I’ve got engineered quartz in my kitchen and master bath. I love the look and no maintenance, and will use it in my daughter’s bathroom when we remodel it. Anyway, cost is about the same or slightly less than granite, depending on manufacturer, color chosen, edge chosen, etc. If you’re updating your countertops for market, then I would say go for granite tile or stone-look laminate. There are laminates that have texture, to look more like natural stone, and they are quite nice. They will cost more than, say, plain old white laminate, but nowhere near the cost of granite or quartz. Good luck!

I would like to try your marble stain remover but I am not sure which product to use. I have a Callacatta Gold marble sill around my shower, with glass walls on top. Under the glass is polished brass trim and the shower door handle is polished brass. The inside handle appears to have lost its sealer coating and the marble below has a dark orange stain which has spread out along much of the sill. Is this a rust stain? How should I treat the handle to prevent the stain reappearing? This is a new bathroom which was completed in 2008, the stain started fairly soon thereafter, and has spread quickly. Please advise.

Renovating a kitchen is like cooking a gourmet meal. Take on too much, and the work can mushroom out of control, busting your budget and your patience. While we can’t choose your recipes, we can help focus your renovation on the elements that give the most bang for your buck: the countertop and backsplash.

Here, near-black soapstone replaced dingy white laminate. Because it cuts and shapes with woodworking tools, the only cost was for the stone—$24 a square foot from M. Teixeira Soapstone, which also sells a DIY tool kit at soapstones.com. For the backsplash, the home¬owner chose easy-to-clean solid surfacing milled like beadboard fromSwanstone. One 3×8 sheet cost $556 and went up with a jigsaw and construction adhesive. Completing the makeover are a new stainless-steel undermount sink from Elkay and pull-down faucet from Grohe.

I would like to try your marble stain remover but I am not sure which product to use. I have a Callacatta Gold marble sill around my shower, with glass walls on top. Under the glass is polished brass trim and the shower door handle is polished brass. The inside handle appears to have lost its sealer coating and the marble below has a dark orange stain which has spread out along much of the sill. Is this a rust stain? How should I treat the handle to prevent the stain reappearing? This is a new bathroom which was completed in 2008, the stain started fairly soon thereafter, and has spread quickly. Please advise.