We just had a 7 feet long 3/4″ granite counter top installed over new bathroom cabinets. The counter top has an undermount sink in the center and backsplash on three sides. I noticed that there is an 1/8″ gap between the underside of the backsplash and the countertop at the center. In other words the countertop is bowed by 1/8″ over the 7 feet. The back splash is perfectly straight. The installer filled the gap with silicone, but the bowing is very obvious. Shouldn’t the countertop be perfectly straight as well ? Is my counter top made properly? I have not made final payment yet.
Thanks

Hello Bob

A seven-foot countertop will bow if not adequately supported underneath. It sounds like the installer should have shimmed up the center to eliminate the bow in the countertop. Best wishes!

Tom, just read your response to John regarding fissures and Ubatuba. We just had an install ourselves. Many fissures all over. Fabricator/Installer coming back next week. Will address it then, but my question is will the fissures get worse over time? We have a downdraft gas stove top right in the middle of the counter and the fan portion is very heavy, will that cause more? Uba Tuba was by far the most attractive better priced granite we found but now I understand why. Can a special epoxy sealer be put on to give us the best chance of no further hairline fissures? Any other suggestions? Also know that we have a undermount sink with no supports just added and a counter overhang not quite resting on the three corbels it was suppose to, will they shim it?? It that a potential crack area too?? Linda

Hello Linda

The fissures will not increase and I want to add that some people actually like the fissures because of the nature of the stone. If you have direct sunlight on the countertop, you will experience more ‘browning’ in the stone overall. This comes from inherent oxidation in Ubatuba granite.

Best wishes!

Hello Tom,

I have been most interested in the questions you’ve been receiving regarding problems with green granites. Could you please tell me if Canadian granite, “Adobe” color is a green granite (my monitor does not show me if it is really green and tan) and whether it, and “Tunas Sea Green” from Brazil will have any “staining” problems? Also, I have read somewhere that some companies cut their stone with kerosene instead of water and that the residual kerosene perks to the surface, staining the stone. How can you be sure that your green granite selection has been water cut?

My thanks for your expertise,
Merr

Hello Merry

I do not believe that anyone in the USA uses Kerosene for cutting. It is just too much of a health hazards and very few even know that it reduces the wear on diamond tools. Would the fabrication plant in Canada use it? Yes, perhaps but I don’t think so. Large slabs are cut with what is known as a Gang Saw, along with corundum shot and a large volume of water. Cutting with Kerosene would be more common in very shorter slabs which are cut with a diamond wheel saw.

Anyway, the Adobe granite is very good stone and I recommend you see local samples to understand the true color. Best wishes!

We are remodeling out kitchen, our cabinets are Maple, with a Briarwood color, (not to light and not very dark) we are thinking of Butterfly Green or Tan Brown for our countertop, all stainless steel appliances, we havent’t picked our floor yet nor the backsplash. Our cabinets will be 30 in. height, with moulding at the top to the ceiling, we opened up wall to dining room. Please help. - Thanks, Nancy

Hello Nancy

Tan Brown Granite and Butterfly Green Granite are very straightforward, choices with your color combination, but are what I call, “non-emotional”. I don’t want to talk you out of those but just inspect the slabs thoroughly using my 10-Point Checklist on the website.

I want to toss in my two-cents here so I am going to make a couple other suggestions for you to consider. First, you need to figure out your floor before making a granite decision. Since you said you have not picked out your floor, I am going to assume that it will be tile, not wood. If your tile flooring has veining in it, then stay away from veining on the countertop. The opposite is also true. I think you will end up with a neutral off-white color, perhaps with some blotchy accents of cream. With this assumption, I suggest that you consider a primary color in the granite. There are three primary colors, red, blue and yellow. Don’t go with yellow. For more emotion in your kitchen, look at the reds and blue on www.GraniteStock.com and if you don’t like any of those, go back to the Tan Brown or Butterfly Green.

I have beigh color scheme in our house. What color granite can I put in my kitchen . It is small kitchen. I have whithe tiles now. I have stainlesteel fridge and will get a steel sink. Advise. - Shirley

Hello Shirley

You really can go with almost any color given your pallet. However, since your kitchen is small, you might want to avoid granite patterns with large veining or color variations.

