I have been holding off any major renovations in the house to save money so I can do them right. Now that I have, it is soon time to start the major project in the kitchen – the countertop. I have been researching what would be the best most cost effective and user friendly material. The usual candidates are quartz, granite, butcher block and corian. I went to 3 locations to get quotes before making up my mind. I would suggest you do the same if you decide to renovate your kitchen or any major project in your house.
The most expensive option is the butcher block it ranges from $75/sq.ft to $263/sq.ft. Depending on the style and look I want my 27 square foot counter would cost anywhere from $2025 to $7101. It is higher maintenance but it does look so beautiful when it’s in. Now Quartz has a pretty decent range of pricing. Any where from $55/sq.ft to $150/sq.ft. What I noticed was that I really only liked the more high end stone in Quartz. So it would cost me approximately $4050 at $150/sq.ft. But if you like the look of the lower end stone a 27 square foot countertop at $55/sq.ft would be $1485. However, what I do not like about quartz is that it stains over time, can scratch and break and cannot be repaired.
Granite ranges from $45/sq.ft to $200/sq.ft with installation. It is strong and can be sealed for lifetime use. What I did not like was that the stone is busy and does not come in the colours I like and if it breaks it cannot be repaired. So this was a hard pass. My 27 square foot countertop was quoted at $3400 if I decided to go with granite.
During the summer I was introduced to a man made material called Corian. It has a variety of colours and pattern options. This allows for me to get the look of marble or quartz with a decent price tag. This product is easy to maintain and long lasting. It is non-porous so it does not stain or hold in bacteria. If it gets a scratch or a hole you can just lightly sand it out or repair it. It is also cost effective ranging from $60/sq.ft to $80/sq.ft with installation. So a 27 square foot countertop would range from $1620 to $2160. I decided that my counter will be Corian’s Rain Cloud which is a soft grey earthy marble pattern with specks of white. It goes perfectly with my already grey walls and white cabinets. At $73/sq.ft it will cost me $1971 with installation to put in.
Now that the counter has been selected I had to decide whether I wanted a new sink and faucet or to use my existing ones. I’ve spent hours googling sink styles, colours and material and finally decided on an 18 gauge stainless steel square double bowl undercount sink. I love the idea of having no lines covering the counter top. On Amazon.ca the 32″ double bowl sink is on sale for $299.99 with a coupon getting another $20 off. So my new sink is only $279.00 + HST. And it comes with the grates.
I knew I wanted an 8″ centre double handle faucet (fits my current plumbing) that had a victorian inspired look to it. These faucets usually run from $230 and continue to climb in price. I knew I did not want to spend more than $200 (even that’s a stretch) but since this is an investment I kept looking, price matching and researching where I could get one for under the $200 mark.
If you haven’t noticed when you type something in to the google or facebook search bar you suddenly get a ton of adds for that product or a related product. One morning this week I woke up and had an email from Amazon.ca stating that the exact faucet I had been researching was on sale for $189.99. I read up on it quickly and took advantage of the sale price (regular $249.99).
The only thing left to decide on was the backsplash. Well really there wasn’t much to decide on I’ve always loved the look of 3″ x 6″ white subway tiles. Currently the tiles are square beige 3″ x 3″ and will no longer match the counter. I also decided not to get a 3″ Corian backsplash that usually comes up the wall behind the sink. So I would have a gap between the countertop and the current tile. Over the holidays I’ve been watching the sales at all the big box stores and found the 3″ x 6″ tiles for $28.00 a box (regular $40.00 a box) (136 tiles per box) at Rona Canada so I bought 3 boxes costing just under $90.00. The total cost of my backsplash including all the supplies needed is under $300. I will also be doing the backsplash myself to save on labour.
Pricing broken down:
——————————– Scenario #1 Scenario #2 Scenario #3
27 sq.ft countertop $3200 $4100 $2431
Sink and installation $350 $495 $279.99
Backsplash $250 $250 $250
Faucet $189.99 $189.99 $189.99
Total w/ HST $4507.39 $5688.23 $3558.98
As you can see the best price is with Lowes Canada. It is a $1000 – $2000 savings. On Monday January 14th, 2019 they will be coming to take proper measurements followed by getting the counter cut. Hopefully in the next month I will have a fully renovated kitchen. Here is the final look for the kitchen. I can’t wait!
Stay tuned for the renovated kitchen pictures.
My Country Farmhouse 