Getting New Granite Counters?
Want seams all over the place, running here and there and everywhere?
Didn’t think so.
Some Granite Seams Are Unavoidable.
One of the signs of a cut-rate (and cut-quality) granite fabricator is counters with a lot of seams – or more specifically – a lot of unnecessary seams.
So, what makes for a necessary seam? Here are some situations where a seam is unavoidable:
When the counters are longer than the granite slab: If a counter is 150-inches long, and the granite slab is 120-inches wide, the counter will have a seam. A good granite fabricator will put the seam in the least-conspicuous place, and avoids placing seams in areas that might make it more likely to break.
When the counters have a really big corner and/or the kitchen is hard to get to: The exaggerated example for this is a second-floor kitchen on a hillside home with a narrow staircase. If you’re rich, you could have a crane bring the counter in through the huge picture window that was removed for the day, but it real life that Just. Never. Happens. Usually, you have a bunch of guys carrying in the counters and if they can’t navigate safely up the stairs, the kitchen counters will be in smaller pieces (but again – as few as possible).
What makes for an optional (client-elected) seam?
When the material is super-crazy expensive and the client wants to use every last scrap: This happens. Not often, but sometimes. This is not recommended because every seam is a potential point of weakness in the counters and if you’re going to spend oodles on exotic granite counters, you don’t want seams that jump out at you every day. In general, it works better to pick a less expensive material to get enough to do the job with fewer seams.
When the material is remnant granite and it takes two matching smaller pieces to make the counter long enough: We don’t see a lot of this, either. Sometimes we do have a fabulous pair of remnants that can be combined to make a longer counter. We’ve done this for gamerooms, TV alcoves and the occasional really long master bathroom counter. In each case, the client really really really wanted a specific granite that just wasn’t the right size without a seam.
When you must have a seam, you want a granite company that can match the colors and movement (designs) in the counters to make your seams as inconspicuous as possible. If you have a big kitchen getting new granite counters, talk to us about where the seams will be and how we can best lay out your material to make the counters look good. We’ll put in as few as possible, and will join the edges as cleanly as the material permits. You won’t be sorry that you took the time to go over it with us!
