Two questions about granite counters

[micky]

I went with a friend to a home construction recyle store yesterday and two questions arose.

1) She saw bathroom (and maybe kitchen) counterrs, with sinks in them, that were a couple inches too long for the space available. How much, just in ballpark terms, do you think it might cost to cut off an inch or two from the end of a counter? The charge is by the cut, right? I guess she'd need him to come to her house, so that's one price. But to save enough money, she might take the cabinet to him. How is someone who does this listed in the phonebook or on the web?.

1) How can one tell real granite from artificial? My tentative theory is that if the owner or if everyone can't tell, it doesn't matter, but she wants to know.

a) I noticed that the back of the splash wasn't full thickness everywhere, indented in most of the middle. That's artificial, right? (Because there would be no point (except to make it lighter) to grinding out the middle. The dust wouldn't be very useful. But if molding something, it would save material to make it thinner where it couldn't be seen.

b) Any time the sink is of the same material as the counter, everything is artificial, right?

c) Some had already been cut off to fit their original installation. There should be a clue in the new surface, I would think, but I didn't know what to look for.

d) Any other clues what is artificial or what is real?

[hrhofmann]

Yeah, if the sink is the same material as the counter, and is not an add-on glued below the counter, it sure isn't likely to be natural stone.

[dpb]

...

Well, there's always soapstone...sinks may be built of slabs or carved from solid blocks. There can be enough pattern that if someone weren't familiar and just thought/thinks "stone means granite" it's at least possible...

Granite, not so much, yes...

As for the fabrication question, I'd figure you probably ought to count on somebody charging $50-75/hr for labor; maybe more/less depending on the relative COL in the area. How complex the job would be would depend on sizes a complexity of the existing counter--normally they would work on the flat sections independently so dealing w/ it attached is going to be extra handling...

Call any cabinet maker/bath-kitchen remodeling retailer and ask...

--

[HeyBub]

Borrow a Geiger Counter. Real granite is radioactive.

[Han]

"HeyBub" wrote in news:9u- dnY8sqPTaO0LSnZ2dnUVZ [e-mail]:

I know most granite is radioactive to a small, but significant extent. But aren't the "articial" granites made of ground up quartz-like material (perhaps somewhat alike to granite, but I'm not sure?), which is embedded in a plastic material? That might be radioactive as well, because of the quartz. I retired - no more easy access to a Geiger counter.

[HeyBub]

Depends on "easy." Here's one for ten bucks.

[micky]

I'd bette not tell her that.

That's right. One web page today said that each of the imitation granites were made out of pieces of quarts, embedded in plastic. . How come their not made out of pieces of granite, embedded in plastic?

Aren't there lots of broken pieees of granite, that can be chopped, pressed, and flaked?

I had a friend in NYC who wanted a slate floor for his little bathroom. I suggested we go to Slatington, Pa. where there are pieces of slate all along the highways, that fell off trucks, I guess. I figured we could find enough for free to do his bathroom. .

but I'm not

No, that's the current bid but the reserve hasn't been met yet.

I had a noise like a geiger counter in one ear, for about 3 months. It went away 80% one day, and was gone by the next.

[ktos]

...these people with their granite, OG! what a bunch of idiots. All of them trying to impress someone.

[HeyBub]

Many (most?) have their sense of self worth determined solely by the approbation of others. Call it "Keeping up with the Joneses' " or whatever, there's a reason why some can't sleep until they get 10,000 "friends" on Facebook.

Consider the book "Why Do You Care What Other People Think?" by Richard P. Feynman (Nobel Prize in Physics).

[krw]

...and then there are those who have such a shallow life that they incessantly worry that others enjoy what they can't afford.

[Han]

"HeyBub" wrote in news:B9adnWIgRak1WkLSnZ2dnUVZ [e-mail]:

Looks like it is missing the tube that does the actual counting. If it is just the converter and power supply, it won't work without the tube.

[Han]

ktos wrote in news:4fe00da2$0$2789$c3e8da3 $ [e-mail]:

When we wanted a renewed kitchen 12 or os years ago, granite was just coming into fashion, and was very expensive. We wanted (and could afford) something better than your average laminate. Upon pricing and weighing pros and cons, we decided on Silestone. (we had had Corian and weren't all that impressed). We've never regretted the decision. While perhaps not impervious to fashion trends in furniture, we definitely have our preferred styles, and f the Joneses.

[krw]

I think you'll find that these upgraded solid countertops will not "go out of style". SWMBO will never give up Granite countertops (one of the must-haves on our new house). They're *great* for baking. ;-) The master bath does have a laminate counter top. It'll probably gone within the year.

[Han]

" [e-mail]" wrote in news: [e-mail]:

I have heard that granite (or at least some granite-like materials) do not like direct oven to counter transfer. I have had no problem with my Silestone. Also, granite does need occasional sealing to keep its properties. Not so Silestone. At least, we don't ...

[krw]

No problems with granite, either. It is igneous rock, after all. ;-)

Never had a problem with granite. I've never sealed any of mine (though I intend to, someday soon) and have no stains in something upwards of 200ft^2. Of course that may be because granite doesn't come in white. ;-)

Other than baking and cost, "quartz" and glue may be a better surface, though. Dunno.

[Han]

" [e-mail]" wrote in news: [e-mail]:

One of my family members has granite countertops. Especially around where they keep a Brita water purifier bottle (next to the sink), it looks as if the granite is being "eaten" somewhat. I don't remember whether this was a "preexisting condition" from previous owners, though.

Some are saying now that granite has come down in price and the artificial quartzes have gone up. I'd advice/advise people to price things and establish warrantee info.

[Greg]

Formica is inexpensive and you can easily install it yourself. I put in

30 linear feet of counter top for about $350 and an afternoon of easy labor. If I get tired of the color in a few more years, I'll replace it again.

[Jesse Porter]

Exactly! And most of them have stainless steel gas grills and two SUVs they can't afford either.

This YouTube clip says it all:

[krw]

In a few years you'll have to. I'll never buy laminate for anything other than a work bench (or tool surface) again.

[krw]

I understand that leaving fruit juice or "Coke" on the surface will etch it pretty quickly. I don't have any issues around the coffee pot with any etching or stains. The top is a speckled whiteish sort of color so wouldn't immediately show stains. The countertop in this house is brown with darker spots so I don't expect it to show stains at all. I understand black granite is a PITA, though. I've seen blues that may make the work worthwhile, though.

Sure. Granite has come way down in price. They're slicing it thinner, too, which makes it cheaper and easier to work with. When we looked, "quartz" was upwards of 2X granite.