Hi all, now that cabs and tile are on order, I'm trying to narrow down countertop and undermount tub deck choices. I have been planning a speckled quartz all along, but I'm concerned I'm tilting too modern. I've seen some nice stone mimics in porcelain slabs that I'd like to consider. Has anyone had any experience using porcelain slabs for seamless/grout less counters or tub decks? I've seen them on walls in photos, but less so on horizontal surfaces. I'm wondering if there are issues with cracking? I know there are Quartz marble-lookalikes too, but I thought this stone look below was beautiful, at least in the photo. I don't want to bother going to view it and other similars if I can't use them! The slabs come in a 10' x 5' size, which would work for me. Thanks!

It is really odd how some decisions are easy and some aren't - like my counter top and my refrigerator choice :-) I don't really know how I feel about solid black. I know I don't like the solid white very sleek kitchens which are ubiquitous but black does play well with the bronze and green and wood tones that will be my kitchen as well as the rest of the living/dining area. I am worried about shiny black in terms of showing every scratch and piece of dust as patterns are more forgiving. I think of black cars I see which tend to have swirl marks where I guess they were polished and so the minor scratching shows up in the sun when I drive around. I am reading contradictory stuff about durability of the porcelain slab as well as a very similar material called Neolith which my designer also recommended. That one seems to be popular since it duplicates marble beautifully with almost none of the upkeep issues - but I don't like the swirly marble anyway so duplicating it isn't one of my goals - maintenance or no maintenance :-) I'm in Los Angeles so I am going to actually trot down to look at the stuff in person again (all choices) because none of the possibilities really rock my boat - or if I admire them, they make no design sense in terms of clashing with the overall all feel; being too busy for a relatively small kitchen or having other issues.

This article says that although they have some of the same properties, and are both manufactured using a "sintering" process, sintered stone and porcelain are different.

@Alex P In theory, cabinets could be leveled to precisely the same height so that a countertop material would sit right down flat on top with no shimming. In reality, this almost never happens. Even with the very best technology in cabinetry leveling like using EZ-Level bracing which remains intact over time, you are still looking at having to shim a countertop of any type at least in a few places even in the best of circumstances. Regular cabinetry shims can shift over time depending on how they are applied, affecting your long-term stability prospects. For a countertop material that is already prone to cracking such as porcelain is, this becomes a great risk to try to shim that material with no underlayment for support, even at a 20 mm thickness. I would be more comfortable relying on the MSI guidelines for something like a small bathroom vanity countertop rather than a full kitchen where you will almost be guaranteed to need to shim the porcelain to bring it level across the largest run of your countertop area, thus leaving gaps between shims rather than the full support a subtop would provide. That is why you rarely see porcelain countertops without an underlayment unless it is for a small area like a bathroom. If you want the edge to be thin and polished without an underlayment, what this means is that you will need to specify your cabinetry to be constructed with full subtops and then somehow get them all perfectly level and ensure that there will be no shifting of the cabinetry or foundation in years to come, and then lay the porcelain down without shimming it if at all possible. Your idea of metal trim to cover an underlayment is creative, but remember that Schluter is designed to be anchored into grout, so you would need to be confident that you could secure it in an alternate manner before going that direction since you won't have any grout or tile adhesive in that area. I mentioned honed Absolute Black granite because it is much lighter than the polished type. Some varieties present in a gray color like concrete which is why your description reminded me of it. Soapstone also comes in a matte gray variety. I put soapstone in my own kitchen and love it, and it is considered to be a modern material for current kitchen design. Prepare for heartbreak if you do go with porcelain under any circumstances. Cracking and chipping with porcelain can happen, and it can happen to you, sometimes beyond any hope of warranty coverage. I liked the look of porcelain and its wear properties, but after much research including seeing cracks and chips in finished applications and talking to experienced fabricators, I decided to spare myself the risk. I have been thoroughly happy with the soapstone instead and recommend it if you cannot find anything else suitable. Even a honed marble like Danby would present fewer headaches for you than porcelain or concrete, I think.