SOAPSTONE - counters, sinks, etc. advice/discussion requested.

[newbury]

First of all I am very fond of soapstone. I managed to get a small soapstone woodstove for a modest price a few years ago.

SWMBO and I want soapstone counters in our kitchen in Mississippi which we are slowly remodeling, and may put it in our Virginia kitchen.

We've gone to 1 quarry in SCHUYLER, VA a few years ago and almost bought some of their "remnant" slabs but going to their website now it looks like they were bought out by a Canadian conglomerate.

Soapstone looks like I could work with it.

In my travels between my properties in Vermont, Virginia and Mississippi I go near the two major quarries of soapstone in the United States.

So - questions -
Anybody done their own soapstone installation?
Where's the best place to buy?
Should I plan on pick up? (I've an F350 dually that'll take a 4K payload AND a 10K trailer)
Can it be worked like Corian? From everything I've read it seems like good tools (diamond blade etc.) would let me shape it.

 

[oosik]

Unfortunately, I have no experience with soapstone. However, a good friend works at a company that mills stone for countertops, etc. Long ago I wondered about granite countertops. His answer resolved the problem - cost for granite was astronomic, soapstone was only slightly less. The high soapstone price is probably because the stone comes from one of the two quarries you mention.

The advice he gave me - if I ever do get stone counters, be ABSOLUTELY meticulous about wiping up water spills, anywhere on the stone countertops. My water, out here, is very highly mineralized - calcium carbonate. It leaves "white spots" anywhere it dries. On stone countertops the CaCO3 will soak in and leave stains embedded in the stone. Quite difficult to clean and remove.

 

[oldpilgrim]

Check out these guys. Nice people.

Vermont Soapstone, Custom Soapstone Since 1856

 

[CalG]

Unfortunately, I have no experience with soapstone. However, a good friend works at a company that mills stone for countertops, etc. Long ago I wondered about granite countertops. His answer resolved the problem - cost for granite was astronomic, soapstone was only slightly less. The high soapstone price is probably because the stone comes from one of the two quarries you mention.

The advice he gave me - if I ever do get stone counters, be ABSOLUTELY meticulous about wiping up water spills, anywhere on the stone countertops. My water, out here, is very highly mineralized - calcium carbonate. It leaves "white spots" anywhere it dries. On stone countertops the CaCO3 will soak in and leave stains embedded in the stone. Quite difficult to clean and remove.

Well, I did install soapstone in the kitchen . A 12'X12' Ell, with a small island.
The sink side is continuous with glued up joints (Done right on the cabinets, special glue) The leg on the far side of the stove is a separate piece.

Anyway, there were lots of straight cuts, the sink cut out and the holes for the faucet (only two).

I purchased the stone slabs from an outfit in New Jersey. The stone came from out of country. S. America IIRC.
Some good veins of color, but not a lot.
I made up a sturdy A frame from lumber that was lag screwed to the utility trailer bed . (Think, glass installer's racks) Five full slabs went on nicely. The stuff comes 1 1/4 thick .

The soapstone was cut with a sidewinder skil saw and a cheap masonry blade. WET! The slabs were laid on a sheet of rigid foam insulation out on the concrete slab, and one of the kids guided the garden hose while I fooled around with the saw. Guides and fences were used for all cuts.
The raw stone is much wider than a counter top, with the cutoff making perfect back splash, even if it is a bit thick. Thinner stone is available, but I didn't want to buy another panel and then have so much off cut left over.

The top edge of the back splash was decorated with a very small cove. Just using a carbide router bit in the hand held. For this embellishment, the tool was run dry. It goes slow, but a nice accent.

Yes, The soap stone works pretty much like wood, but tools don't last. ;-)

The sink cut out was made with four corner holes and then connect with straight lines. There was a little hand work needed to smooth the transitions, but a rasp and wet or dry paper (wet) makes the job.
Be sure to check which template you use for the layout! Ask me how I know?

We don't oil the surface, prefer the grey and crystal look. From time to time I take the dish washing soap and a scrub pad to the surfaces. A deep scrubbed clean. Love it! As far as water or any kind of staining, It just does not happen. The soapstone sheds off stains like water off a duck's back. We use the surface for everything except a cutting board. Liquid of all kinds just wipes off with a damp sponge. I don't know where the water stain comment may apply, but it's not applicable to dry soapstone. Maybe if there was an oil finish.

Soapstone does develop a patina from use. Dropped cooking pots or lid edges can leave "smiles". I rather like it all in all.

Do it, You will enjoy when you do.

ETA We are canning peaches today. The soapstone surface is a joy. Hot cold, messy or wet, we know the surface will be fine when all is done.

 

[newbury]

Well, I did install soapstone in the kitchen . A 12'X12' Ell, with a small island.
The sink side is continuous with glued up joints (Done right on the cabinets, special glue) The leg on the far side of the stove is a separate piece.

Anyway, there were lots of straight cuts, the sink cut out and the holes for the faucet (only two).

I purchased the stone slabs from an outfit in New Jersey. The stone came from out of country. S. America IIRC.
Some good veins of color, but not a lot.
I made up a sturdy A frame from lumber that was lag screwed to the utility trailer bed . (Think, glass installer's racks) Five full slabs went on nicely. The stuff comes 1 1/4 thick .

