I typically only fabricate granite countertops but I am just putting the finishing touches on my own shower which is constructed of three granite slabs for walls and a granite slab for the ceiling.
The shower door guy just came to measure and mentioned he would be drilling holes in the curb and the ceiling for the pivot hinges. I asked how he drills them and he said with a 3/16 bit in his hammer drill.
Maybe I am just “once burned, twice shy” but I only drill holes in my work with a diamond bit and copious amounts of water. The attempts I have made to work polished granite slabs with any kind of sharp impact typically end in disaster (cracks, spalling). This leads to my question.
Have any of you had success or observed others having success drilling into granite slabs with a hammer drill? I respect the guys years of experience and don’t have any desire to challenge him but should I let him do his thing or get in his way and insist on drilling the holes after he lays out the locations? One problem is my smallest core drill is 1/2″ and he just needs a big enough hole for a plastic anchor.
The only hammer drill I have to do some bench testing is a relatively big bosch rotohammer which typically gets used to drill 1/2″ holes in concrete slabs so I am doubting this would yield a fair source of comparison.
Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.
Karl
Replies
C'mon Karl!
You just said you fabricate countertops for a living using granite . You said you have never seen granite fair well with sharp impacting objects.
Trust your inner voice. Tell the shower door guy your thoughts and offer to drill the holes. Why should the guy object? This job is for YOU. You are paying this guy to finish off YOUR WORK ( not the other way around). Take control.
For argument's sake, ask the guy to drill a couple of holes in a scrap piece of granite ( if you have any) and see how well that works out.
Bottom line, trust your instincts. For all you know, this guy may have installed 100s of doors, but only a few may have been installed into granite. If you work with granite day-in and day-out, I think you are more than qualified to make this decision yourself.
If you need a smaller core drill for this job, then go rent one...you can find this type of equipment at rental places. What's a few bucks vs peace of mind?
Davo
You have to make this call yourself. You know the material and you know the guy (at least better than we do) who is installing the door. If I was worried at all about cracking the granite, I would be very happy to have a customer drill into it and take the responsibility of replacing it. Maybe he will look at it the same way. If he is confident and willing to replace the slabs if there is a problem, let him do it.
Can't argue with the previous posters advice, but you asked about experience...
I had the same in my shower ( and full granite slabs make incredible showers!). All of those hinge holes as well as those by the plumber for hand rails, were done with a 1/2" Makita hammer drill using standard masonary bits. Not even a chip. Clean smooth holes everyplace. Start with a small bit and increase the size.
Congrats on your choice of shower material. I was careful not to use acidic shower cleaners as a preventative measure.
thanks for the input. I am surprised but glad to hear your slabs drilled ok with a hammer drill. I ordered a 6mm diamond bit today and will do some testing before the shower door guy shows up.
The slabs are working out great so far. The 51" by 96" slabs were intimidating to move into place but the 47 by 51" ceiling was the toughest to get in.
I am a bit disappointed in the halo recessed light my lighting store recommended for the shower. I cut a 6 1/2" hole in the ceiling and installed it so I am somewhat stuck with it but am curious what you used for lighting. I vaporproofed and plumbed for a steam shower (future possibility) but I don't think this lens for the recessed can is sufficiently sealed for a steam shower.
I am not to worried about the stone reacting to cleaners but have been using some stuff I ordered from MBSTONE.COM on countertops where I am worried about etching, etc. The shower slabs are "immaculate white" which is a bit porous but responds well to being sealed and seems quite durable.
Yes, this lighting issue...
I did the same with the can. Not really happy with the quantity of brightness it put out, but hey, I figure if I can't see what's dirty, it's not dirty!!
But my stone was a purplish whitish thing with black specks. The darkness of that stone would call for more light. Your white stone may have better results.
Boy, that white really sounds nice. Try to post a picture for the rest of these guys to raise their standards a bit higher!!
Karl.
Ditto on the pics. Please post a few when the job is done. Would like to see them.
Davo