Choosing Granite
This post is a follow-up to the post “Rough Spots“.
Tom,
OK! I really need your help now. My builder has agreed to replace all of the granite in my kitchen. I have to go pick the granite slabs this time. Please tell me some granites that you would recommend. I would like a beige to brown with a little bit of black in it as my sink is black. I know that different places call granite different names but if you can tell me some names of stones that do not have a lot of pitting in them in this color range I would really appreciate it. Also is granite graded by the availability of the color or by the quality of the stone? Is it just different more rare colors that cost more or is the stone just a better quality?
Jennifer
Hello Jennifer,
Granite is priced differently on supply and demand. If a single quarry owner has a very popular color, he also controls the pricing. The price does not reflect a quality difference. There are some very nice low costs granites. I suggest you look at www.GraniteStock.com and let me know which colors you like. I will let you know about the technical properties of the ones you like. Just go to the site and do a Homeowner search and select beige or brown as the general color search criteria.
Best wishes,
Tom Cordova
September 4th, 2006 at 2:38 pm
[...] There is a follow-up to this post under “Choosing Granite“. [...]
October 26th, 2009 at 7:46 am
We are looking at Solaris for our perimeter counter tops, and black galaxy for our island. Are these good quality stones, is there anything I should be concerned about- fissures etc.? We have medium red oak cabinets, black appliances, medium to light walnut colored 18″tile. The island is medium sized and has a 5 gas burner stainless steal and black cooktop. It is a large kitchen, lots of windows, with morning sun that opens to the family room. Are these two stones a good choice? If not what would you recomend? Thanks in advance.
November 13th, 2011 at 12:28 am
Hello Tom,
I should of done some research before I went and picked out the slabs of granite. I recently got granite counter top for my kitchen. However, some part of counter top is not smooth nor shiny. It has rough spots and dimples without any shines. What I’m most worried about is if dis-coloration due to seeping of oil and water into the rough spots.
Not only it is not very attractive but I’m worry it will crack more around the rough spots & dimples.
Also, what are typical options once it is installed?
When we purchased the slabs, the supplier did not go over any issue with these slabs.
My granite is called Lapidus.
Thank you in advance.
Shawna