The soapstone was cut with a sidewinder skil saw and a cheap masonry blade. WET! The slabs were laid on a sheet of rigid foam insulation out on the concrete slab, and one of the kids guided the garden hose while I fooled around with the saw. Guides and fences were used for all cuts.
The raw stone is much wider than a counter top, with the cutoff making perfect back splash, even if it is a bit thick. Thinner stone is available, but I didn't want to buy another panel and then have so much off cut left over.

The top edge of the back splash was decorated with a very small cove. Just using a carbide router bit in the hand held. For this embellishment, the tool was run dry. It goes slow, but a nice accent.

Yes, The soap stone works pretty much like wood, but tools don't last. ;-)

The sink cut out was made with four corner holes and then connect with straight lines. There was a little hand work needed to smooth the transitions, but a rasp and wet or dry paper (wet) makes the job.
Be sure to check which template you use for the layout! Ask me how I know?

We don't oil the surface, prefer the grey and crystal look. From time to time I take the dish washing soap and a scrub pad to the surfaces. A deep scrubbed clean. Love it! As far as water or any kind of staining, It just does not happen. The soapstone sheds off stains like water off a duck's back. We use the surface for everything except a cutting board. Liquid of all kinds just wipes off with a damp sponge. I don't know where the water stain comment may apply, but it's not applicable to dry soapstone. Maybe if there was an oil finish.

Soapstone does develop a patina from use. Dropped cooking pots or lid edges can leave "smiles". I rather like it all in all.

Do it, You will enjoy when you do.

ETA We are canning peaches today. The soapstone surface is a joy. Hot cold, messy or wet, we know the surface will be fine when all is done.

Thanks for the reply.
Why did you choose S. American vs Vermont soapstone?
Any good web resources?
What is the special glue?
WHERE ARE THE PICS!!

 

[CalG]

Price
The kids were all home and there was nothing "extra" on warm and fuzzy "From Vermont" stuff. The stone places just "bought it in" anyway. There were no active quarrying going on in VT. Might be now, I don't know.

You will need to search and ask around, It's been a while, I've done what I want to do.

Adhesive? A smelly two part. Some sort of polyester if I have it right. I thought I still had the can on the shelf. Just took a look there, and the can is gone. I may have given it out to a friend who was also going to do some stone counters. Ask at the stone store. They will know. My bet is J-B Weld would be fine .-)

 

[dstig1]

My experience is much different than CalG's. We have a soapstone fireplace (well "masonry heater" if you want to be picky...). It is Finnish from the Tulikivi people. The local dealer builds up orders for several months, and then gets a shipping container's worth of them at once, as they are all build to order. They quarry it locally in Finland, as I understand it. It picks up oil like crazy. If you are sweating and touch it - dark fingerprint. Leave a cordless drill with rubber grip sitting on it - dark spot where the rubber touched it. Anything oily and it leaves a mark. You can remove stains to a degree with soap, water and scrubbing, but that it a lot of effort that you would need to do frequently to keep it pristine. We could seal it, but I think that unwise on something that gets fairly hot. Perhaps it has something to do with where the material comes from. Different quarries may have very different properties - I can't say one way or the other. What I can say, is that ours is far from "unaffected by anything" as it stains like crazy from anything oily at all. Everything stone in the pic is soapstone, and was part of the install. I like it overall, but the oil stain issue is a hassle. Using it in a kitchen without sealing would seem to be pure folly based on my experience. You will probably have to seal it often too. If that works for you, then go for it.

 

[The Deerslayer]

My experience is much different than CalG's. We have a soapstone fireplace (well "masonry heater" if you want to be picky...). It is Finnish from the Tulikivi people. The local dealer builds up orders for several months, and then gets a shipping container's worth of them at once, as they are all build to order. They quarry it locally in Finland, as I understand it. It picks up oil like crazy. If you are sweating and touch it - dark fingerprint. Leave a cordless drill with rubber grip sitting on it - dark spot where the rubber touched it. Anything oily and it leaves a mark. You can remove stains to a degree with soap, water and scrubbing, but that it a lot of effort that you would need to do frequently to keep it pristine. We could seal it, but I think that unwise on something that gets fairly hot. Perhaps it has something to do with where the material comes from. Different quarries may have very different properties - I can't say one way or the other. What I can say, is that ours is far from "unaffected by anything" as it stains like crazy from anything oily at all. Everything stone in the pic is soapstone, and was part of the install. I like it overall, but the oil stain issue is a hassle. Using it in a kitchen without sealing would seem to be pure folly based on my experience. You will probably have to seal it often too. If that works for you, then go for it.

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That is a beautiful unit you have there. Not to get too far off topic here, how much wood do you burn in a season? We love soapstone and have a Hearthstone to heat the house.

We are also in the process of considering different materials to replace our counter tops, but soapstone is not one of them currently. Narrowing it down to granite or quartz.

 

[mbohuntr]

I'm not a fan, ours showed every nick, cut, and wear mark unless we kept it oiled.

 

[CalG]

Yup! The patina of use.

To me it is an addition to the look and feel.

If you want "perfect" all the time, Think Granite. But I can't help thinking of headstones when I see a kitchen in that. ;-)