Jewett Farms + Co. Soapstone DIY 101
5 Min.
Does your idea of a fun weekend shopping trip start and end at the hardware store? Do you have a an assortment of hand tools that rivals the neighborhood contractor? Do you look at a working construction site and think “I could do that”…
Then you might be a DIYer!
At Jewett Farms + Co. we are wood people, we know it, we love it. Which is why when we first learned the properties of soapstone we knew it was the product for us! Soapstone is a soft stone, making it pretty similar to a hard wood. It can be cut, sanded and shaped using standard wood working tools – that’s how we started off and why we now confidently recommend it to our DIY customers.
Soapstone DIY can range from cutting up a slab in your back yard, to simply installing the fabricated countertops with lots of options in between. An entire soapstone slab is pretty tough to work with, even for the hardiest weekend warrior. A slab typically measures 5’x9′ and weighs around 1000 lbs – that’s a big heavy piece of stone! Generally it’s a better idea to, figure out the sizes that you need and have the slab cut into manageable pieces. These can then be edged, sanded, cut into and installed by the willing DIYer.
If that seems a little out of the skill set then then next option is to have the stone fully fabricated. In this instance the soapstone is fabricated into finished counters using templates you provide, or exact dimensions. The edges will be finished, tops sanded and any sink or cooktop cutouts will be made. Then all the DIY guy needs to do is pick up the pieces and install them – all the glory, way less work!
At Jewett Farms + Co. we have worked with all kinds of soapstone DIY projects, from simple straight cuts in a slab to full fabrication and we have seen some awesome results! Next week i’ll showcase a few DIY soapstone success stories. As with most home projects, anything is possible if given enough time and energy (and a certain degree of knowledge!). Our soapstone fabricators are more than happy to chat with you, give advice on products, equipment and share their tips and tricks.
There are many online resources to help you prepare, this one from DIY Network is very detailed and covers pretty much everything.
JF Content creator and marketing director. Olivia loves beautiful spaces, inside and outside. When she’s not writing and talking about gorgeous kitchens Olivia can be found riding her bicycle around the country.