are sound and level. That's two very important checks that a local fabricator does for you when he templates and fabricates stone. I'm not saying it's not DIYable. In fact, that's the only situation where you will save enough money to make the risk worth taking. If you have enough experience with woodworking tools to order the slabs and fabricate them yourself, you can save a good amount of money. Plus have the satisfaction of the DIY job. Ordering them fabricated can even save a small amount of money if you don't have a good local source for soap. But, ordering them fabricated and then trying to pay someone to take the risk of installing them themselves? That's going to be more expensive than going local would be, that's for sure. Talk to your local wholesale stoneyard about importing from MT themselves. If they buy a bundle of slabs, their pricing will already factor in the shipping, and you can use a local stone professional whose feet you can hold to the fire if he messes it up. The biggest thing they have to know is to not over polish it and have both black and white epoxy on hand to deal with the vein flow in the seams. Other than that, it's pretty easy to deal with to work. The big thing for you as a buyer to know is that you won't get "perfect" flow seams like is possible with granite unless you buy a whole lot of bookmatched slabs and have overage. Most of the slabs are too small for that.
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happytobehome
Original Author
15 years ago
thanks for the quick responses!

Louisa, did you look anywhere else before you decided on Old Mill. I'm in Fairfax.
alice462
15 years ago
Glad to see that Old Mill has some good reviews, I want to go see their product, just haven't gotten there yet. I have been to Alberene Soapstone and was impressed with their operation -- mined locally and beautiful.

Here is a link that might be useful: Alberene Soapstone Company
louisa_smith03
15 years ago
I looked at several places inside the beltway. At the time, the old sopastone available was green and I really wanted black/drak grey. But the places said that stock would turn over and other colors would come in. I recall that Old Mill was the least expensive. It was quite a long trip out there on a Saturday, but we made it worth our while by camping overnight on Skyline Drive. It's beautiful country out there!
florida_joshua
15 years ago
I had to laugh at the grumpy guy story. . . I remember when I worked a BCS, going into DC was not the most exciting trip. . . I'd have to admit it was not the most fun trying to navigate that area. The TomTom helps out alot but still it's a bit crazy up there. It's good to hear they do good work though. . . I also remember taking many trips through Skyline drive as a teenager, very beautiful country.
arlosmom
15 years ago
Friends of mine got their soapstone from Old Mill. They didn't need really big slabs, so limited slab size wasn't an issue for them. Their finished counters are a very different texture than mine though. Mine are silky smooth, theirs are almost pebbled. Lovely, but very different. I also know that they had to help carry the slabs from the truck to the kitchen since the installer was by himself.

They commented on the grumpy guy, but said he grew on them.

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