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Recycled glass countertops

OUpearlgirl

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jun 26, 2007
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3,081
Hi everybody!

My boyfriend just recently bought a house, but he admits he knows very little about design and decorating... The kitchen in this house has really unattractive formica that he would like to replace. He was planning on spending more than I would for more formica. I told him to look into other options (I think granite is more than he wants to spend) and I remembered someone posting about recycled glass countertops before. The search function didn't bring anything up, so sorry to revisit this topic!

If you have them, do you like them? If you chose to go another direction what did you do and why?

I just hate the thought of him spending so much money on something that won't really add any value to his home. Also, I know I'll eventually be living there and I personally am not a fan of formica. Thank you so much for your help!
 

princesss

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Mar 18, 2007
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8,035
No experience with them, but I think they look really cool.

Has he looked into butcher block counters at all? Those can look really nice as well.
 

davi_el_mejor

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Mar 8, 2010
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From what I've seen the price of the glass is comparable to granite.

Personally I don't like butcher block because it's so pourous it's a breeding ground for yuck.

I personally would go with cement countertops. Stained and sealed it's quite sharp and a nice modern look
 

blondebunny

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Feb 18, 2008
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1,580
google granicrete....looks like granite w/o the price tag we might get it done at my inlaws!
 

Hera

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Jul 12, 2007
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I've heard they're more expensive than granite or quartz. I've seen some pretty examples though.
 

Tuckins1

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Apr 13, 2008
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We recently renovated our whole house, and did look at recycled glass. It is comparable to granite in price and durability. We went with granite because we got a deal on it, but I would do glass in a heartbeat! It's awesome!! We also looked in to poured concrete, since DH's dad can do cement work. This is also a durable, very cool looking route to go. Good luck, and definitely show us what he decides to get!
 

Miscka

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Apr 9, 2007
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I would suggest that he call around and see if anyone has any remnants possibly? We looked at a house with the BEST kitchen all done in stone remnants. Wasnt granite, I cant remember what it was but thats how they found it. Countertops will generally have a high return on investment, esp when you trade up from formica. What a super fun project!
 

pennquaker09

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Nov 2, 2007
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Personally, I'm not a huge fan. I'm always about going green, but this is one of those materials that will never be mainstream because it's cost prohibitive.

I'd stick with Corian, granite, quartz, etc.
 

pennquaker09

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davi_el_mejor said:
From what I've seen the price of the glass is comparable to granite.

Personally I don't like butcher block because it's so porous it's a breeding ground for yuck.

I personally would go with cement countertops. Stained and sealed it's quite sharp and a nice modern look


Actually, butcher block is one of the best materials for countertops, and I know that teak is a particularly good choice because it's naturally water resistant.
 

NewEnglandLady

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Jul 27, 2007
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I like the idea of the poured concrete, but have read that it costs about the same as granite.

I've been watching way too much HGTV lately and was just watching a show where they were redoing the kitchen. I think it was Designed to Sell or something like that--in any case, the budget for the kitchen redo was $2K, which sounds very lean for a kitchen. The homeowners said they knew they couldn't afford granite, but the the designer said that because granite has become so popular, the prices have really come down and it's now pretty affordable. I wonder if there is a wholesaler or anything near you just so you could get a quote?

I read in consumer reports that the best surface overall is quartz. It holds up well and requires the least amount of maintenance, but I believe it generally only comes in lighter colors. We have dark granite countertops in our house (we didn't put them in) and they are 10 years old, but still look brand new.
 

lknvrb4

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Nov 1, 2009
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Have you thought of looking into concrete counter tops? My hubby is very handy and made this little bar top for us. He is going to do our countertops next. He had to buy a wet polisher for around $350 and spent countless hours polishing but it was well worth it. The concrete is like $3-5 a bag I believe.

lkcon1.jpg
 

Loves Vintage

Ideal_Rock
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Nov 19, 2007
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Wow, lknvrb4 !! Bravo to your husband! I may have to put my DH on a similar project in the future.

I love it! Please post photos when your countertops are done! :appl:

I looked at a home with poured concrete counterops that the homeowner did himself, and they were gorgeous! I've wanted similar since then.
 

Camille

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Mar 23, 2009
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452
Your husband is so talented lknvrb4! :idea:
I think Glass is sleek but installation is not pocket friendly, not sure If I would go for it, they can still chip and not scratch-proof, in tile form they scratch even more. A good friend of mine has them as accent on her backsplash...very cool!
If you are sold on glass, Terrazo is quite popular among 'green' friends, you get glass, stone and cement...very cool too.
Granite/Marble fabricators sell good sized remnants at a discounted price just to get rid of them. If you aren't set in one color this may work for you.. just keep in mind that you still have to pay for polishing edges.
 

OUpearlgirl

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Joined
Jun 26, 2007
Messages
3,081
Hmm you have given me lots to think about! Thank you so much! I hadn't clicked on earlier links to poured cement because I didn't think I'd like the look, but lknvrb4 your husband did a fantastic job! It looks great. I'll have to suggest he look into that as well.

I e-mailed him last night with images of soapstone, wood, and ceramic tile counters. He liked that with the tile he could do all sorts of customization, but I kind of gathered he still prefers formica....

Where is Tgals avatar when I need it??
 

BeachRunner

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Jul 30, 2008
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1,493
+1 for corian. Corian is very durable, low maintenace, doesn't harvest yuck, and you can put hot pots right on the countertops with no consequence. And, I do believe it's less than granite.
 

pennquaker09

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Joined
Nov 2, 2007
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1,943
NewEnglandLady said:
I like the idea of the poured concrete, but have read that it costs about the same as granite.

I've been watching way too much HGTV lately and was just watching a show where they were redoing the kitchen. I think it was Designed to Sell or something like that--in any case, the budget for the kitchen redo was $2K, which sounds very lean for a kitchen. The homeowners said they knew they couldn't afford granite, but the the designer said that because granite has become so popular, the prices have really come down and it's now pretty affordable. I wonder if there is a wholesaler or anything near you just so you could get a quote?

I read in consumer reports that the best surface overall is quartz. It holds up well and requires the least amount of maintenance, but I believe it generally only comes in lighter colors. We have dark granite countertops in our house (we didn't put them in) and they are 10 years old, but still look brand new.


The granite that is cheaper is the stuff that is very common. Like New Venetian, St. Cecelia, and a few others.
 

Hera

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Jul 12, 2007
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2,403
BeachRunner said:
+1 for corian. Corian is very durable, low maintenace, doesn't harvest yuck, and you can put hot pots right on the countertops with no consequence. And, I do believe it's less than granite.

They are up to a certain degree and then they will burn so I wouldn't take any chances with that (probably voids the warranty as well).

Oupeargirl: You may want to suggest granite tiles to him if he likes the tiling idea. You can make thin little grout lines that you can barely see and still get a higher end look for a fraction of the price of slab granite.
 
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