Best wishes!

Hi Tom, I just happened on your web-site and I will ask your advice. We are going to install granite counter tops and plan to sell the house in a couple of years so we have to remember saleability and yet we want to enjoy the tops in the interim. As of now we have decorated our kitchen around a plate rack filled with “Flow Blue” dishes so all our wallpaper, door knobs, etc. are blue and white. Our present counter tops are white with a cobalt blue edging and a white white smooth surface counter top. We do have vaulted ceilings, and our cupboards are oak. When we ordered them the stain color was called “Hazelnut”. I have had a terrible time matching the stain color and the best I can say in the Miniwax stains, it is somewhere in between 211 and 222, but closer to 222. The flooring is 6″wide white oak floorin with brown plugs. It is definitely a country style kitchen.

We looked at some granite sheets today and had closen a color containg browns, golds, tans, and a tiny vein of blue in it. It was called Desert Storm. We took one of our cupboard doors along and it looked beautiful with the slab. We don’t want to choose a color, however, that will only be in vogue, so to speak, for a short period of time. One of the other letters I read talked about making sure your color would be timeless. Please advise.

Thank you,
Carolyn

Hello Carolyn

Blue is a primary color and would support a timeless country decor. There are some lime blues that would not work but if you stay toward the true color as a field color or accent, it will be very nice. Unfortunately, most blue granite colors are very expensive. However, there is one blue that is reasonably priced, Blue Guanabara, but you need to get lucking and find a batch with the true blue minerals. I think you will love this granite.

I have a center island in Amadeus and would like counter tops done in other granite . I have honey oak cabinets , Stainless appliances and light taupe tile floor . What do you suggest ? Thanks, Mary

Hello Mary

This is a difficult one because Amadeus can vary from pine green to almost black. Still, I think you would be happy with Raw Silk Ivory or Andromeda. You can see swatches of this on www.GraniteStock.com

Best wishes!

Hello Tom:

I am updating my nine year old kitchen. I am going to install granite countertops. I have white cabinets, hardware flooring. Stainless steel appliances with black, except for the refigerator which is white. The room is open basically to the family room, which has gold walls.

I would like to pick a granite color that is classy and that I will not grow tired of..and one that if I ever decided to sell my house it would be a color which others would enjoy.

I like the venetian gold, emerald pearl, tropic brown. My family thinks the darker emeral peal would be best. It would be great if you would offer a few choices. — Kara

Hello Kara

You really got a lot going on with the stainless/black appliances, a white refrigerator, white cabinets and hardwood floors of some color. I can not recommend Emerald Pearl, although I truly love that granite. It is just too strong to mix with all you have going on. To use this granite you would have to get a stainless refrigerator and change the paint in the family room to a cooler color.

I suggest New Venetian Gold because it contains highlights of gold and black and goes very well with stainless and white. Don’t get me wrong! I don’t like white refrigerators mixed with stainless appliances but New Venetian Gold Granite can pull it together.

Tropical Brown Granite will clash with the gold walls in your family room. Considering that you are planning to sell this home, go with New Venetian Gold or Giallo Ornamental Granite. There are other colors that go well with white cabinets but you would have to match your refrigerator with your appliances and I did not gather that you plan to do that.

Best wishes!

I’m “updating” my kitchen and am having a dificult time settling in on a granite choice. Any color suggestions would be greatly appreciated. My cabinets look creamy ivory (a pale yellowish off-white with a chocolate glaze). The appliances are mainly integrated but some stainless/black shows in the double oven and cooktop. The existing floor is butterscotch oak. I am looking at a giallo vincenza at the moment, but I am afraid this choice will offer limited decorating color schemes over the long haul. Would I be better off with an Ubatuba in the long run even though this seems to be an overused combination? Any color suggestions/thoughts would be appreciated!! - Sue

Hello Sue,

You really provide a lot of information. One thing that homeowners don’t mention is the style of their home and size of the kitchen. For example, my home was built in 1926 and the kitchen is relative small compare to the size of the house. We have a very similar cabinet color except the highlights are a little more cranberry. The floor is the same as yours.

