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Granite Countertops - Increasing Your Home's Resale Value
Very few things impress potential home buyers than a kitchen with granite countertops. There may be sleeker kitchens such as those with a stainless steel motif, but not everyone takes warmly to these ultra-modern kitchens. They feel that stainless steel kitchens are too cold and impersonal.
Granite, on the other hand, evokes a feeling of elegance without looking too 'industrial.' Thus, having a granite countertop installed in your home can instantly raise your home's value.
This material is highly valued because of its toughness. Granite has been formed from magma underneath the earth's surface and its particles are densely packed, making it one of the toughest materials ever to be used for countertops. They are sourced from many countries in Europe, South America, and southern Africa.
After quarrying the slabs, manufacturers transport these heavy stones to Verona, Italy, where they are fabricated. The large granite slabs require even larger machines for them to be cut and sanded, and the complexity of the fabrication process plus the scarcity of the patterns on certain granite slabs all play a role in the determination of the prices of granite countertops.
Home buyers understand how valuable a granite countertop is to a home. First, they can last a lifetime or even longer, saving the homeowners a great deal of money as they don't have to keep renovating their kitchens every so often. They will perhaps just strip off the cabinets or shelves surrounding it, but the granite will last for as long as they are well-maintained.
In addition, the beauty of granite, being a natural stone, is timeless. Unlike laminates or Formica which may carry patterns that are only good for a decade, granite countertops will never go out of fashion because they have been used in the mansions and palaces of yore, which still look as magnificent today as they did then.
Choosing the right color and stone pattern can be especially challenging. This is because a granite slab does not hold a single color - it is a mixture of several various hues in hundreds of patterns. Thus, if you have a kitchen design color in mind, it would do you well to bring swatches of the main colors found in your kitchen so you can hold them up against the granite slabs in the showroom.
Granite countertops are treasured because of their uniqueness. No two slabs are alike because they are not man-made. You can therefore be assured that your granite countertop has no 'twin' anywhere else in the world. It's just like showcasing a work of art right in your own kitchen.
Many homeowners don't know that despite the toughness of granite countertops, they also need to be given special treatment once in a while. Sealant should be reapplied to the surface of the countertop twice a year, for instance, to ensure that liquid won't seep through the stone and to keep it as shiny and smooth as the day you purchased it. It only takes about 3 minutes to spray the sealant onto the surface and buff it. Afterwards, the solution is left to dry for about a day.
It's so simple to take care of a countertop that gives so much back. Granite countertops can be quite expensive, but considering that you don't have to refurbish your countertops in this lifetime, then the extra dollars you shell out may just be worth it.
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