Introduction
Recycling
Demolition
Ordering 
Countertop
Cooktop

Floor New!

When deciding on the countertop material, we wanted to choose a material that was durable, good looking, and in step with the colonial design of the house. It also needed to be affordable. When I found out that soapstone could be worked with "ordinary" woodworking tools, I was intrigued. I found a supplier in New Jersey that was currently out of stock, but offered a very good price, if I could wait for his next shipment from Brazil. This is, by the way, where I believe most, if not all of the stone sold in this country comes from. The total shipped cost was about $1200. It would have been nearly three times that to have it professionally installed.

When the stone came, I helped the driver move the slabs into the garage. They were HEAVY! As delivered, each was sanded smooth, almost to a polish on top The rest of the edges and the bottom were "calibrated", smooth but not to a finish. We bought five slabs in all, three measuring approx 30in by 48in, and two that were about 30in by 63in. The two larger slabs were placed at either end of a long "U" shape.  The edges of these larger slabs, were trimmed, but the depth was unchaged at 30 in. All of the rest of the countertop was trimmed to 26 1/2 inches, 2/12 inches deeper than the industry standard of 24 inches deep. 

To cut the stone, I bought a diamond masonry blade for my circular saw. The blade was about $50 dollars at home depot, which was more than I paid for the saw! To guide the saw, I used a aluminum saw guide four feet long, held in place by clamps. The saw made quick, accurate cuts . By the end of the first day of fabrication, the stone dust had left a thick film on everything in the garage.

The sink cutout posed a challenge. We had chosen an undermount sink from kindred. This meant that the cutout would be visible, so it had to be a good. I bought four jig saw blades, thinking they would be enough. It turned out that wood cutting blades don't work too well for soapstone! In the end, the cutout took five hours and about fifteen blades. I also started the cutting with an old saw that I had bought for $10 at a pawnshop five years ago. It wasn't "cutting it", so I bought a newer, more powerful one. I imagine that somebody makes masonry jig saw blades, and they sure would have made this task easier. 

I

 I made several small mistakes, that while did not render any slab unusable, detract from the overall appearance or made for more finish work. For example, when I began the sink cutout, I worked with the good side up. The vibration was marking the stone, and even make a couple of small chips. Since I could not guarentee that the custs would line up if we truned the stone over, we couldn't simply flip the stone over, so I protected the stone as best I could, using some kitchen sponges under the saw. 

To bond the slabs together, I turned to my neighbor Pete for advice. Pete is in adhesive sales, and he had just the ticket. A two part epoxy, with a gun that looked like it came from a Terminator movie. The epoxy  mixed in the applicator tube, so by the it came out, it was already mixed. We applied it to the edges of the stone, squeezed the excess out and wiped it off. A belt sander, and then palm sander, removed the excess, and evened out the butt joints when the height did not match.

For the edges, I used a carbide 1/4 inch round routing bit. It cut very easily.

The final touch

Soapstone oxidizes over time, changing from a light gray, to a very dark color. The stone we selected finish color is a mottled green black, with some very beautiful light veins. Mineral oil applied to the stone instantly changes the color to its final one, and seals the stone. They change was amazing!

Since we insalled the stone, I have applied several coats of mineral oil. Right now, about 6 weeks past the initial coating, it needs recoating about every other week. The job is easy, ans takes only a few minutes.