Our old dishwasher is dying. And to get out the old dishwasher, we'll need to pull off the old laminate countertop. So we decided it was finally time for a new dishwasher and countertop. Being earthy-crunchy types with a few dollars saved up, we prioritized a highly efficient dishwasher and countertops made of recycled glass.
The first recycled glass option that caught my eye was BioGlass. It's very pretty, made of 100% recycled glass, and basically indestructible unless you're a total moron. We went to the showroom to take a look, and the first thing the lady told us was, "You know, it's expensive. Like, really expensive." (We must have looked particularly broke that day). We're like, "Yeah, we know. Just back of the napkin, about how much?" Well, for about 20 sq ft. of countertop, we were looking at $8-10K. And there was no warranty.
As a point of comparison, we went to Home Depot and took at look at their GEOS line of recycled glass countertops. Lower recycled material content, but still acceptable. Even with the fancy color I liked, it would come to around $3K. And it never needs to be sealed. And it comes with a 15 year warranty.
We had the money to spend, but obviously, that wasn't the point. Could I really justify that cost, knowing that even high-end granite would be about half that, and a perfectly good recycled option was $3K? Would I feel bad that I settled every morning when I looked and my less-then countertop? It was a long night of the frugal soul.
Thankfully, I got some sleep and came to my senses. I had a severe case of Tiny Details Exaggeration Syndrome. I went downstairs this morning, and realized, "At the end of the day, it's just a countertop. It's the place where I truss chickens and make bread and leave out my dishes sometimes. It's not going to change our lives and it sure as fuck is not a reflection of who I am as a person."
So, yeah, we're going with the GEOS. It was the right choice. It just took me a while to get there.