Granite tiles on countertop ; bullnose alternatives?

Hi folks-

We're preparing to redo the kitchen, including new cabinets and countertop. We love granite but are not looking to spend what it would cost to have our main counter area done in solid granite.

We were just at a bed and breakfast place that had BEAUTIFUL granite tile counters. "Reddish with black splotches" granite 12" tiles with thin black grout seams. Absolutely stunning.

Anyway, I've been researching the subject, and found a problem. I've found the square tiles at lots of places, but no bullnose or other finish pieces needed to round the tile over the edge of the counter, or to handle exterior corners. Basically all I can find are the squares.

I've found that there are "bullnosing" services, that will do the job for big bucks. But that's something I want to avoid.

Also considered is the use of common black bullnose (and other finish) pieces with the granite reserved just for the main surfaces. This would be inexpensive, maybe just a couple hundred bucks worth of granite tiles and a few bucks for the edge pieces.

Does anyone out there have experience with this kind of thing? I want to explore all the alternatives before buying anything.

Suggestions, anyone? Is there a specific supplier that carries the granite finish pieces as stock rather than a custom service?

Marc

Reply to
MAG
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You have a few options:

1) Expo (and I am sure other stores) have individual granite bullnose pieces that you can buy... Expect to spend $10-25 per piece...

2) Make your own "flat" bullnose pieces by miter cutting the edges of the granite... Family Handyman has a very in-depth article on this... Even had plans to build a jig for use with a tile saw...

3) Use an alternate material... I used wood that exactly matched our cabinets... Looks awesome...

4) You could buy a granite sanding kit (about $250 on eBay) and actually round over your own pieces of granite to make your own bullnose... Pretty cool but VERY time consuming... We had roughly 30 linear feet of counter tops...

I looked into all of these options and finally chose option three based on price and looks... We are using Premiere Black 12" x 12" granite tiles with black grout... We have olive green cabinets... The olive green border against the black granite looks incredible... Much better than the black bullnose against the black granite... And, it was literally a 100th of the cost of granite bullnose and it looks better...

Good luck, Mark

Reply to
MCL

Mark- thanks. Great followup message. Lots of options to explore. I'm sure Expo would love to sell me those $25 granite pieces, as well as a $400 faucet. :-)

Marc

Reply to
MAG

Yeah... Expo is really over the top... I went to Expo a few times just to look around... Found this really cool sink... Went to Home Depot and the exact same sink (down to the model number) was at Home Depot for almost $275 cheaper... It wasn't on sale or discontinued or anything... Wow...

Good luck, Mark

Reply to
MCL

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