Granite, Marble and Engineered Stone
Recently, a few customers have expressed uncertainty about what exactly needs to be done by the homeowner to have their project ready for templating. Let's take a moment here and cover some of the issues that may not be clear or not included in the templating section of "The Process."
Whether you're building new or doing a remodel, your first priority is to have the cabinets that are to be receiving the new counter tops anchored in place in their permanent position. Templating simply cannot be done with cabinets moving about. Unless it's a piece that is designed to be moved around, such as one with wheels mounted on the bottom, we require that your cabinets be secured to either the wall, the floor or both before we can begin templating.
We're seeing quite a few remodel projects these days and with that, the next item to take care of is the removal of the existing counter tops. Our templating technique requires us to have the counter tops removed so that we have access to the bare cabinets, enabling us to trace out the cabinet lines on our template material. Whether you remove them yourself, hire a carpenter or have us handle it for you, this must be done prior to templating as well. Remember, this will also require disconnecting the sink and faucet, as well as a cooktop, if applicable.
Generally, once a laminate counter top is removed, you'll find strips of wood attached to the tops of the cabinets themselves. With a rare exception, these need to be removed as well. Again, ideally, we want access to the bare cabinet tops. You'll find these attached with glue, screws, staples, nails or any combination of these. Hopefully, they'll only be attached with nails and you'll be able to simply and easily pull or pry them off. If you run into glue however, look forward to some scraping, chiseling or sanding to get it off.
Another issue you should consider when replacing a laminate counter top is the difference in height off of the top of your cabinet between the material you're replacing and a new granite or quartz counter top. Laminates typically rise 1 1/2" above the top of the cabinet while a 3cm granite or quartz material will rise approximately 1 1/4" above the top of the cabinet. This difference in height becomes an issue when a homeowner wishes to use their existing tile backsplash with their new counter tops. As is, there would now be a 1/4" gap between the new counter top and the original tile backsplash. If this is what you're considering, please make sure that you account for this gap.
The final issue we would like to address is sink selection. This could be a huge topic in and of itself, (and may be in the near future!) but we'll try to summarize in a nutshell. If you're considering an undermount sink, The Stone Works, LLC HIGHLY RECOMMENDS that you purchase one with a true undermount design, rather than a model that is "designed" for use as either an undermount or as a drop-in. Far too many times, we have run into issues when a customer has acquired a "dual-application" sink and has wanted it used as an undermount, only to find that it could not be accomplished.
The problem we see with this type of sink being used as an undermount is the large flange surrounding the bowls. The flange exists so that it can support the sink in a drop-in application. In that scenario, the flange sits atop the material. In an undermount scenario, this large flange must sit inside the cabinet. Unfortunately, simply measuring the sink flange and cabinet openings for fit is not enough. The sink position may need to be adjusted inside the cabinet to allow room for a faucet, handle, soap and/or a water dispenser. Are you doing a backsplash? That splash (or window ledge, or other object) is going to take up available room behind the sink, (we don't want that faucet handle hitting the splash.... or anything else for that matter,) possibly requiring further adjustment of the sink position. The large flange significantly decreases (and sometimes entirely prohibits) any adjustment necessary. Simply put - if you're going to use the sink as a drop-in, a dual-application sink will be fine. If you want an undermount sink, steer clear of the dual-application models and get a true undermount. This can save you many headaches down the road!
If you're unsure about what to buy, we invite you to contact us. The Stone Works, LLC can provide you with a recommended sink list depending on your application of choice.
That's all for now. We hope this has cleared up any questions you may have about these topics. Please let us know what's on your mind and if you have any further questions or concerns. We'll be happy to address them here for the benefit of everyone.
Thanks for reading!