Here s another great tip from BobVila.com. Countertops are such a big part of any major kitchen remodel and there are so many new options, deciding on the best choice can seem a little daunting. Starting with the budget can make the decision easier. Countertop materials range widely in price, anywhere from $11 to $200 per square foot installed. Generally speaking, while high-end countertops can boost your kitchen s look, you don t want them too far out of sync with the price point of your cabinets and appliances. Heavier materials like concrete and natural stone can also require added support, so cabinet and countertop quality should be consistent. Once you ve decided what you can spend, you can narrow your countertop options. For smaller budgets, get creative with ceramic tile at $11 to $30 per square foot. Or, check out some of the new high-tech options in laminate, which can be fabricated and installed at $36 to $45 per linear foot. Solid surface countertops offer lots of creative color options from $40 to $60 per square foot installed, and an integral solid surface sink is a great easy-care feature. In the $50 to $100 range, there are many choices. Among them are wood and butcher block with its warm beauty and natural antimicrobial properties; natural stone like slate, soapstone, marble, travertine and granite with all the quirks of nature built in; and engineered quartz countertops with a wide color range and more consistent patterns. Stainless-steel and concrete countertops are generally the most expensive at around $100 on up per square foot. But they can also be fabricated with integral sinks and they re great if you re going for that restaurant or industrial look. Find out more at BobVila.com: the ultimate home improvement web site! 2008 BobVila.com

Bob and Chris Vila enter the penthouse apartment to look at the installation of the kitchen countertops. This particular kind of Italian marble-like stone is a schist called Pietra Cardosa, from the area of Cardosa, Italy. It is fairly porous, with great abrasive resistance, but may require a bit more care than the average countertop as it cannot be polished to a shine. Nick Tagios from Tagios Tile and Marble explains the attachment of the countertops to the Cherry Craftline island cabinet. First a bead of silicone caulk is laid down to adhere the stone to the wood. Tagios and crew level the top with shims. To install the bridge that will become the kitchen�s island sink surround, steel bars are added between the slabs by sawing out a line and then sealing the bars inside with the stone-colored epoxy. Supports are attached to the sidepieces of stone and the bridge is laid between. To eliminate the line and space between the two stone slabs a dyed two-part epoxy is added. After the epoxy dries the counter top is sanded to remove any excess epoxy.

Dupont has provided a new product for the solid surface kitchen counters called Zodiaq, which is made of natural silica, quartz, and about eight percent polymer. Zodiaq quartz surfaces are made of a naturally refractive material that gives it a subtle sparkle. It is extremely hard making it resistant to scratches, chips, cracks or dulling and not porous making it hard to stain. The man-made stone countertops are easier to care for than 100% natural stone and are installed in the same manner. In our kitchen the installer used a technique called a mason�s mitre that gives the joint between the pieces additional surface area for the polyester epoxy to bond. The epoxies from Dupont are specially formulated to match the countertops color. David Miller from Desavino and Sons is on hand to explain the countertop installation. One of the unique things about a Simplex house is the exacting consistency of measurements. A digital image is sent from Simplex to the countertop fabricator and they either create a template from the image, or cut the countertop directly from the image provided by Simplex.

Bob is with Andrea Johnson from Corain as Scott Lawyer of Solid Surfacetops arrives to install the shop-fabricated Corian countertops in the Punta Gorda kitchen. This counter features an integral sink that is attached to the counter by the fabricator in his shop. The seam between the sink and counter is made with liquid Corian that forms an impermeable and invisible seam between the sink and the counter. These integral sinks have no edge or grunge line, which makes for easy cleaning and a sleek look. The Canyon color chosen by the homeowners is dark, like the Porcelanosa metallic-look tile. Johnson remarks what a good job the homeowners have done matching the counter color to the tile. Bob adds that the cool, dark colors bring a soothing, cooling presence to the interior spaces of this hot-climate home. Bob then watches as the crew from Solid Surfacetops installs the counter pieces and creates an invisible seam. The two sections of Corian are fitted with wood blocks that will hold the clamps as the sections are glued with liquid Corian that matches the countertop and clamped tight to set. Once the glue has set and dried for about 25 minutes, the clamps are removed and the seam is sanded to give a seamless look to this two-piece installation.

