I recall discussing drainage grooves in the
granite to drain into the side of an undermount sink, at my first meeting with the fabricator. Now, at fabrication, he tells me they can not do this.
Frankly, I would have picked a different countertop material if he had made this clear when I was choosing granite over other options. I am quite sure we discussed this on our first run though, and before I got deeper into the process of picking the slabs and etc. Similarly, I have full bullnose on most countertops in my house. At the same early meeting, I asked for the same edge on the granite, but a 1/2 bullnose ended up in the bid. The edge detail is fairly easy to change, but this issue of the grooves is more difficult.

Am I asking for a truly non-standard item, or is this fabricator just not familiar with the process and unwilling to add a new service “just” for me?

I like the fabricator very much. He & his staff have been very helpful, but this has kinda set things back. We did discuss a lot of issues at that first meeting, but this has been on my list of basic wants for this kitchen upgrade for so long, that I am really surprised he could have missed it.

What should I expect?

Am I stuck with an ugly drainboard on the countertop, on top of my beautiful granite?

Eileen

Hello Eileen,

I must admit this is the first time I have been asked about this so I appreciate the interesting new issue you are facing. I am sorry for your trouble but the request you are asking of the granite provider is not very normal.

What you are describing is doable but extremely difficult and requires the right CNC machinery to perform the grooving and polishing work accurately. If the fabricator does not have a CNC machine with the right tooling, then it can not be done without an incredible amount of saw and hand work. In addition the polishing of the groves would be extremely time-consuming.

Most likely, you would not be happy with the result in the long run. The grooves would be prime mildew catchers and hard to keep clean. I can see your point that if you don’t have a dishwasher, you are stuck with a tile drying rack but that is what is most common.

Again, it can be done but it is expensive and there is that mildew issue that I mentioned. You could research other granite companies in your area to see what they can do. A list is available on www.GraniteStock.com.

Regarding the bullnose issue, fabricators rarely charge more for a full 1.5″ bullnose over a 1/2″ bullnose. It sounds like there was just a verbal mix-up and I hope you are being treated fairly about this.

I am very sorry about the late reply. Please send any follow-up questions that I can help you with.

Thank you for supporting the Rock Blog’s World Vision kids.

Hi Tom,

I read your blog regularly and gladly paid the $18 for my question. I recently had granite countertops installed-some kind of cross between Peacock green, butterfly and Uba Tuba, and have 2 areas of concern.

I was unhappy with the edge of the seam so the installers tried to “fix” it, making it worse and leaving a 3″ circular “milky” area around the surface and the edge. It is noticeable.

Also, there are light bristle-looking brush “sweeps” on the top surface that follow around the sink cut-out. It is only seen by DH and me when the light hits it a certain way.

One “expert” told us that the brush marks were probably done when the machine rolled over the top to cut the sink. The surface probably wasn’t protected properly and some granite dust got underneath and created the scratches. He went on to advise us against trying to fix it because it could damage the shine making it worse.

The fabricator then brought in two stone restoration specialists who tested a small area and said they could grind the area down to the scratches using diamond pads with running water and then seal it bringing back the polished shine.

Does this sound right to you? We want it perfect, but are afraid of making it worse. Also, can the sealer hurt such a dark stone? Please advise…

Thanks, Susan

Hi Susan,

There is no doubt that the right expert can fix this. This is not a pretty situation but unfortunately it does happen too often by fabricators/installers when they are inexperienced. I actually commend them for bringing in a specialist instead of making more excuses to you.

The success lies directly in the hands of the restoration specialist’s skill set. It is not a quick process either. It could take several hours going through each diamond pad level to get the right final finish. I would expect that no restoration specialist with any kind of experience would attempt this unless he knew what he was doing.

I don’t think you heard them right about ’seal it back up to bring back the shine’. What they probably mean is use higher grit diamond pads to bring the surface back to the original polish level of the countertop.

So, I won’t bother going through all the steps that he needs to do, but let the specialist have at it. You will probably be happily surprised about the result.

