granite worktops

[angelsephemera]

can anyone with experience tell me

a) which they prefer quartz or granite?

any tips for granite kitchen worktops buying, installation and maintanance generally

c) if color makes any difference to maintanence/preformance - is black ok?

[bankruatsteve]

Did you mean marble? For most purpose, they are pretty much the same in terms of durability (granite more so) and it's mostly just a color choice (the one you really like will cost the most). I prefer granite.

[eyecatcher]

I agree black is the best. Most of my customers chose the black, but I did steer them towards black. Second most popular was blue, both have silver flake embedded.

Pink ,dark red was so classy though, one of the cheapest, it was mines in egypt, but takes a confident person to choose it.

Remember colours are like fashion, in one years out the next, so the safe colours are the blacks, the white and magnolia for paint.

The alternative and more expensive to granite is corian, any conceivable colour you want. I hated it but it was more durable, it is indestructible.

Granite is not a diy job, granite does not look good with cheap sink and tap. Be very careful with your specs otherwise its big money wasted.

If you are renting I feel the cost/yield ratio is going to exclude granite.

Be vary of economics when renting, travertine,granite,major renovations. Etc.

Otherwise good call.

[bankruatsteve]

Black granite is probably one of the most expensive. Unless you have a deco house and need to show off, just get the 'cheap' dappled granite for the counter top. You will need to have exact measurements if you buy from the road-side places, where you need a sink and/or stove top. And where they should put the curve on the edge, etc. When I did it, they delivered with partial cut out for the sink and had to grind that out myself - not easy. So, make sure you get a clear understanding of what you/they do. But, after you do it, you will love the granite top - nothing beats it.

[angelsephemera]

This is for my house in the UK.

I have looked at all the alternatives - corian, gemstone etc and frankly granite is preferable.

I was under the impression the grey was the cheapest- and i have cream marble tiles in the kitchen so grey or white is an option - but you don't see many kitchen worktops with that color. Marble is more breakable than granite so its a non option - and more expensive?

Thanks all

[angelsephemera]

How do you fix the worktop to the kitchen units underneath?

[bankruatsteve]

How do you fix the worktop to the kitchen units underneath?

No need. Heavy enough - they're not going anywhere although I suppose some silicone or other adhesive would help to keep them from getting jarred. Our "kitchen units" were bricks so a small amount of cement was used for leveling and silicone in the joints.

[angelsephemera]

yes i thought this may be the case just use some mastic- why do the companies charge so much for 'installation' then-( i appreciate that it is heavy)

[eyecatcher]

On site installation isn't just throwing it on with beads of silicone.

It is a precise art that involves cutting angles, cutting holes for taps, and drilling and screwing undermount sinks all of which needs to be done at the time of fitting with special tools and grinders.

One mistake is often irreversible so the fitter carries the can and the cost.

[UKJASE]

we found some nice stone with coloured flecks in it, for about 4,500 B a m2. there was black tops going for about 3,000 a m2 also

we need about 6 m2 to go on our L shaped counter, plus a 2.5m x 1m island

for the 6m2 fitted, they are asking about 11,000 B. seems a bit steep to me, especially as we will be spending 27,000 on the marble.

does that quote sound steep to you guys?

[bankruatsteve]

If you don't need any sink cut-outs or for stove top, it can be very simple. You must have exact (to the mm) dimensions, where and what type of edge you want (there are like 5 different kinds), where you need straight cut for join (the 'L'), etc. Most places you buy will have the equipment to do that and you can install yourself - basically just lay them down and calk. If you need custom fit for anything, then you probably need the 'professional' install and, yes, that gets expensive. Otherwise, you are paying for the color - whether that color is easily found or not.

[ripstanley]

We used black granite. The cut out for the sink we used to make a table. Only problem with black it is hard to spot the ants when they invade.

[jonnyscot]

We're in the finishing stages of installing kitchen units, we're selecting a different supplier for the granite work top, granite prices around our area vary quite a bit, plain black from 2600 sq mtr to 3500, but I think we'll go for the black with gold speck prices from 3200 to 4500,, fitting charge for the worktop is similar in most suppliers in our location at around 150 baht sq mtr,,

I've just a wee issue to solve, need to get longer legs for the kitchen units to give me an extra 5cm in height before fitting the granite, the units somehow look a bit shorter than when we saw them in the showroom, other than the rubber threaded base plates I can't seem to find anything locally and with the thread diameter in mind I wouldn't trust opening the thread to the max to get this extra cm's with the weight of the granite on top

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[angelsephemera]

5cm is a lot!

[angelsephemera]

RE: installation:

The sink cutout is done beforehand- right?

[jonnyscot]

Now you've got me thinking,,, hope I haven't got my cm's and mm's mixed up,, ok back you old ways then, it's approx,, 2 inches I need to raise the height of the units

quote name="angelsephemera" 5cm is a lot![

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[bankruatsteve]

Can you just raise the units? IE: get your cement/tile guy to lay down a riser.

[bankruatsteve]

RE: installation:

The sink cutout is done beforehand- right?

Although I bought mine at a place that did all the cutting/edging to my specs, they would not fully cut out the sink hole b/c they worry about breakage during transport. So, one of my workmen had to grind out the 4, maybe 2", remaining cuts and that took a long time and several discs (to wit). If you get the "pro install", I suspect they would do on site.

[angelsephemera]

2 inches on those little unit legs seems a lot to me (granite is 50-80kg/msq) - is there another way?

whatever you do do the same for all the legs of the units.

Eyecatcher is usually very good for advice too.

Edited July 2, 2014 by angelsephemera

[angelsephemera]

4 discs! lol what discs were you using - diamond turbo or continuous edge?

