If you’ve been thinking about installing new countertops, you’ve likely discovered the option of epoxy or resin products and you may even consider them as your first choice. But before you make that leap, here’s what you should know.
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1. “Epoxy Countertops” is technically a misnomer… And it’s Toxic
That’s right, epoxy is primarily used as a refinishing product. It is best used to restore old and worn countertops and floors. In its essence, epoxy is simply a resin to be applied on top of already-installed surfaces. Because of this, you can’t go out and buy a premade epoxy countertop the way you would a natural stone, it must be applied in your house. That doesn’t sound too awful until you remember that epoxies release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the air. If the room is not well ventilated, it can present a health hazard to you or your contractor. Even if the room is well-ventilated, you’ll want to avoid using the space for about a week after installation to let the VOCs evaporate (at this point it is safe to eat off the countertop).
2. Epoxy doesn’t get along well with granite nor marble
The goal of using epoxy is to recreate the look of your natural stone countertops after installation. While natural stone like granite and marble require maintenance, there are better ways to refinish them than epoxy. Marble and granite have a natural beauty with veins and patterns—don’t cover up this beauty with an artificial resin. It pains us as stoneworkers.
It takes a skilled, artistic hand to replicate the veins or swirls of natural stone in epoxy.
3. Hard to Handle, Inconsistent, Time-dependent
Epoxy is an unforgiving product. It takes a skilled, artistic hand to replicate the veins or swirls of natural stone and there are no second chances. But even the most practiced hand cannot account for the inconsistent quality of epoxy (no two epoxies are the same!).
When installing epoxy, you typically only have 20-30 minutes before it starts to harden—this gives you very limited time to remove any air bubbles or unsightly bumps that form. Even a “self-leveling” epoxy designed to prevent those bumps can flow over the countertop edges and drip onto the floor. Further, even though it can take as little as 20 minutes to harden, it can easily take over 24 hours to fully install the resin. If at any point an application goes slightly wrong, you need to remove the epoxy and start over, wasting time, material, and money.
4. Some epoxies stain
Epoxy countertops may have gained a reputation for being durable, but, in fact, they stain easily if the food or drink remains on the counter for an extended period of time. Essentially, any spills on the epoxy must be cleaned up immediately or the stain will set into the surface permanently. Then, the only way to fix it is to redo all the work. See #3.
5. Epoxy looks cheap (because it is)
The biggest draw to epoxy is purely economic. Typically, you can expect to pay $8 or less per square foot. That sounds great, but when it comes to your countertops, you truly do get what you pay for. As mentioned, if you want epoxy countertops installed to their full potential, we suggest you hire a contractor highly skilled with epoxy or be prepared to redo the process many times: both of these can ramp-up the cost and counter your intentions of being economical.
There are better options than epoxy and we believe it lies in natural stone. We want to make your house the best it can be. For help with that, get in touch with us!