Evan Zgonis of Olympia Marble and Granite gives Bob a tour of the facility where the kitchen countertops are being manufactured. The marble slabs are brought in from the yard by crane. Once the slabs are brought in, the majority of the process is then automated. The first step in the countertop fabrication process is to square off the edges of the slab with a water saw. After that, the marble is brought to a CNC (Computer Numerically Controlled) machine. The machine's cutting head is controlled by a computer that has been programmed with the dimensions for the countertop design. The designs were created from a template made on site. The key points are marked on the slab, and using a CAD program, they are then fed into the computer. The machine can make complex cuts by utilizing different blades and manipulating the slab, all automatically.

Here s another great tip from BobVila.com. To help you wade through the sea of choices for new kitchen countertops, take a long, hard look at how they compare for durability and maintenance. Having a clear idea of the amount of work you re willing to do to maintain and protect your new investment will make the decision less complex. Take stone, for example. After millions of years in the Earth, granite, marble and travertine are naturally hard and beautiful and for $50 to $100 per square foot, they can grace your kitchen. But they re also naturally porous, so you ll have to seal them every few years with a non-toxic sealer. Some kinds of natural stone can stain with acidic foods and can even crack if you put a very hot pot directly on them. Some, like slate long used for laboratory countertops are better than others at taking the heat and acids, but oils can darken them and they are prone to scratching. Engineered quartz stone, at the same price point, has solved some of the maintenance problems of natural stone. It s non-porous, twice as strong and tough to scratch or crack. Like anything else, though, even high-end countertops are only as good as their installation, so check references on whoever is going to do the work to make sure you start off with the best finish possible. Wood countertops require mineral oil treatments and occasional sanding for stains. Solid surfaces don t require treatment and scratches can be buffed away easily. But using trivets or pads under hot pots is important to avoid damaging any wood or plastic surface. Regardless of your budget, think about the way you cook and clean and how much extra work you re willing to do before you choose a material. Your new countertop should fit the way you live, not the other way around. Find out more at BobVila.com: the ultimate home improvement web site! 2008 BobVila.com

The Silestone island countertop arrives in the newly updated Rowley kitchen. The cooktop cutout was done on site, since it is not a polished edge. E-counters.com specializes in custom fitting countertops through their Internet service that matches customers to their dream counters fhrough local fabricators.

Dick Deshant from Counter Intelligence gives Bob the lowdown on the new countertops. They will be made of Silestone, which has the best qualities of granite without the maintenance. Silestone is a maintenance-free material composed of 93% quartz, the first hardest substance in nature. The Italian creators of Silestone have figured out a process to extract the quartz and combine it with polymers and pigment for cohesion and coloration. The end result is a maintenance-free countertop. There are close to 40 color choices, some of them incorporating mica chip for a sparkling effect. Silestone comes with a 10 year warranty and is stain resistant because of its density and lack of pores. It is scratch resistant to the point that you will dull your knives cutting on it, and it is heat resistant enough to withstand a hot pot coming directly off the stove. If there does happen to be a mar or chip in your Silestone it can be repaired using an achimi product that is standard in the industry. The pricepoint of Silestone is a little under that of entry level granite.

Scott Lawyer of Solid Surfacetops is with Bob at the Punta Gorda house to make a template for the Corian kitchen countertops that will be fabricated at this shop. Lawyer has the fabrication work done off site because there are too many tools involved in the cutting, shaping, and finishing of the counters to do them on site. Lawyer creates a template from Luan plywood that is glued together to create the exact dimensions of the kitchen countertop. These templates will be laid directly on top of the Corian and used as cutting guides by the fabricators. Lawyer uses the blueprint to create the template then checks it against the kitchen space for any modifications. The system results in a perfect cut with little room for error.

House ten of the Elmwood project. Cabinetry and countertops are brought in for this third floor remodel project.