[Naam]

Black granite is probably one of the most expensive. Unless you have a deco house and need to show off, just get the 'cheap' dappled granite for the counter top. You will need to have exact measurements if you buy from the road-side places, where you need a sink and/or stove top. And where they should put the curve on the edge, etc. When I did it, they delivered with partial cut out for the sink and had to grind that out myself - not easy. So, make sure you get a clear understanding of what you/they do. But, after you do it, you will love the granite top - nothing beats it.

actually black granite is one of the cheapest granites if it's not the "black with gold flakes". these flakes are of course not gold but they look like.

cheapest granite in Thailand looks like this

most expensive granite (cost exeeds that of Italian Carrara marble) is a near white colour for which i was quoted 10,800 Baht/m² in 2005 which made me say "no, thank you!"

[Naam]

we found some nice stone with coloured flecks in it, for about 4,500 B a m2. there was black tops going for about 3,000 a m2 also

we need about 6 m2 to go on our L shaped counter, plus a 2.5m x 1m island

for the 6m2 fitted, they are asking about 11,000 B. seems a bit steep to me, especially as we will be spending 27,000 on the marble.

does that quote sound steep to you guys?

price also depends on thickness. there's 18mm, 20mm and 22mm.

11,000 Baht including installation seems to be fair.

[eyecatcher]

Can you just raise the units? IE: get your cement/tile guy to lay down a riser.

If you have the screw extendable legs, the easiest job would be to set a few pieces of 4x2 on the floor.

You have an instant 2inch rise.

Screw the leg disc to the wood.,and screw the units back to the wall or a plinth as usual.

[bankruatsteve]

Black granite is probably one of the most expensive. Unless you have a deco house and need to show off, just get the 'cheap' dappled granite for the counter top. You will need to have exact measurements if you buy from the road-side places, where you need a sink and/or stove top. And where they should put the curve on the edge, etc. When I did it, they delivered with partial cut out for the sink and had to grind that out myself - not easy. So, make sure you get a clear understanding of what you/they do. But, after you do it, you will love the granite top - nothing beats it.

actually black granite is one of the cheapest granites if it's not the "black with gold flakes". these flakes are of course not gold but they look like.

cheapest granite in Thailand looks like this

granite gray.jpg

most expensive granite (cost exeeds that of Italian Carrara marble) is a near white colour for which i was quoted 10,800 Baht/m² in 2005 which made me say "no, thank you!"

Actually, black granite comes in many grades. Some are cheap (not quite black) and most are expensive. The roadside places only have 2-3 color selections and 'black' is usually the most expensive option. The thing is: granite is granite. You pay for the color, thickness, and - for some reason - where it comes from.

[jonnyscot]

The granite installer turned up today with some guy who is measuring up a support for the breakfast bar and he suggested a hardwood frame on the floor

I made the suggestion to drill circular cutouts same diameter as the legs (we'd need 30 for 30 legs) from a hardwood doorframe that was leftover from the build, this doorframe is about 2" thick, get some threaded bar and cut the bar to suit, drilling a thread hole halfway thru the circular hardwood cutouts and screw in thread bar into both the thread in the leg and the hole in the hardwood cutout,, but my idea was frowned on by the pro's, so I just left them to it

quote "eyecatcher" If you have the screw extendable legs, the easiest job would be to set a few pieces of 4x2 on the floor.

You have an instant 2inch rise.

Screw the leg disc to the wood.,and screw the units back to the wall or a plinth as usual.

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[angelsephemera]

a breakfast bar! please give a picture

[jonnyscot]

Here's a couple o pics of a breakfast bar,,, maybe other people have different name?

attachment=273793:ImageUploadedByThaivisa Connect Thailand1404435561.767083.jpg]

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[sotsira]

Black granite is probably one of the most expensive. Unless you have a deco house and need to show off, just get the 'cheap' dappled granite for the counter top. You will need to have exact measurements if you buy from the road-side places, where you need a sink and/or stove top. And where they should put the curve on the edge, etc. When I did it, they delivered with partial cut out for the sink and had to grind that out myself - not easy. So, make sure you get a clear understanding of what you/they do. But, after you do it, you will love the granite top - nothing beats it.

actually black granite is one of the cheapest granites if it's not the "black with gold flakes". these flakes are of course not gold but they look like.

cheapest granite in Thailand looks like this

granite gray.jpg

most expensive granite (cost exeeds that of Italian Carrara marble) is a near white colour for which i was quoted 10,800 Baht/m² in 2005 which made me say "no, thank you!"

Actually, black granite comes in many grades. Some are cheap (not quite black) and most are expensive. The roadside places only have 2-3 color selections and 'black' is usually the most expensive option. The thing is: granite is granite. You pay for the color, thickness, and - for some reason - where it comes from.

Regardless of whether it's cheap or expensive, black is the worst colour to keep a clean

appearance, it shows up every mark, water swipes when cleaning, glass/cup ring stains,

grease, etc.etc.

If you choose black, then be prepared to be forever wiping and cleaning the surface.

[UKJASE]

Here's a couple o pics of a breakfast bar,,, maybe other people have different name?

ImageUploadedByThaivisa Connect Thailand1404435665.720097.jpg

attachment=273793:ImageUploadedByThaivisa Connect Thailand1404435561.767083.jpg]

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where is the beer and pool table ?

[jonnyscot]

Haha,, beer would be chilling nicely in the fridge for my mates,

the pool table, gave that up long ago, could never quite get the ball to go in the general direction it was supposed to, enjoyed playing it tho, but the drunker I got, the more invincible I thought I was on the table and naturally the more money I lost ,,seriously tho these are just pics o breakfast bar, not our one,,,, still waiting for the top to be fitted, hopefully by the end of next week the fitters will turn up

quote name="UKJASE" quote]

where is the beer and pool table ?

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