Building and Construction - granite vs. soapstone vs. marble-- why?

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granite vs. soapstone vs. marble-- why?

Bernard Arnest

2007-05-17, 3:25 am

Hi,

I'm a serious amateur sculptor and painter, and am getting into
marble this summer. For sculptors, for quality figurative work,
alabaster, limestone, marble, or *maybe* soapstone are the only real
options; with very different qualities.

But I ask about countertops merely out of curiosity.
We have granite in our kitchen. No more expensive than Corian,
much thicker and classier and beautiful than mere formica. The finish
can be scratched, and it looks like in parts the finish hasn't
penetrated the veining; but it can always be recoated-- the granite
itself is very hard.
It seems ideal. SO, why do people use soapstone? I scratch my
head. For sculpture, it has a very fine grain if any; it's not porous
at all. But I don't see that as an issue in granite? It also is so
very soft; talc is lower on the Moh's scale than a fingernail!! It
can be pretty, but not as brilliant as granite. I'm not in the
construction industry, I'm just speculating here. Why do people get
soapstone? Is it very cheap, or is it just a particular look, damn
the durability issues; or because of being non-porous and requiring no
finish, is it super-sanitary?
Finally, why get marble for a countertop? I'm not quite so
confused with marble as with soapstone; but granite would still seem
to be better? Or, just a visual aesthetic that people will sacrifice
material properties for?

thanks!
-Bernard

Wayne Whitney

2007-05-17, 1:25 pm

On 2007-05-17, Bernard Arnest <BerniniCaCO3@gmail.com> wrote:

> SO, why do people use soapstone?

I'm planning to use soapstone in my kitchen remodel, for two reasons:
First, it is non porous, so it won't stain and doesn't require any
sealers. Second, it is easy to work with carbide tools, so I can do
the the entire installation myself. Softness in a countertop is not
necessarily a bad thing: less likely to break things dropped on it,
less damaging to knives if one occasionally cuts on it, easy to polish
out any damage.

> It also is so very soft; talc is lower on the Moh's scale than a
> fingernail!!

Right, but soapstone isn't pure talc, the other minerals make it
noticeably harder.

Cheers, Wayne

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