Best wishes!

Tom,

I am a commercial interior designer. I think we need a reference book. Is there a book or publication that succinctly provides information on the advantages and disadvantages of each type of stone – plus it’s correct installation method (grout line size, type of grout, sealing, maintenance etc.

Regarding Travertine – what are the disadvantages to using travertine (on the floor in a residence hall lounge – to be precise…) Thank you for your help.

Linda Kress, ASID

Hi Linda,

The Marble Institute of America has all the information guidelines that you needed. Check their bookstore and
consumer resources pages.

Regarding travertine on floors, it is widely used but there are some important considerations. For example, if the travertine is not properly filled, then high heel shoes can literally pop the fill right through the travertine, thus leaving pits randomly throughout the floor. To avoid this, you should specify “travertine which has minimal fill and all holes are adequate filled to avoid damage from foot traffic”.

Joints are important. The tightest reasonable joint should be 1/8″. However, if your tiles are quite large, then 3/16″ is reasonable as well. Grout at this width should be non-sanded and filled flush to surface. Grout and thinset should have a dry-polymer additive to increase strength. There are brands like Merkrete or Laticrete that are well known of strength and quality.

Best wishes!

Hello Tom,

I’m upgrading my 10 year old tract home kitchen. It is 25 x 15 1/2 feet amd open to the family room. Our light oak cabinets have darkened and oranged over the years to a medium tone but we don’t want to replace them as they are solid wood doors and in great shape. New hardware is a dark grey metal but not black or bronze. We just put in a new porcelain tile floor “saddle tan” which mimics travertine. It goes with cabinets but also has some taupe colors that coordinate with my family room carpet. New stainless appliances are on order. I’m having trouble choosing granite. I love movement and veining and want some black in it. I’d also like contrast since the cabinet and floor are close in color and intensity. I want to play down the orange in the cabinets or at least make it not pop out. I want the granite to be the noticed feature. Two that I like are Saphire Blue, Typhoon Bordeaux. I also like the green background in crema bordeaux from Brazil, but not the apricot color. Tropical Brown was also a good color, but maybe a little boring(it’s everywhere)Do you have any suggestions? Our kitchen is internal and no windows near counters. Not real dark, but not bright either. Depending on the stone I might do a tumbled marble backsplash in the 4 x 4 tiles.

Thanks so much,
Anita
P.S. I love your donation idea! We have 3 sponsor children through World Vision and Compassion International, what a great way to share with others!

Hello Anita,

The goal should be as you mentioned, to draw away from the cabinets and bring life into your kitchen though your countertops. The way to do this is to go with a ‘mixed’ color. All the basics, Whites, Greens, Browns, and even Blues will accentuate your older cabinets if standing alone.

Even though you are getting new stainless appliances, you still need to pick out a granite color with enough color of the cabinets in it so that the cabinets color feel purposeful. This will actually ‘play down’ the cabinets themselves. At the same time, you can accomplish the updating by mixing in a granite color that compliments stainless. I want to give you three colors that will accomplish this given your decor.

My number one choice is Typhoon Bordeaux. It will update your kitchen, give you the interesting and artful center focus that you are looking for, and it will also actually allow your cabinets to compliment it (after you shine them up a bit!).

As backup choices, consider Twister, Amber Fantasy or Mascarello. Your personal taste will either draw you in to one of these or turn you away.
The Mascarello is incredible granite with spectacular clusters of colorful minerals but it might be a tad too dark for your kitchen. If you choose this one, you would want to go with the tile splash as you mentioned. However, a dark travertine splash would look better than light.

The Amber Fantasy can get a little pink, which doesn’t work at all. This is my least favorite of the group but sometimes you will see slabs of this that look like the beach at sunset. Those are a must have! Twister is the tamest of the bunch but works the best with stainless. It continues the taupe/brown scheme so I mentioned this as a possibility.

I think your best choice is here somewhere. I would love to get a photo when it is done! Thank you for supporting the Rock Blog’s World Vision kids.