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Countertops: Creativity for Today’s Consumers By Stephen E. Doyle
Sustainability: A New Buzz Word Sustainability is the potential for long term maintenance of well-being. Healthy ecosystems and environments are crucial to the ultimate survival and flourishing of man. Going ‘green’ is a great way to reduce our carbon footprint while keeping more of it in our pockets. As we are a nation of hard workers, a relaxing return to the roost entails the need to refuel and rejuvenate after a long day’s work. That return to home should be as worry-free as possible.
The term ‘sustainability’ ushers in thoughts of going ‘green.’ But the term ‘green’ means different things to different people. The basic categories of green are: sustainability, efficiency, durability, and health. • A countertop made of repurposed glass, manufactured and purchased relatively close to the consumer, is one such example of sustainability.
• Two notable examples of efficiency in the home would be to install solar panels as well as additional insulation, thus ultimately reducing fuel costs. 10
AT HOME IN BERKs october 2013
gradually cooled over millions of years thus creating a substance nearly as hard and durable as diamonds. Fused together, the stones, solidified deep within the earth under extreme pressure, lead to the creation of a durable stone, ideal for countertops. Furthermore, granite is also heat, stain, and scratchresistant. It is easy to see why it’s the • Green living would not be complete number one choice for kitchen and without mentioning the overall bathroom countertops selections. focus on health in the home. The Prices vary typically depending on use of no VOC paints in the home color availability. is just one example of green-focused Marble is mostly composed of calcite. health in the home. Though it is very heat-resistant and • Granite is a great example of durability. Granite is scratch-, heat-, and stain-resistant and is currently the leading choice of cabinets and countertops, especially in the kitchen. Granite has also recently transitioned into an outdoor countertop preference as well.
Combined with the recent trend of people opting to remain in their homes longer–likely due to more stringent borrowing rules–it’s easy to understand why more and more people are choosing to remodel rather than relocate. Remodeling, particularly the bathroom and kitchen, has returned with a vengeance.
Options: Decisions...Decisions... Decisions...
Granite is actually a group of stones formed from liquid magma that has
preferred by many people, it also demands near-constant maintenance as it easily stains, even when sealed. It is usually a popular choice for bathroom countertops but is less than ideal due to the corrosive effects of water. Marble may be the best example of a beautiful stone that will continue to strain the wallet, ultimately proving that another choice of stone would have been a more ideal decision requiring less maintenance over time. Quartz is considered ideal for the kitchen due to its heat-resistant