Somewhat of a threadjack. For those who have had granite, what is required for maintenance? "Marble" around here, that I have seen, isn't truly marble, but a man made substitute with marble dust, etc. (the bakers I know that use true marble say it isn't the same for their purposes)
Is the granite the same way (man made out of scraps, etc), or is it actually granite. I would think at some price point you could get either.

I don't know what the price point is here, before you get to stone. Most of the homes I have been in, have always used laminate. (people still use pot/pan holders) A few years back, there was a couple of solid surface materials that were popular (don't see them advertised now). One former neighbors house (was a metal worker, died in the 60's) had built a basement kitchen area (hunter) that had stainless steel countertops. I would have liked to get those when the next owner ripped them out. I figure whatever I would do, will be wrong to the next person.