My point is that if the home is older, I think you need to go in one direction and if it is a newer style, the choice would be completely different. For an older home, go lighter, like Cream Delicatus or Bianco Romano. Keep the edge detail simple and avoid a full bullnose. If you home is a newer style, go darker. There so many great colors that I think you should just brows www.GraniteStock.com and see what moves you. Perhaps type in the keyword, ‘Juparana‘ and see which color you like best.

Hi Tom,

I am just beginning my research on buying granite for my kitchen. Luckily I found your website! I had someone come to my house to measure my counter tops and give me an estimate. My question is this, How do I know if I am getting prefabricated granite? The owner of this establishment told me I can have any standard edge and a middle of the road granite counter top, 1 1/4 thick. He measured 47 1/2 square feet and gave me a price of $3,700 including a new sink and removal of old counter and installation of new counter. He told me to come to the showroom (a store front with a few kitchens displaying granite counters) and that I can choose my granite from slabs. He didn’t elaborate if these slabs would be mine or just samples of what I would be getting. I have also called Costco and they are coming with samples of granite and samples of kitchen sinks. Any thoughts on Costco granite? Another company I called asked me to come to their quarry (or something to that effect) to pick my granite and then he would come to my house and template my kitchen and then give me a price.

I do not want a prefab granite kitchen. Please tell me how I can make an educated purchase and be happy with my investment.

Thanks so much for your wonderful website. It was very timely for me!!! - Kerry in NJ

Hello Kerry,

You have already done great research and I am glad that The Rock Blog has been so helpful. Simply be sure that you follow the Homeowner’s Checklist and hand selected your slabs for the full size sheets of granite. That is it. The $3,700 price sounds about right for the project down without prefab granite tops.

Best wishes!

We recently installed Travertine on the kitchen floor with 1/8″ grout lines. The problem we are experiencing is the grout, in some areas, chips at the top. We thought the grout may have been too thick when we installed. Also, the grout used was unsanded. Do you have any suggestions? - Susan

Hello Susan. If you used grout without sand and the joint width is greater than 1/8″, then that could be part of the problem. Grout shrinks as it dries and the sand is needed to keep the ‘body’ of the grout strong. Actually, sand is always good for grout, but thinner joints just don’t allow enough room for cement and sand; therefore, unsanded grout is used in joints 1/8″ or smaller. There are exceptions to this but I won’t go into that detail here.

Secondly, if the grout was too ‘thick’ as you mentioned, I am assuming that is because there was not enough water mixed in the dry grout. This is most likely the problem and unfortunately created air pressure as your installer tried to push the grout into the joints. This would lift the grout when finished grouting. You will need scrape out the unacceptable or failing grout and simply re-grout with a loose/wet mixture. The good news is that this can be done successfully.

We are remodeling our kitchen, our cabinets are honey oak and we would like to use granite on our countertops but we are not sure what color to go with, light or dark. We will be buying all stainless steel appliances and our flooring is travertine color ( 18 x18 ), wall paint is “butter cream” (which is between cream and soft yellow color). The colors that we are looking at are golden sand, tan brown, and black galaxy. Do yo have any suggestions as which granite color would go well with our colors and would compliment our kitchen once everything is installed? - Tina

Hello Tina. I always suggest a darker color with stainless steel but with your honey oak cabinets and the travertine floors I think you should consider Baltic Brown or Verde Ubatuba. Both of these color look incredible with stainless and I am sure you would like the total combination when it is all done. These are also more timeless combinations that will not go out of style.

Have just installed cherry cabinets, brown stain with black glaze. Have all black appliances, black crown molding, black Kohler sink, satin black faucet. Opened wall to dining room and have a patio door and kitchen window. So we have plenty of light. Have a sample of Saint Cecilia, but not sure as we get to a final choice. Love the red tones and gold in my decorating. But in the future, want the granite to go with the next trend. Thanks. - Karen

Hello Karen. No way would I suggest Santa Cecelia. I know it has the cranberries and the light gold color, but too boring and track-home like for your stylish cabinet color and fixtures. I wish you told me how high the ceiling is in your kitchen and what color the floor is but I am going to assume an 8 foot ceiling and golden oak wood floors.

If that is the case and since you like the gold flavor, go with either Juperana Persa or Ferro Gold. The only think I don’t like about Ferro Gold is that Arizona Tile seems to have a lock on it and charges too much. I really recommend Juperana Persa to complete the timeless and elegant look of what you started.

Hi-We are building a new house and I am putting African Ivory Granite in the Kitchen -counters and island. I am looking for granite to put in my bathroom and they suggested a remnant of silver cream. I have a long vanity that drops down and the walls will be in a latte color, floor tiles neutral with a touch of gold. Do you think that granite (silver cream) will be too busy in my bathroom? If so, do you have some other suggestions? Also, there is another small vanity in a separate room for my husband that will also need a top. Should I give him that top and do something different on mine or stay the same.

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Hi Tom-

I am replacing a vanity and vanity top in a space that is surrounded by walls on 3 sides. Because of the walls, I need a 35″ vanity top, and was interested in granite with an undermount sink. Unfortunately, as my size is not standard, a special order will cost me about 3-4 times what the local Home Depot stocks. I was wondering if I purchased the 3/4″ thick, 37″ long granite slab vanity top with sink attached at HD (standard size) can I cut the slab down with a wet saw? The edges will be covered with side splashes, so I am not worried about the edges being perfect, but the tip of the ogee trim on the front will be exposed.

Thank You!
Jessica

Hello Jessica. You can try to cut the vanity top yourself. Since the top will be covered on both ends by splashes, you only have to be careful to make a nice clean cut at the front.

You will need to rent or buy a Small 4″ Grinder from a nearby HomeDepot or Lowes and also a 4″ diamond blade (Called a Tile or Stone Cutting Blade). It should look like steel with very small diamonds embedded in it. The blades cost between $20-$40. There are two types of diamond wheel blades. One that has a continuous rim and the other is segmented. You will know what I mean when you see them. For granite, you usually want to use the segmented rim type because it is more aggressive. The continuous rim is for softer material like marble. However, the continuous rim will make a smoother cut in the granite and is less likely to chip the front edge of your vanity tops. For light color granite, I would use the continuous rim blade.

A diamond blade does not cut like a wood blade. It cut by abrasive force so I really would find someone that has cut masonry or stone before to help you.

An easier plan might be mark the line where you want it cut with tape and then take it to a small granite company nearby and ask them if they will cut it down for cash (maybe $15 or $20, I would assume). This is very simple for them to do and as long as you have it marked. I don’t think that a fabricator will feel that it is too much trouble.

Here is one more thing to consider. Measure the walls at the front and the back. You might want to cut the top out-of-square so that it slides in better.

We just bought a 37″ X 22″ vanity top to be installed onto our old vanity. My concern is can the vanity hold the top without collapsing. Is there anything I can do to the cabinet to make it sturdier. I thought about a running a 34″ two by four across the back wall to give it more strength in the back. Can you suggest other methods?

Thanks,
Tom

Hello Tom. It is very difficult to comment on this without seeing the vanity but let me give you some useful information. When a heavy object is laid flat, the weight to consider is the Gross Distributed Load (GDL). Your total vanity top and sink weight is about 70 pounds but the GDL is about 11 pounds per square foot. This is not much. You may have heard one that the pressure of a woman’s high heel shoe is similar to the weight of an elephant. That is because the area of the tip of the heel is so small. To give you another example, if you personally weight 150 pounds and sit on the vanity, the GDL is about 10 times as much as the vanity top.

I would reinforce the back as you mentioned for extra support, and then put a couple small 1″ ‘L’ clips on the inside front of the cabinet. You can even glue these in place because you just need to diaphragm the vanity box. When you install the vanity top, use white or clear silicone on the top of the vanity walls to adhere it to the vanity cabinets. The instructions on this page should help: http://homegranite.com/installation.htm. The vanity top also will diaphragm the vanity box. Also caulk the back splash to the wall and to the top of the vanity top. This will keep the whole unit from wobbling.